2008 Woodie Awards
Baumbach Returns to SJU
Joseph Bellear
Issue date: 1/30/08Section: News
In what was supposed to be the first week of his return to St. John's as a journalism professor, SJU alumni Jim Baumbach was already playing hooky to watch a football game. That football game, of course, just happened to be Super Bowl XLII down in Glendale, Ariz.
It is all part of the dual role that Baumbach will play over the coming months: a sports writer for Newsday and a teacher for aspiring journalists here at St. John's.
But Baumbach, who graduated in 2000, has experience at managing his time effectively. Besides going to class, he was also heavily involved with The Torch as sports editor, managing editor and editor-in-chief. He also worked up to 28 hours a week as a part-time high school sports reporter for Newsday. By the time he graduated, he was able to turn that part-time job into a full-time career at the newspaper. Still, he always saw himself stepping back into a classroom again.
"It was something I've always thought of, that sometime down the road in my career I would teach journalism, specifically sports writing," Baumbach said. "But the biggest problem with doing it while working in the field is that a sportswriter's life isn't too consistent from week to week."
Luckily for Baumbach his role as a web columnist for Newsday.com offered the opportunity to teach due to the more flexible hours that the position offered to him. The only question was whether or not St. John's was interested in his services.
"I approached Dr. Wetherington awhile ago, maybe at the end of last summer [about teaching], and fortunately for me, he made it happen," Baumbach said.
But even armed with more flexible hours, Baumbach knew he could still be sent out on traveling assignments that might interfere with his class schedule.
"It doesn't happen often, but there are times when I am called and given an assignment that requires me to leave that day, or the next day," Baumbach said. "The Super Bowl is a good example. I didn't know I would be part of the traveling team of reporters until an hour after the [NFC Championship] game."
It is all part of the dual role that Baumbach will play over the coming months: a sports writer for Newsday and a teacher for aspiring journalists here at St. John's.
But Baumbach, who graduated in 2000, has experience at managing his time effectively. Besides going to class, he was also heavily involved with The Torch as sports editor, managing editor and editor-in-chief. He also worked up to 28 hours a week as a part-time high school sports reporter for Newsday. By the time he graduated, he was able to turn that part-time job into a full-time career at the newspaper. Still, he always saw himself stepping back into a classroom again.
"It was something I've always thought of, that sometime down the road in my career I would teach journalism, specifically sports writing," Baumbach said. "But the biggest problem with doing it while working in the field is that a sportswriter's life isn't too consistent from week to week."
Luckily for Baumbach his role as a web columnist for Newsday.com offered the opportunity to teach due to the more flexible hours that the position offered to him. The only question was whether or not St. John's was interested in his services.
"I approached Dr. Wetherington awhile ago, maybe at the end of last summer [about teaching], and fortunately for me, he made it happen," Baumbach said.
But even armed with more flexible hours, Baumbach knew he could still be sent out on traveling assignments that might interfere with his class schedule.
"It doesn't happen often, but there are times when I am called and given an assignment that requires me to leave that day, or the next day," Baumbach said. "The Super Bowl is a good example. I didn't know I would be part of the traveling team of reporters until an hour after the [NFC Championship] game."
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