UNT professor stresses ‘good content’ for journalism students

By Sarah Mueller / NTNewsNet.com

The day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, University of North Texas professor John Sparks decided to become a journalist. In 1963, Sparks played trumpet in his high school band before the President and First Lady left for Dallas that November day.

The news coverage of the assassination fascinated him. “For the first time I saw John F. Kennedy in living color,” he said. “I was hooked from then on.”

During his busy, award-winning 40 year career, the Fort Worth native has worked in Dallas and New York as an investigative reporter, covering politics, sports and government. As part of a team at WFAA in Dallas, he helped break a scandal centering on secret cash going to football players at Southern Methodist University. His investigation revealed former Texas Governor Bill Clements was involved in the payoffs.

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He’s covered historical events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 2001, as Executive Producer for Political Coverage and Investigations at WNBC-TV, he helped lead the 9-11 coverage. He’s interviewed former U.S. presidents. He’s also won some of the industry’s most prestigious awards, including a George Foster Peabody Award, the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, and an Emmy Award.

“Just the opportunity to meet very interesting people and learn so much about life has been the real reward of being a journalist,” he said.

Sparks jokes about his lifelong connection to Texas. He grew up on the east side of “cow town” and headed to the University of Texas to get his journalism degree. After working in the industry, he earned his Master’s degree from UNT in 1976.

Sparks comes from a long line of native Texans. When he worked in New York, some colleagues weren’t sure about his southern ways.

“They couldn’t believe I was a Yankee’s fan because of my accent,” he said. Another colleague in New York tried to console him when Texas legend actor and entertainer Gene Autry died in 1998. Sparks said he explained that he didn’t actually know the actor, even though they were both from Texas.

Now, he’s at UNT to pass on along his knowledge.

“Because he has such a depth of experience, he’s extremely versatile in what he has to offer to students,” News Department Interim Chair Nann Goplerud said. “We’re really happy to have him.”

Calling much of today’s news “entertainment”, he said he is encouraging his students to search out good content in order to tell meaningful stories.

“I’ve seen our stories get shorter and shorter,” he said. “There’s much less attention paid to government.”

He also said knowing how to shoot and edit video is essential for aspiring journalists. “All of these skills are important no matter which area of journalism one aspires to pursue,” he said.

Sparks also runs his own consulting firm where he shares his expertise in writing, news management and media strategy . In his spare time - what little he has - he enjoys watching baseball and photography.

Currently, Sparks teaches three video shooting and editing classes this semester, along with a beginning broadcast writing class. He’ll start teaching a sports journalism class in the fall.