IUPUI Journalism alum Ryan Gregory
Ryan Gregory, B.A.J. ’21, is living his dream, having moved to Madison, Wisc. – home of his beloved Wisconsin Badgers – and reporting on local sports.
“I’ve gone to two [University of Wisconsin-Madison] football games since moving up here and have enjoyed exploring the beautiful city and campus,” he said.
Gregory is the sports editor and the only sports reporter at the nearby Sun Prairie Star and The Waterloo/Marshall Courier.
“This is what I studied for at IUPUI and I’m lucky to be doing what I’m doing,” he said.
We asked Gregory about his post-graduation life:
1. How are you settling into your new job?
“The communities I work with have been so welcoming. The people of Sun Prairie, Waterloo, and Marshall have made me feel right at home which has made transitioning into this job so much easier.”
2. What are your main duties at your job?
“I am responsible for all reporting, writing, and editing of stories about the 12 different fall teams I cover. I spend the majority of my nights in any given week at a sporting event. Once the reporting and writing is done, I also am in charge of laying out the sports pages for the newspaper twice a week for the Star and once a week for the Courier. In short, this means I have some pretty long days. It is a lot of work but it is absolutely worth it.”
3. What do you enjoy most about your job? What challenges have you had, and how have you overcome them?
“I really have enjoyed interacting with the players, coaches, and fans. They all appreciate the coverage I provide for their teams, so everyone is nice and conversational. I’m all alone up here, so I really value that these people do their best to make me feel welcome and appreciated. The most challenging part has been adjusting to the workload. There were days at the beginning where I’d have to work for 12 hours straight because I hadn’t budgeted my time properly. There are still mistakes, but I feel like I am getting far more comfortable with balancing my work schedule and not burning myself out.”
4. What is your favorite story you’ve covered so far?
“My favorite story I’ve written up to this point was one of my first, a feature story about a triathlete that lives in Sun Prairie who represented the United States in the Olympics back in July. He spoke very passionately and made writing the story so easy. I really didn’t have my feet under me yet at that point, but I felt like I absolutely nailed that story. That gave me some much-needed confidence as I adjusted to life as a professional.”
5. What do you hope to accomplish at this job?
“My main goal at this job is to make people look forward to the paper. I know that small, tight-knit communities have such fervor for their local sports teams. I want to provide in-depth, accurate reporting that people not only trust, but can’t wait to read. These people deserve outstanding coverage and I just want to make them, as well as my parents and anyone else that supports me, proud.”