MUNCIE — Warsaw native Ryan Sparrow is one of the faculty leading a group of Ball State University students covering the 2012 Olympics in London. About 40 students from eight fields of study have created BSU at the Games, serving as a news agency to create original content for websites, newspapers, radio and television outlets across the U.S. Tentative agreements have already been reached with several national media outlets, including the Tribune Company. Sparrow, a 1990-graduate of Warsaw Community High School, received his bachelor’s degree from Franklin College in 1994 and a master’s degree from Ball State. He is now a journalism instructor at Ball State. Fans of the Olympics can keep track of the students' work through the group's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/bsuatthegames), YouTube channel (YouTube.com/bsuatthegames) and Twitter feed (@bsuatthegames). The students have already produced advance news and feature stories for media outlets, and they already have posted stories on American diver Thomas Finchum, Olympic gold medal gymnast Jaycie Phelps and American wresting hopeful Jarod Trice on their Facebook page. During the games, students will reside at the University of Worcester, about a two-hour train ride northwest of London. Teams of student photographers, reporters, videographers and illustrators will rotate in and out of a flat in London, where they will decide what stories to cover.
