Bradi Andrews | Jan. 24, 2008
 |
| Photo by Zach Wendell |
| Indianapolis Star sportswriter Terry Hutchens shared tips and advice with J200 students Tuesday. |
“You have to be passionate about it,” he told students in adjunct lecturer Irene Bushaw’s J200 Reporting, Writing and Editing I class Tuesday. “Love vs. like…you have to love it.”
Named Indiana’s 2007 Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, Hutchens has been carrying on this love affair with his profession for 30 years.
After high school, Hutchens worked for both a small and large newspaper in southern California, the Fullerton Daily News-Tribune and the Orange County Register. When his wife took a job with Eli Lilly and Co., the family moved to Indiana. He interviewed for many positions, and although he said employers felt he was qualified, he lacked one key ingredient – a college degree.
He solved that issue by getting his degree in journalism at IUPUI. He wrote for several newspapers before the Indianapolis Star hired him as a beat reporter. For the last 10 years, he has covered Indiana University basketball and football, the Colts, the Brickyard 400 and the Indy 500.
Hutchens had plenty of advice for students studying journalism. For example, he explained that a reporter’s duties include “getting the information, asking the tough questions,” and this ability to dig for the information is what distinguishes a writer from a reporter.
Having good sources makes the digging easier. “You’re only as good as your sources,” he said.
All journalists work against the clock, but they must enjoy the pressure, Hutches said.
“You have to love deadlines, you can’t just like them,” he said. One press conference for a game he was covering did not end until 11:34 p.m., and his story had to be done by 11:45 p.m.
After Hutchens meets his deadline, he hands the story over to his editor, who has about 30 minutes to make any changes.
“Editors make you sound good,” he said.
