On Aug. 1, it was reported that Rafael Palmeiro would be suspended for steroids. An hour before ESPN.com or any other major news outlet had the story, it was on sportsjournalists.com.

The site is a versatile commodity for college journalists and non-journalists alike. As a message board, it is informational for all college students.

sportsjournalists.com

The site allows college journalists to converse with those who work in the field. There is a specific part of the site that is just for discussion of topics that pertain to journalism. Aspiring journalists can see what those in the field think of recent trends, or other sports journalists from around the country. College journalists can also pick up tips on the trade.

“Sportsjournalists.com provides a great forum for sports journalists to discuss and debate the issues they face in their field,” said Cal Borchers, a freshman journalism major at Ithaca College.

In the Anything Goes part of the site, college journalists, or college students who are just sports fans, can match wits with professionals in the field. This allows students to discuss sports with those who cover it for a living. Dave DeSalle, a freshman business major at Duquesne University, said the site is a good place to find many different intelligent sports discussions.

Instead of arguing with friends about sports, college students can argue with people who spend their whole lives covering it. Besides sports, there are also discussions of other subjects, such as politics, on the site.

For those college journalists looking towards the future, sportsjournalists.com is also a great way to begin networking. The site moderator, who remains anonymous to preserve neutrality, of sportsjournalist.com said networking is the best aspect of the site.

“I’ve been in the business in for 30 years and SJ.com has provided me with more of a network than anything else,” he said.

By hanging around the board, people make connections that help them in their careers. The moderator said he keeps in regular correspondence with college students, which makes him more apt to consider them for internship opportunities.

Also, there are site outings every year so that members of the site can spend time together discussing sports and making connections with each other.
Besides being able to make connections there is also a Jobs Board. Here, people can search through listings of different job openings in sports journalism, including internships.

People can visit the site either as a guest to just read the content, or as a registered member (registration is free) to participate in the forum. Even though he is not a journalism major, Mark Flor, a biology and history major at Cornell College in Iowa, still wanted to become a member of the site.

“I thought it would be interesting to see what sports journalists thought about current issues in sports,” Flor said.

Even though many of the members are professional journalists, it isn’t required for membership.

So the next time one’s looking for a job, or when the next Rafael Palmeiro shocks the world, one can be sure sportsjournalist.com will be there first.