By: Kylan W. Watson

Bob Costas is a reporter who has seen a lot of gruesome stuff in his career and he wants to share his knowledge with others. The Radio Sports Broadcasting/ Play by Play class at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications was the first class to go through the concussion reporting workshop on Monday evening.

Costas came to Professor Olivia Stomski with an idea to start a class or program for students so they can learn how to report brain injuries in a responsible way.

It was created to leverage the power of the media to educate people on brain injuries.

The Media Project was created in conjunction with the Concussion Legacy Foundation.

Stomski says, “The leaders of the program are her, J.A. Adande, Andrea Kramer and Costas.”

The project was created to give reporters access to the cutting-edge technology that will bring about accurate reporting of concussions to take the small step in changing the culture, because most viewers, athletes, and families have not had formal education on how to identify concussions. Also, to eliminate the words dinged-up and toughening up from the dictionary of sports commentators.

Sam Carter, a student in the Play by Play class said, “I think it’s the next big wave and the future of sports broadcasting. Its kind of already here.”

The Play by Play class is the first of many that will be trained on how to report on concussions. More classes are coming to make sure the next generation of reporters, analysts, and commentators can report on concussions with accuracy and responsibility.