Staff Q&As: Meet sports reporter Frank Bodani
To help you get to know our newsroom staff a bit better, a series of question-and-answer posts with each journalist will run on Mondays. This morning, meet sports reporter Frank Bodani. You probably recognize him from all things Penn State: the Nittany Lion blog, his weekly PSU chats, the @YDRPennState Twitter account, and his comprehensive coverage of the Penn State scandal. Or, you might have seen a video on YDR Insider of his late-night cello concert in the YDR conference room.
Name: Frank Bodani
Lives in: Conewago Township, York
Hometown: Glen Rock
Position at the YDR: Sports reporter
Years with the YDR: 7 (20 counting service at York Dispatch)
Graduated from: Susquehannock High, Duquesne University
With a degree in: Communication (print journalism)
Twitter: @YDRPennState
Email: fbodani@ydr.com
1. What made you want to become a journalist? I loved sports … and got good grades in English.
2. How do you see journalism changing? The Internet and social media has made journalism easier, better … and yet more demanding. No real “days off” anymore.
3. What do you like most about your job? Always interesting people to meet and write about. The least? The hours can be tough on family, friends.
4. It’s 9:30 a.m. on a day off. What are you doing? Outside running, spending time with my wife.
5. What’s been your favorite project or story recently? Life-long wild animal rehabbers Barbara Gregory and Terry Mattive. Why? Devoted their lives, and succeeded, at something most could never truly comprehend. Raising lions, tigers and bears??
6. The drink that’s on your desk right now is: Coffee AND bottled water.
7. Your favorite journalism-related blog you read or Twitter feed you follow: N/A
8. What’s your favorite movie? The Shawshank Redemption. Book? Born to Run (favorite of the moment)
9. What’s your favorite place in York County? Anywhere along the Susquehanna River.
10. What’s one piece of newsroom jargon that had to be explained to you? Nut graph [Editor’s note: A nut graph is the short paragraph just below the headline that tells a reader more about the story. It’s also sometimes called a read-out.]
Last week, we ran a Q&A with business / Weekly Record editor Cathy Hirko. To read all of the staff Q&A interviews we’ve done so far, click on the “Staff Q&As” under “About us” at the top of the homepage.