PHOENIX — The game ends when the clock reaches zero, but the real story continues to unfold.
It continues in quiet rooms, across polished tables and inside contracts signed far from the noise. That is where my interest in journalism began, not with a headline or a press pass, but with a question about who controls the systems we rarely see.
My name is Savannah Sannes, and I did not start college as a journalism major. I began studying business at Elmhurst University, drawn to its structure, logic, and the promise of stability.
Business taught me how industries function. It showed me how decisions are made, how money moves and how power organizes itself. But the deeper the studies went, the clearer it became that understanding how systems worked was not enough. I wanted to understand who they worked for.
There was no single moment that pushed me into journalism. No breaking news alert or dramatic turning point. Instead, it was a slow realization that the most interesting stories were buried beneath the surface.
Focus shifted from scoreboards to contracts, curiosity drawn toward negotiations rather than outcomes. Business provided the framework, but journalism supplied the language to question how systems operate and who they serve.
The realization came slowly: the most important stories often live behind the numbers, in decisions made long before anyone steps onto the field.
That realization eventually led me to Arizona State University and the Cronkite School of Journalism.
Cronkite stood out because it treats journalism as a responsibility rather than a performance. It emphasizes ethics, accuracy, and accountability in a way that feels urgent and necessary.
As a transfer student, finding Cronkite felt like finding alignment. It gave direction to interests I had struggled to connect and showed me that curiosity could be sharpened into purpose.
The goal is a career on the contract and business side of Formula One or the NFL, industries where sports, media and money intersect daily.
These leagues are more than entertainment. They operate as global businesses shaped by labor agreements, media rights deal and branding strategies that influence athletes, fans, and entire communities.
Journalism became essential to that goal because it teaches how to analyze systems critically and explain them clearly.
Commentary in particular allows space to examine how power operates without stripping away complexity.
I found my way to this class because straight reporting tells readers what happened. Commentary explains why it matters.
In an era when audiences are overwhelmed with information, explanation has become just as important as accuracy.
Public trust in the media remains low in part because audiences feel news organizations fail to connect stories to their real-world impact. Commentary helps bridge that gap when it is grounded in facts and written responsibly.
Sports journalism is where this matters most to me. Coverage often prioritizes highlights and transactions while avoiding deeper conversations about labor practices, revenue distribution, and long term consequences of expansion.
Commentary allows journalists to ask uncomfortable questions while remaining fair. It acknowledges that neutrality does not mean silence and that context is not bias.
The major challenges facing journalism today are trust, speed and relevance. Newsrooms are shrinking. Algorithms reward outrage over depth.
Younger audiences increasingly turn to social media for information because they want clarity, not just headlines.
Many people now seek opinion-driven explanations to make sense of the news. This shift is not a failure of journalism. It is a signal that journalism must evolve.
What I want out of this class is confidence in my ability to analyze and offer perspective. I want to strengthen my voice so that my arguments are clear, informed, and fair. I want to learn how to write commentary that challenges power without losing credibility and engages readers without oversimplifying complex issues.
This class is an opportunity to practice responsibility alongside creativity.
Journalism does not end when a story is published. Its value begins when readers understand what that story means.
Commentary is where journalism gains depth, context, and purpose.
If I am going to work in industries as influential as Formula One or the NFL, learning how to analyze power now is essential. This class is part of that work.
