If you’ve read our coverage of Pitt basketball over the past few months, chances are you’ve been reading the work of today’s Local to Know. He’s been interning with The Incline since early February and has been a vital part of our newsletter since then, helping keep our events calendar full of goodness and our sports coverage on point. Meet Justin Stewart, media assistant for this very newsletter!
Hi, Justin! Now that you’ve been working behind the scenes for a month, tell our readers a bit about yourself and the work you’ve been doing for The Incline.
Hello, my name is Justin Stewart. I am currently a senior journalism major at Point Park University. In my spare time, I am involved with a sports podcast, host a talk show on the campus radio station, and like to make YouTube videos. As it relates to The Incline, I am serving as the media intern, assisting with putting items in the newsletter such as news stories and events happening around the Pittsburgh region.
What are some of the most important things you’ve learned or valuable experiences you’ve had at Point Park?
That is a tough question. The biggest thing I have learned at Point Park is that journalism professors don’t mess around when there are deadlines for work. I speak for a lot of people when I say this: don’t wait until the last minute to get things done, especially in this field of work. I remember not having the greatest start grade-wise my freshman year. A lot of that was attributed to not getting things done in a timely fashion and not getting the help I needed at the time. That leads me to my second piece of valuable information: do practice reps and get involved with campus activities to get better at your craft.
You’re deeply interested in sports — how have you combined this interest with your studies? Do you hope to work in sports journalism after graduating?
Yes and yes. Last year, I took a sports podcasting class that served as a framework on how to get a podcast up and running. Shortly after that, I began the sports podcast that I currently co-host and haven’t looked back since. I never want to be one-dimensional with anything, but some of my articles and pieces written up for classes have been sports related. I honestly think that is where some of my best work lies. My passion for sports runs so deep that it would be too long to explain how I got into it. What I will say is that while working in sports journalism is most definitely the goal, it is not the end-all be-all. There are several avenues in the journalism field that I think I might be interested in, but I haven’t taken the time to sort it all out yet.Â
What’s your most controversial Pittsburgh sports opinion?
This one is easy. I think that the Pittsburgh Penguins should blow it up and begin the rebuild sooner rather than later. As we’ve seen with another team in town, long rebuilds are no fun, but do you know what else isn’t fun? Not being good enough to win a Cup and not being bad enough to acquire a lottery draft pick. I would trade Evgeni Malkin and even see what you can get for Kris Letang. I think the sooner that everyone in the organization realizes this, the better.  Â
Tell us about your best live Pittsburgh sports experience and one you hope to have in the future.
As far as a singular moment, it would probably be getting Andrew McCutchen’s autograph back in 2012. Growing up, he was my favorite player to watch and really was the face of those Pirates playoff teams. The Pirates had a handful of good players this century, but kids like myself hadn’t seen someone as talented as McCutchen. As far as experiences in general, going to those ballgames when they would routinely sell out was an experience unparalleled to going to a Steelers or Penguins game. I hope someday that I will be afforded the opportunity to go to a playoff game at PNC Park.
You can follow Justin on Twitter @j_stew55, Instagram @justin_stewart_5, YouTube (Sports Productions) and check out his sports podcast here.
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Know of a person or organization that we ought to feature? Email us at hello@theincline.com with your suggestion, and you could see their name in an upcoming newsletter!