November 9, 2016 – The Friday began no differently than any other day, but with the progression of time the writing staff of the Red & Black was reporting to the library’s second floor in Patchogue-Medford high school at around 9:20 am to attend a conference. The crew sat prepared and excited to gain a new perspective on journalism from a very accomplished source. Dr. Rusielewicz accompanied 1969 Pat-Med graduate John Papanek to the library and introduced him to a crowd of eager writers and reporters to share stories and advice about his career in sports journalism.

Mr. Papanek began his journalistic endeavors in Patchogue-Medford high school using his love of sports as the muse for the stories he would write. Eventually, he received a job working for the Long Island Advance, still in print today, writing about the sports teams at his high school. Later, while preparing for college, he was faced with the choice between Cornell and Michigan State; he would later find himself in the midwest attending Michigan State University. He began his collegiate life wanting to be an engineer but soon discovered their university’s newspaper, and changed his career path. After graduating, Mr. Papanek went on to work for Sports Illustrated, the quintessential sports fan’s dream.

While working for the magazine, he was promoted several times, transforming from a staff writer to the Editor in Chief as well as creating a subsidiary publication called Sports Illustrated for Kids. Now as an adult, he would travel back to his home town to get an understanding of his new audience; the local elementary schools provided the age group of kids 8-12 to enlighten him about their interests.

Already an accomplished writer in print, he saw one thing as inevitable; the digital era. Mr. Papanek realized the potential of this new field and was on the cutting edge as a digital pioneer. While many people in the business were skeptical, Papanek knew it would work saying, “One thing never changes – people want to know.” With the slow transition at Sports Illustrated, Mr. Papanek left there and took a job at ESPN magazine, eventually creating their online platform known as ESPN.com. This transformation from “Gutenberg to Google” as Mr. Papanek put it, is an important part of today’s journalism and he was impressed with the “level of sophistication” at our very own Red & Black. He told the crew to “be passionate and be interested”, which was essentially validated that day as he was living proof  of its success as a mantra.

Upon the end of the presentation, two of the Red & Black’s very own sports writers, Liam James and Tony Salamah had this as a take-away: “I learned what you need to do and how you need to do it”, and “I was given a broader look at the spectrum”. As a result, both writers are more committed than ever to the field.

The conference that began on that Friday morning left an impression on the paper, and upon its completion, Editor in Chief of the Red & Black, Hailey Julian had this to say: “I thought it went very well. It taught me to think deeper about the writing, farther than the surface.” After entering, impressed by the online paper but unsure about what to expect from the day, Mr. Papanek stated “I have a good feeling about the future of the newspaper”.

“I saw journalists and people with this passion. In today’s society we need honest journalists.”  Now the paper will be able to continue on its current trajectory with the support and praise of a well-established legend of the field behind it.

Editor’s note: Photo provided by The Greater Patchogue.