Scorum users are increasing daily and soon, getting upvotes will be hard if you haven't defined what your purpose for signing up is. The bulk of content churned out by the 12000+ users will increase and many posts will end up being ignored because there are better ones to curate.
This post sheds light on what you need to know to have a blog worth reading.
Back to the main topic:
For articles that get ignored, it is usually due to poor writing and the author'(s') inability to create a proper relationship with other writers who are also readers.
Many Scorum writers who have failed to define their major goal/purpose will not be able to stand the test of time.
As an early adopter, what should you focus on to stand out?
It is important to know that bad writing kills. Now, let’s discuss types of articles that you can focus on.
Types of Sports Article
In journalism, there are two major types of articles which are:
#1. Hard News
#2. Soft news
Hard News is factual and relies on timeliness. Its purpose is to inform readers about something that just happened or that is in action.
Soft News does not need to be timely. Its purpose is to entertain readers, give advice or share a view.
For example;
An article about Liverpool trashing West Ham 4 goals to nil in the EPL would be a hard news story while a profile about Liverpool having more wins (74) against West Ham, would be a soft news story.
Then other records like games drawn or lost against West Ham can be highlighted in the body of the story or as an introduction to the story which is usually as preferred as the writer.
Just so you know:
Records of Liverpool against West Ham
Games won: 74
Games drawn: 36
Games lost: 28
Source: 11V11
Hard News
Hard news is read quickly, so the most important facts must come first. In journalism school, they call this the “inverted pyramid”. The first paragraph contains the most important information (who, what, where, when, why, how) and the following paragraphs add an increasing level of detail. The reader could read just the first paragraph and come away with a good idea of what happened.
Hard news demands immediate reporting due to its importance and short lifespan (continuing stories tend to follow shortly).
From my point of view, we all can’t write Hard News on Scorum; as not many can catch up with the reportage involved in covering live matches. Most of the time, all we have is poorly written articles seeking upvotes.
Soft News
Soft news has little or no intrinsic social or personal importance, so that it can be reported on at any time. This is the easiest and most diversified type of news you can focus on.
Soft news has sensationalist elements regarding famous personalities, utilitarian in nature (personally useful for the common reader), and/or based on a specific event (unconnected to any social trend or ongoing story).
There are five types of sports articles which are in this category
#1.
A “straight lede” (or “lead”) is a basic recap of a sporting event, providing the essentials on who played, who did what, and who won., You can also pick youth-level, high school, and small college events that are not shown or covered on TV/radio/internet.
#2.
A “feature lede/lead” is more common for larger college and professional events where most of the readership already knows the score, but wants a more in-depth view of what happened and who made the difference in the result.
#3.
A “profile” focuses on a colorful character or key figure such as a coach, star quarterback, or journeyman backup catcher with a love for practical jokes.
#4.
A “season preview or wrap-up” either prepares the reader for the season to come or takes them on a tour of the highs and lows of the just-completed season. For instance, a baseball writer might file a preview during spring training and a best/worst summary after the end of the regular season (or playoffs).
#5.
A “column” is an opinion piece where the sportswriter gets to express his/her opinions freely. Aspiring sportswriters are likely to have fewer opportunities to write opinion columns than old pros who have proven their mettle over the years.
With all written here, I have decided to major in Soft News by writing my views of athletes, local and international sporting events.
Sources:
Research Gate, Viasport, WikiHow, 11V11
In which of these would you find your peace as a Scorum Writer?
Share with me and other readers in the comment section. Thanks for reading.
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