David Carducci, former sports reporter for the Record-Courier, has been named the Director of New Media for the Kent State Athletics Department.

Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen announced the hiring of Carducci in a press release posted on Kentstatesports.com. According to Nielsen, Carducci “will give Kent State fans a closer look at the Golden Flashes than they have ever enjoyed before.”

Prior to being named to this new position, Carducci spent 18 years as a sportswriter for the Record-Courier including the last 12 years covering Kent State sports. With this new job, Carducci hopes to turn Kent State’s sports website into a more interactive experience using resources in an ever-growing media market.

“New media is kind of a blank canvas,” Carducci said. “People are coming up with things that are going to change the way that we cover the world. So this is a chance to get in at the beginning and do some innovative and creative things.”

Along with utilizing Twitter and other social media sites, Carducci will continue to write articles and blogs for the website covering the Flashes while giving an in-depth look at all of Kent State’s sports teams. Carducci also plans to redesign the site with forums and other tools to allow fans to interact with players and coaches, as well as other fans.

Carducci said being a veteran in the newspaper business and having a strong connection to Kent State will make for an easy transition from sportswriter to media director.

“I love writing for newspapers,” Carducci said. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. But the business is changing, and there are all kinds of new ways to tell a story. At the same time, I’ve always loved Kent State. So this just seemed like a good fit for me.”

Contact Tim Dorst at [email protected].