Jul 20th, 2009 by Maria Burns Ortiz
I am the social media columnist for ESPN.com and write a weekly sports column for Fox News Latino.
I began my career as an editorial assistant at Sports Illustrated, spent two years as a sports reporter at The (Fort Wayne, Indiana) News-Sentinel, was a regular stringer for the Associated Press and have produced freelance content for numerous media outlets.
I covered soccer for ESPNSoccernet from 2006 through 2010 and have been a contributor to ESPN.com’s Page 2 since 2009. In March 2011, I was named the social media columnist for ESPN.com.
Since October 2010, I have been a contributor to Fox News Latino. That role was expanded in January 2011, and I now write a weekly column for the site.
I was the Region 2 director on the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Board of Directors from July 2009 to June 2011. A lifetime member of NAHJ, I am currently the Sports Task Force chair. I was appointed to the UNITY: Journalists for Diversity national board of directors in January 2013. I’m also on the Community Advisory Board for WGBH and an Online News Association member. 
Additionally, I am an adjunct professor in the Journalism Department at Emerson College. I have twice been a guest lecturer at Tufts University, where I taught a course on digital sports journalism.
Based out of Boston, I have experience working in both English- and Spanish-language media.
For more about my professional background, please view the above tabs.
Tags: About Me
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Jan 9th, 2013 by Maria Burns Ortiz
Happy New Year. I don’t really do resolutions, but one of the things I hope to do in 2013 is to update this blog more regularly.
The last few months were a bit crazy to say the least. I was teaching three college courses on top writing two weekly columns and one monthly column. This, of course, is in addition to having a pre-kindergartner and an infant. That alone would have kept me busy, but then my nanny got sick and ended up out for five weeks. I had a part-time fill-in, but it was a juggle to say the least. Surviving the semester involved lots of writing late at night and getting up at obscenely early hours to get everything done, fueled largely by coffee and the deadline adrenaline kick that allows journalists to get stories in on time when such a feat seems nearly impossible.
This go-round I’ve got my nanny back and am only teaching one course, but I’m not banking on tons more free time just yet. I’ve taken on some additional work and was recently appointed to the UNITY: Journalists for Diversity national board of directors. And my baby is now walking so I’m constantly chasing after her as well. But when — or maybe that’s if — I get some free time, I’ll do my best to update here.
Of course, you can always follow me on Twitter or check my archives on the right of this page to see what’s keeping me busy.
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Jun 11th, 2012 by Maria Burns Ortiz
In honor of the Triple Crown, I ended up writing a trio of horse racing stories. I hadn’t really planned that as part of my coverage plan, but few people expected I’ll Have Another with jockey Mario Gutierrez abroad to make a run for one of sport’s most elusive honors.
A little over a month ago, I got an email from a PR guy asking if I’d be interested in doing a story on a jockey who would be riding in the Kentucky Derby. The jockey was from Mexico. I thought it would be a good fit for a Fox News Latino piece, and it was.
See: Kentucky Derby: From Mexico to the Biggest Stage
Of course, it became a much bigger story after I’ll Have Another/Mario Gutierrez won the Kentucky Derby. And it became exponentially bigger after the pairing won the Preakness, leading me to write a follow up column.
See: Triple Crown? Preakness Winner I’ll Have Another is Great for Horse Racing
With an end to the Triple Crown drought looking almost likely, I was tasked with doing another column ahead of the Belmont Stakes. It was going to be about how difficult it is to pull off the trifecta and how I’ll Have Another was well-poised to do just that. Then I’ll Have Another was scratched a day before the race. My column required a bit of 11th hour reworking, but I managed to pull it off.
See: I’ll Have Another & The Belmont: Hopes Dashed Again for The Triple Crown
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Jun 2nd, 2012 by Maria Burns Ortiz
The Stanley Cup final is underway, meaning Stanley Cup stories by yours truly.
I don’t cover a lot of hockey, but I pride myself in being able to tackle almost any story/subject out there.
For Fox News Latino, I examined the challenges the NHL faces in attracting Latino fans and what the league is doing to reach minorities.
See: With Stanley Cup Finals Underway, NHL Still Trying To Attract Latinos
For ESPN.com social media column, I did a social media tale of the tape comparing the L.A. Kings and New Jersey Devils’ social media efforts.
See: Social media: Comparing Kings and Devils
Posted in ESPN.com, Fox News Latino, Social Media | Comments Off
Jun 2nd, 2012 by Maria Burns Ortiz
“I’m so sorry [I didn't get back to you sooner/I've been out of touch/I've been slow in replying to my email/etc.], I just had a baby.”
I have used this phrase a lot lately. It’s not an excuse, it’s an explanation.
My updates to this site have been a bit irregular in the last year and non-existent the last few months. But I have a good reason:
I am now out of the sleep deprivation fog (don’t confuse that for sleeping through the night) and back at work.
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Sep 14th, 2011 by Maria Burns Ortiz
I had hit on how leagues and sports personalities utilize social media in my past columns, but hadn’t looked at how teams are using the space. The Jets have been especially progressive in their use of social media, and as I examined in this piece, those efforts have made the team a digital leader among its NFL counterparts.
See: The New York Jets’ social media takeoff
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Sep 9th, 2011 by Maria Burns Ortiz
The University of Maryland pulled off an upset beating Miami in the two teams’ season opener, but that’s not what had people talking after the game. It was the unique uniforms the Terrapins unveiled that had fans – and the Twitterverse – abuzz.
See: Maryland unis start social media buzz
As I’ve mentioned before, my goal in covering social media is to go beyond simply “this is what so-and-so said on Twitter.” The aim is to put it in some kind of additional context. For this piece, I wanted to look at trying to quantify the value of a social media bump.
Posted in ESPN.com, Social Media, Sports | Comments Off
Sep 2nd, 2011 by Maria Burns Ortiz
Another day, another athlete social media faux pas. At least, that’s how it seems in this fast-paced digital age. Having covered social media, I’ve also noticed that most sports personalities are making similar missteps. So I decided to compile a list of social media do’s and don’ts for athletes that was both tongue-in-cheek and useful.
See: @Page2 guides athletes on social media
The piece was really well-received. I think it’s the balance of dry humor, real word examples and legitimate pointers that made it appeal to my audience.
Following the column, I was asked to appear on the Bryan Hayes Show on TSN 1050 (Toronto’s ESPN affiliate) to discuss the piece as well as my general thoughts on sports and social media.
Posted in ESPN.com, Media Appearance, Social Media, Sports | Comments Off
Jul 27th, 2011 by Maria Burns Ortiz
After 135 days, the NFL lockout officially came to an end. I wrote up a quick blog for ESPN.com on players’ joyous reactions to the news that the 2011 season will be played.
See: NFL players celebrate lockout’s end on Twitter
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Jul 26th, 2011 by Maria Burns Ortiz
Although my column’s focus is social media, there’s some flexibility in what I cover and relevant Web-related sports technology tends to fall under the general umbrella as well. This week’s piece featured an iPad app available only to professional baseball players.
See: MLB players study video with iPad app
Part of what I enjoy about being a journalist, especially in covering sports, is getting a behind-the-scenes look at an area that millions of people are passionate about. However, it’s about more than just having an all-access pass. It’s about then being able to bring that information to an audience that might never have known about it otherwise. That’s why it piqued my interest when I heard that Bloomberg had developed an app that was only available to professional baseball players. It’s not only a unique and incredibly exclusive product – they’re appealing to a very small and elite demographic – but it’s also the kind of story the average fan might not have heard and would find interesting.
Posted in ESPN.com, Social Media, Sports | Comments Off
Jul 18th, 2011 by Maria Burns Ortiz
A new Twitter record was set during the Women’s World Cup final match between the United States and Japan with users posting a 7,196 tweets per second. This fact combined with the outpouring of social media reaction from notable personalities, both in the sports world and other spheres, became the featured story in my newest @Page2 column.
See: Women’s World Cup fans storm Twitter
I initially had another top for my column (which will run in two weeks), but sometimes when big stories happen you have to switch things up on the fly. There’s always a little bit of pressure when you’re writing something editors are waiting on to post, but there’s also specific sense of accomplishment you feel when you file a piece you’ve worked to turn around quickly. It takes me back to my days of daily deadlines when working in the newspaper world.
Posted in ESPN.com, Social Media, Sports | Comments Off
I am the social media columnist for ESPN.com and write a weekly sports column for Fox News Latino.
