Penn State class to examine Joe Paterno's interaction with media, role as communicator

3/21/2008 8:52 AM

By GENARO C. ARMAS
AP Sports Writer

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Getting an ``A'' in Penn State's newest communications class means mastering the words of Joe Paterno spoken in front of the microphones, not on the football field.

Students won't need to pull on a blue-and-white uniform, but they will try to decipher Paterno's sometimes cryptic answers at press conferences with the help of a rhetorician. They'll analyze how the famed football coach tries to use the media and other avenues to promote the program.

Registration starts next month for the class that kicks off next fall - in time for the start of JoePa's record 43rd season as head coach. The 81-year-old Paterno is the second-winningest coach in major college football, behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden.

Pupils shouldn't be afraid take a hard, analytical look at JoePa and the reporters who cover him, said Mike Poorman, a senior journalism lecturer at Penn State and creator of the course, ``Joe Paterno, Communications and The Media.''

``They'll have to take a look at Paterno and the media critically,'' Poorman said. ``It is a serious academic study.''

Paterno's distinctive voice is tinged with a Brooklyn accent. Yet, there's much more to JoePa's message, whether he's talking in a post-game news conference or speaking at a private function for alumni, Poorman said.

``There's a reason that Joe, more than any other college coach, does what he does,'' said Poorman, who has written about Paterno and the team since 1979. ``Whether talking to the media, delivering a corporate address or interacting with his staff ... it's meticulous. There's a reason why he does everything.''

Poorman said he hasn't talked to Paterno directly about the class, though he received word through the coach's family that he is OK with the endeavor.

Paterno's son and quarterbacks coach, Jay Paterno, said Thursday night his father's initial reaction was ``What would they want to possibly do a course about me for?''

Another focus of the class is the evolution of sports journalism into a fast-paced, Internet-driven media marketplace.

A weekly in-season news conference once meant Paterno talked with six reporters around a table, no microphone or TV camera in sight. Paterno knew every reporter's name on the beat, Poorman said.

Today, remarks can spread quickly through blogs and Web chat rooms, not to mention the live broadcasts over the radio. Now Paterno sits at a table overlooking a Beaver Stadium media room with more than a dozen reporters, with at least another dozen asking questions via teleconference.

``There are very few people in the same job, the same role, the same company'' for the length of time that Paterno has been at Penn State, Jay Paterno said about his father. ``He's the perfect person to study the changing media.''

With spring practice starting next week, Paterno is about to enter the final year of his contract. Athletic director Tim Curley has said there is no timetable to make decisions about Paterno's future after his contract ends.

Poorman said he's had the idea for a Paterno-focused class for years. While teaching a sports writing class, he's looked at Paterno over a span of three or four sessions.

He started looking at a full-time class about Paterno in the past year. Poorman bounced the idea off more than a dozen people before getting the go-ahead.

The class also looks at how Paterno built relationships beyond regular news conferences through his weekly off-the-record sessions with reporters on Friday night's before games.