Abbey Mastracco- opinion piece

                                            Abbey Mastracco: A master at appealing to audiences

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Abbey Mastracco is the New York Daily News' 

New York Mets beat reporter.

Professors have warned me about the death of newspapers. When I was little, one of the first things I touched in my grandparents' house was the newspapers, especially the sports section. I loved the feeling of the gray, light paper in my hands, that seemed dull to many my age, but opened a world to me and showed me how each reporter wrote stories differently. 

I gravitated towards the paper. 

I had no issue getting ink on my hands as I squinted at the tiny columns. 

Now, as a junior, I realize how important it is to look at other reporters' work because I have learned how to create my own voice by borrowing numerous techniques. I had the opportunity to look at Abbey Mastracco's work last year for a career project. I had no idea that a conversation with her would put in a new framework for what I wanted to do in the future. 

Mastracco has worn many hats in the sports media industry from talent producing at Fox Sports to being lead NHL columnist and MLB contributor for Bleacher Report, with numerous other jobs in between. She detailed her duty as the New York Mets beat reporter for the New York Daily News where she does pre- and post-game stories along with feature stories. I liked the idea of being a beat reporter because I could enhance multiple writing skills.

Most importantly, I liked the idea of consistency. If I become a beat reporter, I would build strong relationships with the same people every day, allowing me to tell athletes and coaches stories on a much deeper level. I would be able to complete my goal of demonstrating to readers that our idolized figures go through the exact same trials and tribulations as everyone else. Developing connections with these individuals would help me put into words that we really aren't that different after all.

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Mastracco and other reporters 

interviewing Brandon Nimmo.

Aside from Mastracco teaching me about a new career path, I look up to her as a writer. Mastracco does a great job at mixing baseball information and humanistic aspects into her work. This helps her appeal to the die-hard Mets fans or someone who has never watched a game in their life. 

For instance, she takes the story of pitcher Sean Manaea meeting his idol Met's legend Johan Santana. She provides background through the use of description and quotes to show how much Santana means to Manaea. Then, she explains how Santana is a father and is involved in baseball in a different way now that his son is playing. Both anecdotes can easily relate to multiple audiences who aren't baseball fans because everyone has role models and understand how family can alter your perspective on passions you once had. She then sprinkles in analyzation of Santana and Manaeas' pitching skills and Santana's potential involvement with the Mets so fans come back for possible updates on this story. 

The balance between the feature and baseball aspects of her stories put her above the rest because of her ability to provide different audiences with information that leave them satisfied.