Alumni News

Meet Jim Owczarski ’02, who earlier this year took over as beat reporter covering the National Basketball Association’s Milwaukee Bucks for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

A North Central College journalism major, Owczarski is no stranger to covering high-profile sporting events. This year was especially exciting but also challenging with COVID-19 restrictions in place.

The Bucks won the NBA championship in your first year on their beat. Have you ever experienced anything like that?

I’ve been a bit fortunate since becoming a full-time beat writer in 2015 at The Cincinnati Enquirer. I’ve covered a Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the Cincinnati Bengals’ best season in nearly 30 years, a Packers NFC Championship run and now this. You can find great stories everywhere, but let’s be honest–when the teams are successful then everyone is happy, the readership is engaged, the fan base expands and everybody wins.

As a journalist you need to be objective, but how can you avoid getting swept up in all the excitement of having a front-row seat to a major championship event?

This is an interesting question because THIS year, it was very easy to be dispassionate and disconnected because quite literally, we were. The Bucks were the only NBA team (that didn’t let) their local media into the arena to cover games. There were no fans in the arenas until the spring. So while, yes, the playoffs and the finals run had full capacity–we still couldn’t get into the locker room. I never actually “met” anyone this year. You do FEEL the electricity of the wins and losses from the crowds in the playoffs and we were fortunate enough to have in-person press conferences in the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals. But there was still a manufactured distance. So it was definitely fun, but no doubt it wasn’t the same as covering a championship team in a normal year.

What’s your favorite part of the job?

The favorite part is always the storytelling. Always has been, always will be. Within that, I really enjoy the writing process—taking chances (shout out to all my editors who let me) and pushing myself to be better than the last time I wrote.

Journalists and journalism sometimes get a bad rap. How do you counter that and ensure that you are able to get what you need from key players and personnel?

It’s about who you are as a person. Yes, you hear a lot about “the media” but in reality that’s a broad catch—all for what isn’t actually journalism. Still, you do have to combat that and the only way to do that is to be authentic and honest, always. It doesn’t matter if an athlete is super famous or not—they will find out quickly what you’re about by the way you interact with them, and also with their teammates, staff, coaches, etc. And of course by how and what you write.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks over Suns forward Frank Kaminsky during the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the NBA Finals. MIKE DE SISTI/MILWAUKEEJOURNAL SENTINEL

Giannis Antetokounmpo holds his NBA Finals MVP trophy as Khris Middleton holds the Larry O’Brien NBA championship trophy after the Bucks’ victory. MIKE DE SISTI/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

What's it like to cover the hometown team competing in such a massive national/global sport?

It’s easy to forget these sports are indeed global when you’re hunkered down doing the day-to-day. But we get reminders here and there, especially when Greek fans turn out for the Antetokounmpo (brothers) or you see players competing for their home countries in international competition. I’m not sure how far our stories reach, being in English, but I do remember on the Packers beat we would get pings from all over the globe. I covered a Bengals game at Wembley Stadium (in London), and it was sold out with people wearing NFL jerseys from every team.

Do any particular highlights stand out from this past season covering the Bucks?

Oh man, there are literally too many to list here because despite the restrictions on access and being physically separated, we did some really good work covering the team at The Journal Sentinel. The three Antetokounmpo brothers sharing a court for the first time in Los Angeles (is a highlight) and of course, being in the building for the Game 6 championship. That could be a once-in-a-career type of moment that I definitely will savor.