Women of the Diamond: Heather Rule

Heather Rule's talent and passion for writing and print journalism started at a young age. She grew up sitting down with a book and reading or writing stories. While attending high school in Andover, Minnesota, Heather got her first authentic look at print journalism and reporting and became very active in the school newspaper. She covered the school's activities, sports, and special projects for the paper and worked on the yearbook. While writing and editing in high school, she knew that she wanted a future in journalism and even knew which topic she wanted to write about: Sports. 

She attended St. Thomas University in St. Paul, where she got her degree in Print Journalism. While attending college, she was a staff writer for the Aquin newspaper (no longer in print) and ended her time there as the sports editor until graduation. She credits her time writing for the Aquin as the catalyst for her passion for sports journalism. 

Her first full-time journalism job was with the Post-Bulletin in Austin, Minnesota. She didn't initially get to write about sports, but she took every opportunity she could to take every assignment. She got a lot of experience reporting weekly features, education, crime, and other breaking news. Experience that paid dividends as she moved forward in her career.

It didn't take long, though. Soon Heather would get a chance to follow her love of sports as she moved from Austin to Albert Lea. At the Albert Lea Tribune, she got to dip her pen back into sports writing, and she hasn't slowed down since. She got chances to interview players, watch and report on sports and write her pieces. 

While in between writing jobs and waiting for the next opportunity, she took freelance writing jobs and continued to network. 

Her networking paid off, and in 2015 her journey with the Twins started. MLB created a start-up program for in-game coordination of social media, and Heather heads up the official Minnesota Twins Twitter account during the games. 

Immediately my heart sank and my anxiety went up, thinking of all the crappy things I tweeted during games not knowing this sweet soul was on the other end of the keyboard. A team of them works together; they have different people for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It's a smooth-running operation and one that keeps them on their toes. 

Heather says that attention is an important part of it. Her job is timely updates with embedded videos and gifs when there is a home run, an incredible stolen plate, and our favorite, the walk-off. She beams when she talks about her job and her experiences as a part of the media team. Being so quick to the keyboard is not easy, though. She has to be ready to go at a moment's notice, or sooner, and she is! 

I asked her how hard is it not to take things personally when people are rocketing off comments during the game? She doesn't take it personally because no one is attacking "Heather."  That is a calming feeling because this writer is known to have been one of those people. Her smile grows slowly across her face as she starts to talk about some of the things that fans get up in arms about. The lineup? Yep. The daily lineup is the one thing that will get fans just bent out of shape,  and I laughed when she said it because I AM that fan. 

It strikes a chord with us, and we take things like the lineup personally! I am not sure what we expect from responding to the tweet sent out by Heather through the Twins account. Do we expect the social media staff who sees the tweets to tell Rocco Baldelli we are displeased? It seems so comical now, but I suppose in the heat of the moment, as a fan, we get tied up in the possibility that the lineup means another loss. 

It's not that she doesn't care. Heather cares very much. She is so in love with the sport and our hometown team that she keeps track of her fun statistics and the regular game-time statistics. One of the fun statistics Heather keeps track of is engagements and if the Twins won that game. Creating her statistics for games makes slower games a little more fun to watch. We even giggled about the Rally squirrel, and she burst my bubble when she told me that we did not succeed with the "Rally Squirrel." But it made the fans happy, that's what mattered, and the content it generated for the social media team. 

She sits down a few hours before the game, whether she is watching at the park or at home, and preps for the game and what players have things coming up: streaks, milestones, hitting records, and fun facts to watch for throughout the game. She notices many things that many of us don't because of her attention to detail and the desire to bring the story to us through game-time tweets. Heather is always ready to get us the best content, images, and gifs she can throughout the game.

How does she get the images she does? A fantastic media team. They have videos and photos throughout the whole game. If she sees something happen, she can radio down to the videographers on the field, let them know what she just saw happen, and they will send the clip in to get up on Twitter. That way, if you missed a Miguel Sano home run because you decided to go to the bathroom, or you missed Jorge Polanco stealing another base with that signature smile on his face because you had to let the dog out, she is there to bring you those moments and all the moments in between.

And what happens if she has to wait for an image? No fear. She has folders and files of gifs and videos ready to go when a player does something; she has them sorted by a player, by hit, by date, by weather, you name it, she's got it. Heather takes her job seriously and puts in a lot of work to give fans the best image and content she can.

I can say that Twins Twitter, both the in-game account action and the tweets and reactions from fans, make the experience a lot more enjoyable. Heather helps create a community during a game that keeps us excited or sometimes pushes our blood pressure up, but she never lets us down. I have a new appreciation for Twins Twitter and the great job that Heather does to bring us all the fun content she does. 

Make sure to check out Heather’s website and blog listed below! She currently has eight books out including Women in Media, Women in the Olympics, and Sports Greatest Turn-Arounds. All her information is listed below:

  Website: http://www.heatherrule.com
  Sports blog: Thoughts from the Stands 
  Social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.