When a former Daily Orange staff writer sent Meghin Delaney a Twitter message saying a men’s basketball coach was being accused of sexual abuse, she responded with a mix of shock and denial, unsure of what would unfold next.

‘I literally thought he was joking because of what happened at Penn State,’ she said, referring to child-sex-abuse allegations against a former assistant football coach that had rocked State College two weeks earlier.

Delaney, news editor for the fall semester, and the rest of the staff would soon realize the seriousness of the allegations against Bernie Fine. The story has evolved greatly since it broke in November, capturing national headlines and sparking Penn State comparisons. Through it all, the student journalists at The D.O. have dedicated hours to reporting, sacrificing study and sleep to provide unrelenting coverage.

Shortly after ESPN reported on Nov. 17 that Bobby Davis and stepbrother Michael Lang had accused Bernie Fine of molesting them as boys, members of the sports staff made their way to The D.O., joining Delaney, the editor in chief, managing editor and a few other members of the news staff. The editors worked late into the night, making calls and developing content for the paper’s website.

Managing editor Amrita Mainthia headed to nearby Marshall Street for a student-reaction piece. The staff made calls to a number of people — former players, current faculty, alumni associated with the men’s basketball program. Delaney fielded text messages from her mother, who, like many, wanted details. Delaney was still trying to make sense of the situation herself.

‘It was a lot of disbelief the first night,’ she said.

The ESPN article was published on a nonproduction night — the Thursday before many students were set to leave early for SU’s weeklong fall break. Some altered travel plans to stay in Syracuse for a few additional days but, for the most part, the staff was scattered and had to communicate via email after the news broke.

Michael Cohen, sports editor during the fall semester, said he was glad different sections collaborated to cover ‘the biggest story of the decade for The Daily Orange.’

Management advised the staff to begin planning for a special edition dedicated to Fine coverage for the first issue back, though The D.O. did not initially intend to produce a paper for that Monday.

With stories written during the break and edits complete, the staff was expecting an easy night the Sunday before the special edition was to be published.

Then — in the middle of production — Fine was fired.

‘It just goes to show that you can’t plan news and, as much as you prepare for it, you’re never going to be totally prepared,’ Delaney said.

Stories about the campus community’s initial reactions to the Fine allegations were no longer relevant. Pages had to be redesigned and members of the news, sports and design staffs stayed at the house into the early morning writing and reworking content.

The final product was distributed across campus the next day, with a three-inch ‘FINE FIRED’ headline stripped across the front page.

The decision to run the headline that large stemmed from the magnitude of the news, said Becca McGovern, presentation director at the time. Charles Apple, who runs a popular newspaper design blog, posted a favorable review of the edition on his blog after receiving a heads-up from former editor in chief Katie McInerney.

‘I think I screamed when I saw it on the blog,’ McGovern said.

Cohen said he received positive feedback from several people, including a professor who said it was the best Daily Orange she’s seen in her time at SU.

Building off momentum from the special edition, the staff continued working around the clock to deliver coverage. Some coordinated a stakeout at the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center after hearing rumors that law enforcement would conduct a search at the facilities. In December, Daily Orange reporters stood shoulder to shoulder with national media at a news conference held by the Syracuse district attorney, vying to break the latest Fine-related news.

Online readership has spiked since the story unfolded. In the seven days after Fine’s firing, the website recorded more than 74,000 hits, almost equivalent to the number of visits for all of August.

A few months later, the staff is still pushing forward on every new angle. In recent weeks, The Post-Standard, The Associated Press and ESPN have attributed information to The Daily Orange after the paper’s exclusive interviews with Zach Tomaselli, Fine’s third accuser.

Persistence is Cohen’s biggest takeaway from covering the scandal, he said. Writers have been willing to make calls, regardless of how many times they were unable to reach a person. And even after publishing the special edition, many on staff were willing to keep pushing for new content.

Said Cohen: ‘I think we did a damn good job considering we’re student journalists.’

Debbie Truong (’14) can be reached at dbtruong@syr.edu.

Published on February 13, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Debbie: dbtruong@syr.edu | @debbietruong