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Zac's Duquesne Basketball Coverage

Hello my name is Zachary Weiss and I am looking for support with my DYSTNow.com Duquesne basketball coverage this year which is the purpose of this campaign.

It is easy to understand why times are tough and that it is tough to pay much if at all to support or sponsor any endeavor.

I certainly understand this but would be appreciative of your help with my coverage.

For those who are not as familiar with my work, I have been a journalist for 10 years. Among the accomplishments achieved to date are two seasons as a credentialed Pittsburgh Pirates media member, have covered The Memorial Tournament, a PGA TOUR staple, for five years and I have covered Pitt athletics for a good portion of my career.

This is my third full season covering Duquesne athletics, though I had been credentialed prior to this by Duquesne on a handful of occasions.

I was the only reporter there when the Duquesne men’s basketball team returned to campus from the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a highly publicized story which I captured with significant detail. Additionally, I have not missed an Atlantic 10 Championship game in either men’s or women’s basketball the past two years and flew to Connecticut to cover the Duquesne women’s basketball team in 2016 at the NCAA Tournament.

For those unfamiliar with my writing style, I consistently keep an active scorebook in basketball and offer details rarely found in other recaps. My feature content is unique and that certainly holds true on the Duquesne beat as well.

I have built great working relationships with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs, the former of which is admirable since there was a coaching change. I also have the respect of the student-athletes, coaches and athletic administrators alike.

That being said, as a reporter I try to have my finger on the pulse with each team I cover. If a team wins, you will have an understanding as to why and the same holds true with a loss. You the fan, deserve my best with each article and do not deserve a token recap with just point totals, maybe a quote and a couple of paragraphs. The point of my pieces whether they are a recap, feature or something between, are to challenge you the reader while also encouraging conversation. I try to mix my stuff up, because predictable is boring, while also keeping the integrity of my work intact. It is my belief that anyone can write a couple of paragraphs but that you the reader, deserve more.

I am not afraid to ask the questions both myself and my audience want to know, while presenting it as such in my articles.

Additionally, I realize there is a line and while my work has many facets to it, I ensure my relationships and contacts are maintained.

No reporter has been on campus as much as myself in the past two years, and it is because of a dedication to covering my beat and providing as much copy to you the reader as possible. I believe the consistent copy I have written has helped fans have a better understanding of each team on campus, not just basketball.

This season, I have already massively increased my coverage compared to the past two years in all fall sports. I also would like to do more than what has been done these past two seasons and this is where I need your help.

In addition to my recaps, I also have been taking pictures for all sports I have covered thus far and these professional images compliment my recaps and also stored for future use.

I intend on increasing my coverage, presence and also using my photos to help better compliment the written words.

It would be safe to expect media coverage from both men’s and women’s media day, the regular season, Atlantic 10 Championship games and any potential additional postseason games. Additionally I will be covering the second and third round NCAA Tournament games as PPG Paints Arena will once again be one of the hosts come March.

That being said, I believe some of what has added integrity to my work is my willingness to travel to cover both basketball teams home and road.

By no means do I plan on attending all of the road games, that would be a very tough expectation, however if this campaign exceeds the target goal, then I will only add to the road coverage I plan on doing.

This year there are two bigger non-conference road trips which coincide during the same time frame. On the men’s end, they will be participating in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic on Dec. 22-23. This would require a flight to get to but these are the lone true road games the team will go on. Pardon the terrible pun, but covering this tournament would be no gamble. It would allow for a closer look at a young team trying to come together one last time before conference play begins.

On the women’s end, it will be playing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada Dec. 22 against traditional powerhouse UConn. There are Duquesne players that hail from Canada and it is well-documented how many Dukes players are from outside of the United States. This is a big game for Duquesne not just because of the opponent but because it is a chance for some to come home and play in a sold out gym.

There will be an additional non-conference road game or two that I certainly would try to cover on the women’s side as well.

I also do plan on going to some Atlantic 10 conference play road games as well and as previously mentioned will cover both A-10 Championships in addition to the NCAA Tournament second and third rounds in Pittsburgh.

The target goal for this campaign will be placed at $5,000. Would it be nice to reach this level? Absolutely and it may be a reach, but I will be pleased with each donation made as it would mean a whole lot to me as I try to do the most I possibly can for those who have read and supported my coverage over the years.

To those who are willing and able to support, and believe me even if it’s $20 here or $50 there, it would certainly be appreciated as this will help me take what is consistently reliable Duquesne basketball content which both challenges and attracts readers to the next level.

Please know that any donation will be 100% used for my coverage this season, so there is no hiding where this money is going. No tricks, no reallocation of the funds.

Also know that GoFundMe will not charge you anything additional from the donation. Other sites have done this, but the reason why I chose GoFundMe is because it is donor friendly, so you know exactly where your money is going and that there will not be any surprises later.

The funds will be used starting later in this month for Atlantic 10 Media Days and throughout the season, which culminates with the NCAA Tournament.

If you are interested in making a donation but do not want your name publicly shown to others, then you may make an anonymous donation. I will appreciate it all the same and your identity will be hidden from others who visit this campaign.

As an extra incentive to those who can donate larger amounts, there are various rewards that will be part of this campaign. These rewards vary by donation amount and are another way to express my appreciation for your generous support. 

For some, the different level rewards may prove too much right now and I completely understand, but as stated above any amount you would feel comfortable donating would be sincerely appreciated.

This campaign is not targeted at one particular person but rather the Duquesne community whether that is friends, fans, family or businesses.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will personally reply to you as soon as possible.

Also, I invite you to read all of the Duquesne work I have done with DYSTNow.com at this link. http://dystnow.com/author/zacweiss/

I also would ask that you please forward this campaign to both individuals and businesses that may be interested in supporting with a donation.

I am not asking for a subscription, (DYSTNow.com is free. no subscripton needed) but rather a donation that goes towards reporting that you care about.

This is a campaign that benefits all who donate as additional coverage will be given in an area which is certainly deserving of it.

Thank you so much and I appreciate your consideration of this campaign. Hopefully you will support this mission so I can better provide you with consistent and quality Duquesne basketball coverage while continuing to make my articles the most consistently reliable in the city.

Thank you once again,
Zac
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  • Anonymous
    • $10 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Zac Weiss
Organizer
Pittsburgh, PA

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