In today’s world, reporters are our gateway to breaking news stories, inside access, and all other news stories as they happen. Those who have the privilege of reporting the news have one of the most interesting jobs one can get.

Those reporters that are always seen on TV are just a small portion of the news world. Reporters such as Brian Williams and Erin Andrews who spend most of their time in front of the camera are considered as ‘Big-Name reporters’ due to their television presence. However, there are many reporters who play big roles for their employers although they are not necessarily in the television spotlight. Many reporters are behind the scenes spending their time in the press box or reserved area for the press as opposed to living in front of the camera.

People tend to wonder that if someone doesn’t spend their time in front of a camera, what is he or she doing to contribute to the news. Reporters go much further than just stating facts in front of a camera, some will even argue that those who write insider articles and such are just as important as those appearing on television.

Roy Cummings is one of those people. Roy is a journalist who has the job of writing stories about sports without appearing on TV all the time. Working for the Tampa Tribune in Florida, he has the privilege of covering sports in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

I had the great privilege of working with Roy for an entire day a couple of years back. I was able to experience first-hand the life of someone who writes for a newspaper on a daily basis. His main assignment for the past few years has been to cover the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As a writer for the Tampa Tribune, Cummings’ job is to follow the team and provide fans with breaking news stories as well as providing interesting stories about the Buccaneers and their players. Not only does his description as a reporter require him to go the extra mile to get insider facts, but it also requires him to have long days at the Tampa Bay facility.

When I met with Cummings, it was just days after a Buccaneer signed a contract extension.hen I asked Roy how he obtained the information so quickly he had told me that he was at the team facility at 4 a.m. the contract was signed.

As a reporter, he is required to follow up on any rumors that may be surfacing and it just so happened that on that specific day there were rumors that that player would sign a contract extension. Due to his prominent presence in the Tampa media outlet, and his experience he was able to follow up on that rumor due to his relationship with the player’s agent.

Although being a reporter is not your usual nine to five job, it requires one to get to the ‘office’ early and get home late. Arriving early in the morning around seven, the usual day begins by checking in and for that specific morning I was presented with my own set of credentials. Immediately after, the doors to the media room are open and in this case at the Tampa Bay facility has a state of the art media room including desks, TV’s, and all necessary resources for a reporter to accomplish what is necessary before the day begins.

One thing that I found particularly interesting was that the first thing any reporter does is check the competing paper that same morning and in this case it was the St. Pete Times.

On that specific day, Cummings was set to follow up on two stories, one of which was set to be the lead sports story in Sunday’s paper that weekend. However, if the story that was supposed to be the lead on Sunday was not able to be completed in time, a backup lead would be necessary.

Going into the day, as any good reporter does, he was prepared and knew exactly what needed to get done on that specific day at work. Things slowed down a bit when practice began and the mass of reporters moved to the bleachers to observe practice.

Being that some reporters have more credibility and respect among other reporters, those reporters who have that credibility tend to know about some things before they even happen.

On that particular day, word had gotten out that an old Buccaneer player would be arriving shortly to practice to speak with the media. Fortunately due to his relationship with the former player, Cummings was able to speak to him completely off the record. Although at work, reporters can still talk to players and coaches as friends rather than everything being in an interview setting.

Practice continued on and as routine the team Public Relations manager asks the reporters who they need to speak with after practice and if they are available or not. What this does is allow the reporters to prepare questions to ask the players.

As practiced came to a close the staff let down the ropes and the field flooded with reporters just as it would after any game. This is arguably the most ‘dangerous’ time to be a reporter with people needed to get questions in to finish their articles for that particular time.

On that particular day we were able to talk with four Buccaneer players asking numerous questions to each player surrounding different aspects of the team. Reporters have to always go that extra mile to obtain the info necessary for them and if that means running to a player just to ask the first question.

Immediately after player interviews, the coach held a press conference which is basically like a free-for-all. A press conference depends on whoever can get their question in first to the coach.

After the press conference the media room fills up with reporters from all media outlets preparing to write their articles needed. Some reporters also are asked to be guests on radio shows and television to talk about the day at practice. If not asked to appear on a show many get to typing and getting their articles done by the set deadline.

A reporter’s most important thing is a deadline day in and day out reporters scramble to accomplish their articles by the deadline presented to them.

All reporters, whether they are breaking news reporters, sports reporters, or any other type of reporter have the same job description and that is to tell the people what is going on. I was lucky enough to see what a reporter does on a daily basis and what stuck with me that day was what Cummings had said to me “Because I love what I do, I have never worked a day in my life.”