Feb 24 2010
B.J. Koubaroulis- Sports Contributor
B.J. Koubaroulis is a sports contributor for the Washington Post and focuses on high school sports. As a guest speaker in my Sports and the Media class he shared his personal experience being a journalist. Koubaroulis described the transformation he had to make as a journalist with the increase in technology. The Mason alumni described his early years as a journalist when he would go to games with a pad and pen and then going home after the game to write the story. Now he brings two lap tops, a camera, and is writing the story to be able to post it right when the game is over. Koubaroulis streams video while reporting the game so his readers can feel like they were at the game.
Koubaroulis is in charge of covering the high school sports in the Northern Virginia area and his contribution to the Washington Post website is an excellent example of a journalists adjusting their approach to fulfill the demands of his readers.
BJ came into my COMM371 as a guest speaker as well this past Tuesday! He actually used to cover my high school soccer games. It was really cool to catch up with the same sports journalist who would interview me for the Post back when I was a freshmen in high school! At least from my Sportings Writing and Reporting class, the best piece of advice he gave us was to keep in mind that with a journalism degree, you’re not entitled to a job ANYWHERE, unlike accountants, lawyers, and doctors.
I too like Kimmy am in COMM 371 and had the pleasure of getting to listen to Mr. Koubaroulis talk. He had some great insight on what to do if you want to make it in the business.