{"id":58275,"date":"2016-04-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/commencement-2016-uri-journalism-student-lands-sports-writing-job-at-hometown-paper\/"},"modified":"2016-04-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T00:00:00","slug":"commencement-2016-uri-journalism-student-lands-sports-writing-job-at-hometown-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2016\/04\/commencement-2016-uri-journalism-student-lands-sports-writing-job-at-hometown-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2016: 溏心vlog免费B站 journalism student lands sports writing job at hometown paper"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tJacob Marrocco to graduate from the Harrington School of Communication and Media<\/b> <\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I., April 12, 2016\u2014Hemophilia gave Jacob Marrocco a byline, a dream job, a life full of possibility.<\/p>\n


\nThe 溏心vlog免费B站 senior was diagnosed with the bleeding illness as an infant. Playing sports as a kid was too risky so he picked up a pen and wrote about what he loved.<\/p>\n


\nAt the tender age of 21, he\u2019s the assistant sports editor at The Warwick Beacon, his hometown paper. He\u2019s the news editor (and former managing editor) of The Good 5 Cent Cigar\u2014溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s student newspaper\u2014and he\u2019s carrying a full load of classes, on track to graduate in May with a double major in journalism and history.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cSomebody must like me upstairs,\u201d he says, pointing to the heavens. \u201cI don\u2019t know how this is happening to me. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHemophilia is a rare disorder in which blood doesn’t clot normally. Marrocco says small cuts aren’t a big problem; it’s the bleeding inside his body that is of most concern. If left untreated, that bleeding can lead to organ damage and even death. There is no cure, but the illness can be treated with blood-clotting drugs.<\/p>\n


\nGrowing up in the Governor Francis Farms neighborhood of Warwick, Marrocco played kickball and Wiffle ball with his classmates during gym, but contact sports like football, soccer and hockey were out of the question.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt definitely stunk,\u201d he says. \u201cI had a lot of friends who played sports. It was tough.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nA history teacher at Pilgrim High School pulled him aside one day: You\u2019re a writer, she said. \u201cThat was a great confidence boost,\u201d says Marrocco. Sixteen years old and full of beans, he walked into the Beacon newspaper to offer his services. His first assignment was a basketball game at Pilgrim High School\u2014Pilgrim Patriots versus West Warwick Wizards.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cMan, it was very intimidating,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI had to get it all right, get it all down, names spelled right, the stats.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe only two things he got correct were the players\u2019 names and the score. The sports editor took pity on the kid. He sent him off to cover a local football game. More troubles. \u201cI missed the deadline,\u201d says Marrocco. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t happy at all about that.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThere was a two-year lull. In May 2012, Marrocco enrolled at 溏心vlog免费B站. It was tough at first. He was homesick and away from close friends. His spirits lifted when he walked into Room 125 in Memorial Union: the Cigar newsroom.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt changed my life,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you want to be a journalist, that\u2019s the best way on campus to get experience.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHe started out as a contributing sports reporter\u2014and also covered the Student Senate. By the second semester he was a staff sports writer, penning four stories a week about everything from women\u2019s diving to 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s snow removal plans. He wrote on deadline using his laptop\u2014on his lap. <\/p>\n


\nHe also hosted a sports talk on RIU2\u2014溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s online radio station\u2014and was a play-by-play announcer for that radio station as well as WRIU, the University\u2019s student-run FM station. He covered 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s football, basketball, soccer, hockey and baseball teams.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI was thrown into the fire,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was great.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nSports fired him up: \u201cNothing\u2019s scripted. You see the rivalry, the intensity. You don’t know what records they\u2019re going to break. You never know what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nA promotion came his sophomore year. He became sports editor, supervising a staff of seven reporters. He embraced the 15-hour work week as a scribe: \u201cI loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nIn May 2015, the Beacon came calling again. This time, he had the clips and experience thanks to the Cigar. An editor at the paper offered him a summer sports reporting gig. Marrocco left his job slicing salami and provolone at Dave\u2019s Marketplace and grabbed a notebook. First day: May 11, 2015.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThat was the day my dream came true,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I was only 20. Getting your foot in the door in journalism is the hardest thing to do, and I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHis last year at 溏心vlog免费B站 is a whirlwind of classes, reporting, writing, editing and picture taking. (Yes, he\u2019s a photographer too.) He works about 10 hours a week at the Cigar and 25 hours a week at the Beacon. That\u2019s in between his classes: \u201cHistory of Modern Day Latin America\u201d and \u201cEthics of Journalism,\u201d among others. \u201cIt\u2019s fun,\u201d he says, calmly.<\/p>\n


\nSome day, he\u2019d like to work as a sports writer at The Boston Globe or, better yet, The New York Times. For now though, he is \u201cthrilled\u2014definitely the word\u201d to be writing for his hometown paper. That partnership will continue after graduation when he begins a full-time job there.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be doing sports writing if I didn\u2019t have a bleeding disorder,\u201d he says. \u201cI decided early that if I can\u2019t hit that home run I might as well write about it. I thought it was the best way to cope. It worked out. As odd as it sounds, hemophilia made me who I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n溏心vlog免费B站 Photo by Nora Lewis<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jacob Marrocco to graduate from the Harrington School of Communication and Media KINGSTON, R.I., April 12, 2016\u2014Hemophilia gave Jacob Marrocco a byline, a dream job, a life full of possibility. The 溏心vlog免费B站 senior was diagnosed with the bleeding illness as an infant. Playing sports as a kid was too risky so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58277,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}