Times have definitely changed since Tim Booth (’00) was hired by The Associated Press two decades ago.
When the Ellensburg native joined the AP’s Seattle bureau as an editorial assistant in early 2004, he was part of a team of sports writers that covered teams and events across the Northwest.
As the news industry changed, so did AP’s business model, eventually leaving Booth as the organization’s lone full-time sports reporter in the region.
“After the Sonics relocated (to Oklahoma City) in 2008, the company did a reallocation, which took one of the remaining sports writing positions out of Seattle,” said Booth, who started his career at a small California newspaper. “At the end of all that, I was the only sports writer left in the Seattle bureau—and that’s how it has been now for about 14 years.”
Today, Booth relies on a team of freelancers in the Puget Sound area and east of the mountains to help the AP maintain a wide coverage area. Most of his current story assignments are in the Seattle metro area, but he also enjoys the occasional travel opportunity.
“One of my greatest memories was being on the field at MetLife Stadium when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl,” Booth said, referring to the team’s 2014 championship. “I was in Vancouver when the U.S. women’s soccer team won the World Cup, and I was in Sochi (Russia) for the 2018 men’s World Cup. Sometimes, I have to pause and look back because those experiences were pretty amazing.”
Despite the long and inconsistent hours, Booth doesn’t take his good fortune for granted. He knows he’s doing a job that most sports fans could only dream of.
“When I’m at games, I sometimes think to myself, ‘this is pretty cool,’” he said. “This can be a never-ending job—that’s just the nature of sports. But it’s also very rewarding.”
Booth credits his wife, Kerri (’99, ’00), for her endless support despite the many late nights and early mornings required of a big-market sports journalist. There are weeks where he doesn’t get a single day off, but Kerri and their two teenage kids understand.
There’s not much Booth would change about his 24-year sports writing career. Looking back, he wishes he had taken more classes at CWU to complement his journalism degree, which is something he tells current students when he returns to campus.
He encourages them to explore what else is out there because you never know where your career might take you.
“I tell them to build a wider range of knowledge that will make them more marketable,” Booth said. “If you are ever looking to change careers, that could be the deciding factor that gets you in the door.”
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