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A media team from the National Sports Journalism Center will cover many of the activities surrounding the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, including community events, Media Day and, for one student, the game itself.

“Right now, the students are generating story ideas to prepare for the week,” said assistant professor Pam Laucella, who also is academic director at the NSJC. “We opened up the slots to students from both IUPUI and Bloomington for the credentials we were able to secure, but we also think other students can cover events for which reporters don’t need credentials.”

Indianapolis is hosting Super Bowl XLVI Feb. 5, but the week leading up to the game is full of events in the downtown area, just a mile from the IUPUI campus, and the NSJC and School of Journalism. Laucella said she worked with the NFL to get credentials, or passes, for the students for Media Day, which is Jan. 31, and Associated Press Sports Editors’ president Michael Anastasi supplied a credential for one student for game day.

“Brian Burnsed, a graduate assistant, will cover the game for Anastasi, who is managing editor at the Salt Lake Tribune,” Laucella said. “Brian came to us from U.S. News and World Report and is an intern at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis. He’ll cover the game alongside a Tribune columnist.” Burnsed also will contribute stories to the NSJC website, which already has featured his work in the last few months.

Others with credentials are Bloomington undergraduates Avi Zaleon, Nathan Brown and Jeremy Smith, and IUPUI graduate students Jason Bailey, Josh Weinfuss and Andrew Crum. They are pitching story ideas to a committee made up of Laucella, Bloomington student media director Ron Johnson and NSJC Web editor Larra Overton. Laucella and Overton will accompany the students to Media Day.

Courtesy photo

Assistant professor Pam Laucella is overseeing students' coverage of Super Bowl Week in Indianapolis. One student will cover the game Feb. 5.

“We’re encouraging other students who don’t have credentials to cover events during the week, and there are many of those,” Laucella said. These events will be in the Super Bowl Village near Lucas Oil Stadium, which opens opens Jan. 27. On the schedule are parades, festivals, performances, exhibits and even a zipline between two tall downtown buildings.

Laucella said she is working with the NFL for additional access after Media Day to enable students to interview officials and organizers, but some stories won’t require anything but reporters’ curiosity and interviewing skills. For example, visitors and tourists, food vendors, local businesses or members of the Indianapolis committee who oversee the Super Bowl “experience” all have stories to tell.

One special event is open to all the students: a town hall-style meeting with veteran broadcaster Bob Costas is set for Thursday evening.

“The whole week offers great opportunities for any of our students as well as exposure for our program,” Laucella said. Student work will be featured on the NSJC website, for example, already one of the most-visited sports journalism websites in the country.

The center has sent students to many Indianapolis events, such as the Indianapolis 500, NCAA men’s and women's basketball Final Fours, and Big Ten football championship game, where they worked as teams to generate stories, video and photos.

“We have so many opportunities in Indianapolis and often are able to include Bloomington students,” Laucella said. “We glad to be able to offer these experiences to all the students.”