The biggest sports rivalry on the Central Coast deserves the best coverage on the Central Coast. This Friday night marks just that event when the Gauchos come to San Luis Obispo to face the Cal Poly men’s soccer team in the showdown of the year.
That’s why the Mustang Daily is going to bring readers top-notch coverage of the match and all of its glory.
Not one, but two reporters will be on the scene. Not one, but two photographers will be there to capture all of the heart-wrenching action. And, best of all, we aren’t waiting until Monday to fill everyone in.
Starting Friday afternoon, we will open up a live-blog that will bring readers updates, pictures and commentary to the final whistle and beyond.
“But, I’ll be at the game,” you say. “I’m not going to read the Mustang Daily on my phone.”
That’s why our social networking skills will be in full force. On Facebook, we will be posting pictures of the action as the game progresses without clogging up your News Feed. On Twitter, we will keep a commentary going, and be on the lookout for the best tweets, twitpics and whatever else our followers send us. I know there’s a lot going on in the stands, fill us in on the best moments, quotes and celebrations.
We’ll do our best to find them as well.
If you’re on Twitter, and do more than just follow Paris Hilton, make sure to tweet to the hashtag #BlueGreen and submit your input.
You might even spot a reporter combing the stands for the best face paint, costumes and Mustang spirit asking for a quick interview on the game as it happens.
Sports are naturally social (ever watched a game alone at Hooters? OK, maybe I have), so our coverage is going to embrace that fact.
What I hope to provide is a dynamic experience that includes text, photo, video and fan content in real time. As fast as I can get content onto the computer, and edit it properly, it will be on the Web for the world (ok, just San Luis Obispo, and my mom) to see.
As I see it, newspapers cannot afford to sit back and watch the action, then write a recap you can only read 12 hours later on a static page. There should be time for thoughtful reflection on articles, but it also key to the survival of print to have a robust presence on the Web to supplement a daily newspaper.
Some things just can’t wait until the morning.
Hoping that your readers will stick around until the next day to find out about an event or comment on their experience is a foolhardy strategy and turns away readers. That’s what we are going to avoid on Friday night with an all-out sports extravaganza that I hope will set the standard for future coverage of Cal Poly sports.
Coverage that you won’t find anywhere else.