Katie Stein



Projects by Katie Stein

News Story

NIL: Beneficial or Detrimental

Writers: Ryan Raimondo, Bailey Hawkesby-Mullins, Katie Stein

Ever since the NCAA had given the privilege of letting college athletes make money based on their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), athletes have had the blessing to have some money in their pocket. College athletes have been able to make thousands, even millions of dollars through NIL. But it also has driven athletes to now only look at universities for the money and popularity, distracting them from the importance of loyalty. Athletes also are driving more brand deals in, due to the sport they play, which questions the fairness of NIL. This raises the big question “Is NIL beneficial or detrimental to college athletics?”

In June 2021, The NCAA finally allowed student athletes to benefit financially from NIL, without fear of losing their eligibility and it remains consistent with state laws. NIL has now flooded the internet, with athletes signing wild brand deals from companies like Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and many others. NIL has been able to compensate athletes for all of the hard work they put into balancing both school work and sports, because of all of the sacrifices athletes make. Sacrifices include learning and academic resources, social life, physical and mental toll and others like career limitation and missed opportunities. 

An occurring conflict has taken over the NIL scene by constantly questioning whether the NIL is fair across all sports. Often we see athletes, specifically male athletes, being a part of the football and basketball program. Those athletes become more recognizable leaving other sports and athletes without the opportunity to become involved in NIL. However, by using athletes as a part of such programs. Those athletes often attract more lucrative deals among companies as opposed to lesser seen sports such as soccer, track and field, field hockey, and many more. 

Mary Kate Sullivan, outside defender for the IU Women’s Soccer team, shares her side of the NIL and explains how it has benefited her. Photo courtesy to Bailey Hawkesby-Mullins

Women’s soccer player, Mary Kate Sullivan, explains her side on NIL. Mary Kate, involved in NIL, has been able to build connections and use her deals to expand her network. She explains that NIL has been incredibly beneficial to not only herself, but to other athletes. She says “NIL has opened doors for many opportunities”, and goes into detail by emphasizing all of the time and effort athletes put into their sports. Thus leaving little to no time to herself which can put a strain on her physical and mental well being. Mary Kate then goes into saying, “it is definitely beneficial especially for the work athletes put into their sports and they can benefit off of their name”. Mary Kate says that she is being compensated for her strengths by balancing both school and sports, and NIL helps athletes as they are dedicating most, if not, all of athlete’s time to their sports. 

 

IU star freshman track runner, Dezmone Starks, has many NIL deals. Starks runs the 100 meter, 200 meter and 4×400 relay for the IU track and field team. Photo courtesy to Ryan Raimondo.

Indiana University track sprinter, Dezmone Starks, also had a lot to say about NIL. Dezmone has received many NIL deals from companies like Liquid IV, Amazon Music and Postgame. Starks says, “For me as a student athlete, I run short on money, so when I promote a business, I’m able to get money in my pocket.” Athletes use NIL to provide them wealth as most college kids need a way to make money. He believes no matter the amount to get offered from a brand, it still promotes the athlete and gives them some money that they can use in the future. As a track athlete, Starks doesn’t get the benefits of big brand deals like football and basketball players do, but he understands that football and basketball somewhat “run” universities in a way since they make the most ticket sales, revenue, and popularity on a college campus. Even though he could see NIL turning into a problem in the future, he says “I see more on the beneficial side because money is money and that’s what college athletes want.” Looks like Starks is running on the track and running up his brand deals to collect revenue. 

Dr. Clavio gives a “press conference” to IU Story Lab class. Dr. Clavio is a professor for the Media school at Indiana University Bloomington. Photo Courtesy to Emma Pearce

Lastly, Galen Clavio, the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, professor, and Director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University, spoke at a press conference held by Professor Steve Layton during a class lecture. Clavio was able to share his knowledge and perspective on NIL while addressing the history, current policies, and where it is headed in the future. Clavio began by mentioning the changes that NIL has brought to college athletes and said “This is not a case of new rights being granted to college athletes, it is instead, the removal of restrictions that were being imposed by college athletic departments upon College athletes”. This emphasizes the remake of NIL and how recent alterations have opened up new opportunities that can be beneficial for college athletes. However, Clavio then further explained that NIL can also be detrimental to college athletes. Furthermore, he went in depth on how NIL is not always fair to everyone and said ”Whether we want to acknowledge it, the market value of a men’s golf team member is generally going to be significantly less at the college level than it would be for a comparable basketball player or football player. This is simply because of the sheer amount of money through television contracts, ticket sales, and other items that come through basketball and football that don’t come through golf”. This scenario Clavio provided is a prime example of some of the drawbacks to NIL. Not all athletes have the same opportunities to receive NIL deals or payments due to the different circumstances that come with each sport or the level of popularity between each individual athlete. Overall, NIL can be both a positive and negative experience for college athletes and many factors contribute to what an athlete can get out of it.

College Athletes, popular or not, still seek NIL deals that not only make them money, but also gives them the recognition that they deserve and the NCAA is still making changes to make sure that NIL is beneficial and fair to all college athletes. 

https://youtu.be/Xt-mYP4zpPA

Even though most college athletes think that NIL is beneficial, the rest of the world may not feel the same way.

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Public Relations Story

Apple Announces The Release Of Impressive New Product: The Apple Watch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts
Sofie Yurewicz
Katie Stein
Alison Brown

CUPERTINO, California (Sept. 9, 2014) — On Tuesday, September 9th, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the release of the brand new Apple Watch. The product is the first of its kind and will be available to users later this year. Tim Cook’s introduction of the new product left the audience speechless as they gave him a standing ovation.

Cook was thrilled to share the innovative watch in front of hundreds of Apple users- he could barely hold in his enthusiasm considering his proud laugh and fist pumps. Apple’s new development is very customizable to the user, allowing them to track workouts, quickly communicate from the device, and use third-party apps with their innovative features. The three versions of the watch will allow the customer to choose the perfect fit for them. 

Man using his Apple Watch to track his workout on the bike.
A pedestrian uses the Apple Watch to track their workouts. The activity tracker is one of the most notable functions of the new watch and will allow people to record their physical progress.

 One of the most prominent facets of the new product is the fitness and workout component. These two features help watch wearers track their workouts in addition to customizing specific personalized goals.  The watch contains sensors that are activated with the movement of the user’s wrist.

During the Apple Watch introduction, a video was shown featuring Jay Blahnik in which he said, “It can track a wider variety of activities because it’s able to collect more types of data. It uses an accelerometer to measure your total body movement. It has a custom sensor that can measure intensity by tracking your heart rate, and it uses the GPS and WiFi in your iPhone to track how far you’ve moved.”  In addition, the watch can measure total burned calories, how long users have stood up, and all physical activity users have completed.  Blahnik then said, “Over time, Apple Watch actually gets to know you the way a good personal trainer would. It’s designed to deliver intelligent reminders to keep you motivated and on track. And it can suggest goals that are personal, realistic, and most importantly, achievable, which gives you a far better chance of succeeding.”  The Apple Watch is both intimate and unique allowing users to use new, innovative software that promotes fitness and a healthy lifestyle like never before.  The watch has several unprecedented features that can benefit watch users day to day life as well as having impressive accuracy and efficient communication.

Student displays her apple watch while completing her homework.
A student wears her Apple Watch while studying to keep track of time and communicate with peers. Apple Watch users are able to receive and respond to text messages from their watch, allowing them to communicate with people from anywhere at any time.

The watch has multiple attributes that give users the ability to contact others in countless ways in a matter of seconds.  “You can get someone’s attention with a gentle tap.” Tim Cook said, “You can send a quick sketch, or you can even share something as personal as your own heartbeat.”  The Apple Watch is helpful for fast and efficient communication as well as quick interactions on apps.

The watch also notifies users when they receive a notification by making a small vibration that they can feel on their wrist.   The watch contains extra functions that make the device easy to use and navigate considering its small size.  With a multi-purpose crown for zooming and scrolling, a taptic engine with audio and speakers, and infrared LEDs that work alongside the digital crown and engine, the watch can be reactive and responsive for direct and precise transmission.  With these features, watch wearers can call contacts from their watch, send messages, and share emojis and expressions with friends right from their wrist.  The product is unique with ingenious capabilities. “It is so simple and elegant. It’s something only Apple could do.” said Cook.  Users are able to improve their lifestyle and benefit from the watch using methods never seen before.

Lastly, the watch can directly work with third-party apps to enhance the product’s features for users.  With the invention of Watchkit, third-party developers can create additional ways in which users can profit from the product.  During the demonstration of the Apple Watch, examples of third parties that have already worked to develop new features for the watch were shared.  Throughout the demonstration, Kevin Lynch previewed an instance with the GPS app and said “Now, while you’re walking, Apple Watch will give you taptic feedback on each turn. So you’ll know whether it’s time to turn left or to turn right. And those feelings are different for each direction. So you can actually know without even looking at your watch, which way to go. It’s like having this invisible guide with you.”  Lynch further discussed additional apps that were in the process of formatting watch-specific components which include American Airlines, Starwood Hotels, City Mapper, Pinterest, BMW, MLB, Honeywell, Lutron, Nike, and more.  These current brands along with the potential, other developers have to create features using Watchkit, will change the way consumers live.

The customizable and intimate watch is offered in three different styles including the traditional Apple Watch made from stainless steel, the Apple Watch Sport with an aluminum case, and lastly, the Apple Watch Edition made from 18-carat gold.  The three watch designs all can be personalized to best fit the user and their preferences.  The watch is offered with various watch bands that can each be used for different activities, purposes, and styles.  The watch can be purchased starting at only $349 and will be on the market within a year.


Tim Cook describes the functional purpose of the digital crown on the device and how it is there so you can scroll and get to thing son the product without blocking the small screen.


Kevin Lynch  demonstrates how to use the product while also showing its incredible features- customizable reminders, the stock market, music, weather, etc. 

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