NFL players join journalism symposium

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) -- Charlie Batch and Derrick Dockery are among 23 current and former NFL players who will take part in a sports journalism symposium next month.

Brady Poppinga, Brendon Ayanbadejo and Erin Henderson are other current players who will attend May 13-16 at Bowling Green State University.

The program will focus on improving each player's writing skills for print, broadcast and digital media. They will "cover" a minor league game of the Toledo Mud Hens, which will include a mock press conference. Players will write and record their own radio commentary as part of another exercise.

The boot camp will have "both highly skilled professors and alumni teaching interactive sessions and providing excellent instruction in the fast-changing sports media industry," says Dr. Terry Rentner, director of the BGSU School of Media and Communications.