Nate Scott ’05 is currently a writer and digital editor at “For the Win,” a USA Today Sports Media Group. Throughout his career in sports journalism, he has written stories that have garnered enormous amounts of attention from both sports enthusiasts and casual readers alike.
During his four years at Andover, Scott gained an interest in journalism through The Phillipian and spent time in the newsroom as a Features Editor. In the summer after his senior year, he interned as a news writer at the “Eagle Tribune,” a local paper that covers the communities in the Merrimack Valley area of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.
After Andover, Scott attended Tulane University in New Orleans, LA., where he majored in English with a focus on creative writing. In New Orleans, he critiqued music and film while creating his own blog.
Scott’s journalism career resumed when he was recruited by “USA Today” to be a part of “For The Win” in 2013. “That was when I returned to journalism, and I hadn’t done that since I was 19. But I had the background… I had written arts stories, and I had written news stories [for The Phillipian],” said Scott.
As “For The Win” grew, Scott found himself conducting interviews with high-profile athletes such as Steve Nash, David Beckham and Russell Wilson. His favorite articles, however, are the longer stories in which he forged friendships with world-famous athletes.
[One such story](http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/01/bobby-farnham-pittsburgh-penguins-longform) was about Sage Kotsenburg, an Olympic gold medalist snowboarder at the Sochi 2014 games. “Getting to travel with him and to get to know him really well and to write about him was really fun… So that’s been the highlight for me,” said Scott.
Although it was far from his most widely-read story, that article received over 3,000 shares on various social media outlets.
This Wednesday, Scott published another feature story on Bobby Farnham ’08, who had a brief stint in the NHL and is currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguin’s farm league affiliate.
“Getting to spend time with [Farnham] and interview him for hours and going to Pittsburgh to see him play was awesome,” said Scott.
Scott elaborated on what he considered the most significant part of sports journalism. “I don’t think sports mean much unless there are stories that are attached to the players and their personalities… and I think the big leagues know that, as much as they don’t like to deal with the press. I think that’s much more my specialty. I’m not an investigative reporter; I’m much more of a storyteller,” he said.
After acclimating to the sports journalism scene, he has also come to dislike the generally serious mood that surrounds sports articles. “I wish we could have a little more fun sometimes, and I wish that people had a better sense of humor,” he continued.
Scott was also struck by the punitive nature of sports journalism, especially after writing for the Features section of The Phillipian as a student. “That’s something I had to learn. When you’re in the ‘Andover Bubble,’ you can get away with stuff, because it’s contained there. But now, if I write something now, [such as] a joke that’s a little offensive or it doesn’t land right… it means I could lose my job or my career. I miss being able to take those chances,” said Scott.
In the end, however, Scott appreciates all of the opportunities that his career has brought him and is proud of what he and others have been able to build in “For The Win.” He added, “I think it’s fun. It can connect with younger readers… It’s grown and gotten [to be] great.”
