Indiana University School of Journalism

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The IU School of Journalism’s National Sports Journalism Center hosts its inaugural event, a panel discussion, at 6:45 p.m. March 11 at IUPUI.

"Heroes, Hype and the Truth: Separating Fact from Fiction in Today’s Sports World" will feature panelists Steve Lavin of ABC-TV and ESPN; Sage Steele, ESPN SportsCenter anchor; Gene Wojciechowski, senior writer for ESPN.com; and Bob Kravitz, sports columnist at the Indianapolis Star and EPSN Radio cohost.

The event is the first for the new center, which is located at the Information and Communications Technology Complex, 535 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis. The panel discussion will be in the first floor auditorium. Visitor parking is at the intersection of West Michigan and Blake streets.

Director Tim Franklin, formerly editor of the Baltimore Sun, joined the IU School of Journalism in January to head the new sports journalism center.

"One of the missions of the new National Sports Journalism Center at IU is to illuminate the major trends and issues in sports in America. And at a center dedicated to the study of sports media, we decided that the first issue we wanted to explore was the state of sports media itself,” Franklin said.

Under Franklin’s leadership, the new center will prepare the next generation of professional sports journalists for a world with a rapidly shifting media landscape, serve as a national resource for the training and continuing education of working professional sports journalists, and provide a forum for discussion on the major issues facing sports and sports media, said Brad Hamm of the IU School of Journalism.

To reach these goals, the center will offer courses in sports journalism, a speaker series, a Web site and will develop partnerships with media companies, sports franchises, leagues and governing bodies and professional organizations within Indiana and across the country.