Jacob Bashura

sports editor

I have gained an incredible amount of skills and enjoyed countless, fulfilling experiences throughout my four years as a sports reporter and desk editor.

I’ve reached heights I never could’ve imagined I would– from winning a second-place sports article award from the South Carolina Press Association (SCPA) to featuring Baltimore Ravens’ tight end Isaiah Likely, a Coastal Carolina University alum.

In addition to my articles and growth in journalistic writing, I’ve found my passion and career through sports photography and videography. I first started taking pictures of games for my articles for The Chanticleer, and I immediately fell in love with it. I improved with each year, and I am now on track for an exciting career in athletic creative media.

This is all thanks to my start as a sports photographer for The Chanticleer. Another aspect of being a part of this organization is being able to help young writers as they first step into writing for a college newspaper. It’s so rewarding to read my writers’ work and witness their improvement. It makes me feel as though I am having a lasting impact on others. In my book, that is one of the biggest measurements of success.

Interviews were always one of the toughest parts of journalism for me throughout my first five years of writing for my schools’ newspapers. With the repetition and practice throughout my time at Coastal, I have developed my interviewing abilities and simultaneously improved my general communication skills when interacting with people I’m unfamiliar with.  

With two SCPA awards and a collection of both articles and photos under my belt, I will always be able to look back and remember all of the fantastic times I have had during my time here.  

With my focus being more so on the sports videography aspect of my skill set moving forward, I am unsure when the next time I will write will be. Therefore, this also serves as my unofficial retirement from journalism. I couldn’t be more pleased with the work I have to show for all of the time and effort I have spent here during my journalistic process. 

Chants up! 

Jacob Ackerman

music columnist

Working for The Chanticleer was something I didn’t plan on doing. At first, I thought I was just suggesting something I would want to see in the paper. Eventually, I was recruited into writing it. I have always loved music and getting a chance to talk about albums in my column, “Jacob’s Playlist,” was right up my alley. 

I listened to some albums I never listened to the whole way through, and I found some incredible songs along the way. I even got to write about a concert, which was something I never thought I would be doing– seeing one of the photos I took published in the newspaper was pretty cool. 

I met some close friends, thanks to the newspaper, and I am grateful for that. I don’t have classes with them and without joining the paper or showing up to events, I probably wouldn’t have met them. 

Working at The Chanticleer has been an experience for me. I met some great friends, listened to some new and classic tunes, worked on my writing skills and was able to share a few songs I really loved. 

Godspeed and God Bless. 

Josh Adams

sports reporter

I only worked for The Chanticleer for one semester, but in that time, I was able to learn a lot about the news industry and got to work with some amazing people.  

Everyone at The Chanticleer made me feel welcome and involved from the first meeting I attended, and I am very grateful for that.  

There is an amazing atmosphere inside the newsroom, and it was awesome to see how willing everyone is to help each other to make sure each article is the best it can be. It has been really impressive to see all of the hard work our editors put in to organize each edition and help out the reporters when they need it. They did this all while making it an enjoyable experience to work with them. 

I want to work in sports reporting in the future– to have the opportunity to cover Coastal Carolina University sports games, interview athletes and write feature stories has been a very valuable experience. It honestly felt like I was working for a professional news outlet, and I feel like this experience has prepared me to work in a professional setting.  

I wish I had joined The Chanticleer years ago, and I would encourage anyone who is a student and interested in journalism to work for the paper. I enjoyed my time with The Chanticleer more than I thought I would, and I will definitely look back on it with fond memories. 

Thank you to everyone at The Chanticleer, especially Editor-in-Chief Madison Sharrock and Sports Desk Editor Jacob Bashura, who always made themselves available to help me with anything I needed during my time with the paper.