Student reporters partner with CNN

This story was updated 3/20/07 to correct a non-material fact. Questions may be directed to editor@bcheights.com.

In a race to stay fresh and preempt amateur competition on the Internet, CNN has recently partnered with ThePalestra.com, a young media outlet staffed by college students all over the country who cover everything from world news to residence halls in an MTV-inspired bit called "College Town Cribs."

The Palestra's reporter here at Boston College is Alex Diamond, A&S '09.

Diamond, who concentrates on Eagles sports and whose pay depends on the number of weekly reports he files, described the gig as "bridging the gap between the person interested in broadcasting and the fan."

The Palestra has based its success on grassroots reporting that targets students' tastes in music, fashion, food, news, weather, and, of course, sports.

"Most of the reporters are focused on sports, but you're definitely able to do whatever you want," said Diamond. "They [The Palestra] hand you a camera, microphone, and tripod, and then just say, 'Be creative and go to work.'"

Although the Web site has general interest pieces like "Eat Ice Cream, Fit in Jeans" and fashion pieces like "SnUGGly Boots," the Web site's journalistic freedom culls young, proactive reporters from around the country who then create and pursue stories with a candid, local perspective.

TV stations and traditional newspapers have clamored for this type of innovative, immediate reporting since the advent of the Internet, so CNN didn't hesitate to seize a bit of the future by partnering with the Web site last January.

"It's kind of like a surreal feeling that you're actually part of something like this," said Diamond. "By having the name CNN attached [to the Web site], there are rewards," he said, referring to exceptional reports that air on "Headline News" and appear on CNN.com, where one can also find local music acts under ThePalestra.com-inspired "Gig Guide."

Before CNN catapulted the Web site into stardom - it has been featured on Poynter.com, the American media's pulse-monitor - and before Diamond was filing six to seven reports a week, Jonathan Phelps, A&S '07, welcomed The Palestra to BC.

As the sports director at WZBC, BC's radio station, Phelps received an e-mail last year from the then-nascent online operation seeking college students who reported sports. "They were looking for somebody who did sports broadcasting on campus and who would be interested in being paid for it, basically," said Phelps.

"They" is a group of about a dozen young editors, directors, and managers who used to be sports broadcasters and reporters, philanthropists, and businessmen, and music-savvy professionals. Aside from them, an academic board comprised of professors from various colleges "[monitors] all aspects of the company's content and [helps] ensure The Palestra is consistent with traditional media standards," according to the Web site.

Tom Orr, associate managing editor of The Palestra, sent Phelps that first e-mail. As a 2000 graduate of Ohio State University, Orr symbolizes the Web site's youth and worked as a sports producer for NBC in Columbus, Oh., where The Palestra is based.

Phelps said he immediately responded to Orr's e-mail, and "a few days later I was on a plane out to Columbus." After he arrived, Phelps said Orr took him under his wings and explained the novel Web site, which derives its name from the place where ancient Greek athletes used to train.

Since Phelps was already on the radio doing play-by-plays for hockey games and women's basketball, he decided a commitment to The Palestra "would only be a matter of staying afterward and doing stand-ups for camera."

"I had just gotten back from being abroad and was looking to get back into sports broadcasting," said Phelps, referring to his trip to St. Sebastian, Spain. "This really got me back into it."

A few weeks after signing on, Phelps found himself down in Jacksonville, Fla., for the ACC media conferences, where he took advantage of his newfangled position to ask Clemson head football coach Tommy Bowden a question.

"I raise my hand and [Bowden] calls on me, so I ask, 'What do you think about playing BC this year?'" said Phelps, smiling as he recalled the event. "I guess I have this northeast accent - everyone in the room looks over - and then in this southern accent, Bowden asks, 'Boy, you ain't from around here, are you? You don't know what real barbeque is, do you?'"

Despite the experience, Phelps said he wants to pursue play-by-play announcing, so he decided to pass the reins on to somebody at WZBC.

"I owed it to people in Columbus to find someone committed to doing it," said Phelps. "Alex was somebody I had just met this year, but he was really in to it. He was the guy who was willing to put the work in."