Chris Zajac

I am a sophomore in the Media School.



Projects by Chris Zajac

News Story

NIL: A Concept Overshadowing the Life of College Athletes

By Ava DeSena, Peyton Giesler and Chris Zajac

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Nov. 5, 2024)- As humans, we often try to differentiate between selfless and selfish. This concept daunts people as they always attempt to be their best selves. Being selfless in most situations is morally the correct path, but when does life call for us to be selfish? Is it always okay? Is it never okay? Does being selfish overshadow others?

NIL was passed by the Supreme Court in 2021, allowing college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness. Since then, the public has seen a plethora of college athletes emerge from the field or court and onto our screens; between social media, commercials and brand deals the opportunities for these athletes are endless. Dr. Galen Clavio, a Professor of Sports Media and the Director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University said, “rights to publicity is a right that everyone has.” But does that mean all college athletes gain the same or a fraction of the opportunities? 

College freshman and D1 athlete, Lucy Mineo competes in a lacrosse game at Marquette University. Mineo protects the ball from her opponent and looks for a opening to make a shot.

College freshman Lucy Mineo from a small town in New Jersey decided to commit to Marquette University, continuing her lacrosse career as Midfielder for a D1 athletic program. “NIL did not play a role in my decision process because I feel lacrosse lacks NIL deals, especially women’s lacrosse,” she said. About 34% of women sports athletes are paid through college NIL deals according to www.bestcolleges.com, splitting that scarce percentage to over 20 official women’s college sports teams makes you realize how little women’s opportunities can become.

For Mineo, her decision was more based on the “school, the facilities, coaching staff and the people who go to the school.” As Mineo comes from a legacy of D1 athletes within her family she has seen and developed her opinions of the difference between college athletes before and after NIL. NIL has definitely taken over the world of college sports. NIL has created ideals and an atmosphere where it’s not that you love the game, it’s more of, okay you’re good at it so we [the brands] are rewarding you with something not you rewarding yourself with self-enjoyment for the game.” Mineo explains how NIL can overshadow the joy and camaraderie once felt by college athletes. This change creates an environment where sport feels more transactional instead of focusing on the essence of sports.

Dr Galen Clavio, a Professor of Sports Media and the Director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University conducts a press conference in Professor Stephen Layton’s C250 Story Lab classroom. Calvio uses his knowledge on NIL to share information and his opinions on the subject, while answering students questions.

Prior to NIL, athletes in the power four conferences such as the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference already had a platform to gain attention on their name. Clavio provided his input on how NIL has affected the athletics department. “Indiana has an athletic budget of 135-140 million dollars,” said Clavio. “The Big 10 school will be pulling in 100 million dollars from [TV deal] revenue shares.” How the money is divided is up to the school’s discretion and how the athletics department will see it best fit. Indiana has newfound success in a sport they have the most losses among power four schools in, football. Dr. Cavio explained the impact of NIL on Indiana Football’s success. “IU football is going to sell out potentially 4 games this year, that’s not because they have popular players,” said Clavio. “It’s because they are winning and have good players.” NIL is making a direct impact on the success of Indiana University sports.

Jaylen McClain, college freshman at Ohio State University plays in a football game against Nebraska at Ohio Stadium. McClain tackles his opponent, causing him to lose possession of the ball.

NIL has provided various opportunities for many different athletes across the country. Ohio State University’s football Safety, Jaylen McClain shared the impact NIL made on his commitment decision and his life thus far as a college freshman. “[NIL] did play a factor into my decision, but it wasn’t the main thing I was worried about in my recruitment,” said McClain. Schools such as Ohio State University can gain and maintain large-scale NIL deals for their athletes, with benefits many other schools don’t have the resources for. “I get the luxury of having certain things that other people wouldn’t as a college student,” said McClain. “I am able to have my own car and apartment so I am able to pay the rent for it, pay for gas on a consistent basis and in the future.” Such amazing opportunities could make people grateful, but also it could be a crack, where selfishness could seep in. “You can just tell between people from different schools and how people would rather go to a school for the money, or would rather just do things for the money rather than for themselves and their development. You can just tell certain people are thinking, “I’m trying to get paid rather than I’m trying to get better,” McClain said.

Mineo and McClain are in different positions in their college careers, but they can agree on one important idea: NIL is beginning to overshadow the revolving world of college sports. “Rights to publicity is a right that everyone has,” said Clavio, but it is essential that college athletes along with grasping well-earned opportunities of gaining profit and exposure do not lose sight of how they got there and who helped them along the way. The desire to be great, to excel in one’s game and to contribute to a team should be the driving cause of an athlete’s college career, not the amount of attention or money. 

https://youtu.be/XKEabqmMIMA

Justin Molander, Magnuson Larslott and Michael Drebes, students at Indiana University were interviewed on the impact of NIL. Their responses show their support of NIL’s impact on the success of Indiana University athletics. 

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Public Relations Story

Apple unveils its newest tech line, the Apple Watch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Apple unveils its newest tech line, the Apple Watch

 Media Contacts
Hank Giles
Spencer Meyer
Chris Zajac

Cupertino, California– On Sunday, Tim Cook of Apple unveiled the company’s newest product, the Apple Watch, marking a new era in watch technology with the first ever precise and customizable timepiece. The Apple Watch is synched with the world clock to within plus or minus 50 milliseconds, making it the most precise watch in the world. It also works conjointly with the iPhone allowing users to have the most customizable and personalized experience. It has features allowing for new ways to interact such as smart reply, dictation and digital touch.

The apple Watch is available in 3 different collections: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition. The Apple Watch comes with a polished case made from stainless steel. The Sport comes with an aluminum case that is lighter, more durable, and 60% stronger than the standard. The Edition is made from 18 karate gold that has been developed to be twice as hard as standard gold. There are 6 different bands that can be attached to these watches depending on what you desire. These bands range from leather to linked, clasp to magnet, and a variety of colors. The customization is endless, “embracing individuality and inspiring desire” as Cook put it.

Alt: Woman writes on a white board while getting a text on Apple Watch.
Dani Meersman, the Indiana Athletics Photographer, writes on the whiteboard addressing her team. She is able to monitor her text thread in real time because of the capabilities of her Apple Watch.

Connect and Communicate

The center piece of the Apple Watch is its digital crown. This crown is located on the side of the watch and is used to control the entire watch. You can use it as a navigation tool when scrolling through your apps or to zoom in on things like photos or maps. And when you’re done with everything or need to go back it serves as a home button as well.

The Apple Watch will alert you when you receive notifications by giving a slight buzz feeling on your wrist that is completely silent to everyone around you. The watch then turns on by censoring your wrist moving upward.

The Apple Watch has never seen features for communicating like Smart reply which analyzes the text you received and gives you possible responses you may want to reply with. And if you don’t like those responses Apple watch has a dictation ability. Allowing you to talk your response into a voice memo or a text. These innovations allow for users to connect and share in seconds.

Young woman using camera gets a call on Apple Watch.
Kate Peterson, an intern at the Mark Cuban Center, gets a call while photographing a swimmer. Due to the Apple Watch’s touchscreen technology, she doesn’t need to take out her phone to decline the call.

Personalization

Apple Watch allows users to have the most personalized and customizable experience ever. It offers customizable watch faces to not only pick what the background of the screen looks like but also what information shows up on the screen. You can select where apps show up and what the apps look like when you select them, like what music plays and what photos can be seen. The Watchkit app was designed to allow users to customize their notifications. Users can select what apps they do and don’t receive notifications from and what they look like.

One of the Apple Watch’s most personal features is the digital touch feature. This feature puts you in touch with other Apple Watch users in a matter of seconds. You can send them drawings, words or information directly from your watch. By hitting the button just below the digital crown your friends in your contacts will show up. You then can select one and send them whatever it is you would like. This innovation allows for a new kind of human interaction through technology that nothing else can give.

Health and Fitness

The Apple Watch, as described by Cook, “is an elite health and fitness tracker.” It can track your total body movement using an accelerometer, your intensity of a workout by measuring your heart rate, and it uses a GPS to track how far you’ve moved. Apple has developed two new apps that specifically help with health and fitness: the Fitness app and Workout app. These apps were designed for everyone, whether you are a health guru, just trying to get in shape or a superstar athlete.

The fitness app is built to track your daily activity. It uses 3 measurements to help you stay active; stand, move and exercise. The goal of this is to get users to sit less, move more and get exercise. The move ring will measure the calories that you have burned and is customized to you depending on how many calories you want to burn a day. The exercise ring captures all the activity that you have done.

The workout app gives users a detailed measurement of their workouts. It allows users to select specific workouts and customize them to their goals. You can set a time limit, a number of calories, or distance. The app will also give you updates during your workout of how you are doing. And when you finish you can see a summary and earned rewards for your achievements.

Tim Cook highlights the fitness feature on the Apple Watch during the Macworld Expo.  Cook states that all activity and movement are tracked through the watch.

Tim Cook talks about the accessibility of the Apple Watch at the Macworld Expo.  Says the Apple Watch is the ‘most personal’ device Apple has created.

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