“Each game generates about 20 posts,”


Rogers says. “It’s an amazing number to think about. But in the flow of a live event, it’s a lot easier. You definitely ride that adrenaline rush.” Over the course of a year, the workload


is astonishing. And when the games stop, the action doesn’t. Tis past spring meant covering the NFL draſt, scouting combines and rookie minicamps. And in the new, instant online world,


Rogers serves as his own editor. Rarely is his copied checked before it’s published, and he writes his own headlines. He discusses the general direction of coverage with the MLive sports editor, but truly is his own boss. “It’s one of the things I like—the trust,”


Rogers says. “We produce a high level of content without micromanaging it.” What can be lost amid all this online


activity? Source development, Rogers says, calling it the most neglected part of his job. “(Te threshold) of what qualifies for


being published online is so much lower than it used to be,” Rogers says, noting the proliferation of single-source stories. “But you can always update the story later when more information becomes available.” Te best part of the job? For Rogers, it’s


educating the fans. He uses his math and science ability to help fans view the game from a more strategic, numerical and less emotional standpoint. “I really take pride in being the logical


middle man between the hyperbolic extremes of (angry) fans” and the team’s version of events, Rogers says. “I’ve spent a lot of time studying film, and this is the game about which the layman knows the least. If I can share what I learn with my audience, I can bring them along in the journey.” Players and football staff notice Rogers’s


expertise. “I’ve gained a level of respect,” he says.


“Tey don’t always agree with me, but they respect the effort and dedication I put in.”


KATREASE STAFFORD (BA12), NEWS REPORTER, THE DETROIT FREE PRESS


Stafford, a 2012 graduate of Eastern,


is truly a product of the digital age. Aſter working with the Eastern Echo, including a year as editor-in-chief, she got an internship with AnnArbor.com and soon became full-time there. Within a year, she was hired at Te


Detroit Free Press, where she has oſten been tasked with getting older reporters up to speed on digital tools. “I actually had to learn print concepts at the Free Press,” she says, noting editors’ requests to turn in stories to length, such as 15 inches, to fit a newspaper hole. “It goes to show how these days younger journalists are trained differently.” As a news reporter at the Free Press,


Stafford’s job is to pounce on stories as quickly as possible. She closely monitors Twitter, both to check for developments and to get tips, many of them from regular citizens who simply follow news, know the city and oſten even go to crime sites. Her beat is active and driven by


tragedies, such as the recent Kalamazoo shootings by an Uber driver. Her editor called in the middle of the night and she was soon on the huge story – tweeting, doing videos of the scene and posting short voice clips. Unlike some of her peers who work


at smaller outfits, Stafford still has the cushioning element of editors in place at the Freep, which remains Michigan’s largest newspaper. “We have two sets of eyes before a story hits the Web,” Stafford says. “We haven’t felt the brunt (of the downsizing).” Yet despite such oversight, Stafford


revels in the creative freedom online journalists enjoy in controlling their content. “It’s pretty exciting,” she says. “You can create a package any way you want. Tat’s how the business is now, and it’s still evolving.” Amid the technical aspects, Stafford


strives to retain the human element in her reporting. One of her toughest stories at the Free Press, involving a mother who went missing with her two kids, recalled a lesson she had learned from EMU journalism professor Carol Schlagheck. A missing person alert came from the


Though leaned on for her digital skills, Katrease Stafford shines by remembering empathy among tragedy.


26 | SUMMER 2016 | EASTERN MAGAZINE


Detroit Police, but the editors told Stafford to hold off; they oſten receive such alerts. A source called later with news that the mother had been found dead in a house.


PHOTO BY KATE DE FUCCIO


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48