There’s a hierarchy to sports journalism jobs and while you might think beat reporting is all fancy hotels and charter flights, think again….it’s not a place where you start, maybe not even a place you finish but with apologies to Charles Dickens, it can be “the best of times, the worst of times”…
Who doesn’t want to cover a team?…after all, it’s why we start covering the high schools, the little leagues, the minors…
ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss and Tony Massarotti of 98.5 The Sports Hub visited the B-U sports journalism seminar series just recently and while this seminar may be as far away from the students as last week’s was close (Newcomers), the sense was, this is as professional as it gets…
Both Tony and Mike started when covering sports was a much more traditional, non twitter, non-internet era…Writing for a newspaper was the plum job and being able to follow one team all the time was the cherry on the sundae…Interestingly, both had external factors that shaped their fates…in Mike’s case he’d beat the bushes and thought he was on his way working for Patriots Football Weekly …But when he applied for other jobs, he found out that working for the team wasn’t exactly advancing his cause; “It was a dues paying process to remove myself from that P.R. track, said Reiss, and move to the journalism track and then work my way back up.”…Having his checks signed by the team he was covering proved problematic he found…
For Massarotti, it wasn’t so much the beat that changed things, but rather the fortunes of the local teams he covered, his beat at 98.5 now being more than just the Red Sox but pretty much anything; “There was an astonishing amount of good fortune involved. We(he and partner Mike Felger) have been lucky enough to work in what’s undoubtedly the golden age of Boston Sports. There’s never been a run like this in any city in America, ever! That’s dumb luck, nothing more than that.”
But as much as Reiss and Massarotti put in the hours and forged the relationships, it was their ability to adapt as beat reporters that advanced their careers, especially Reiss…Nobody could imagine what “that internet thing” would turn into back in the 90’s when Reiss decided he could take advantage of the immediacy of the new technology and get his brand out there…He wasn’t exactly embraced by his fellow journalists however; “Why are you doing that? You’re creating extra work for all of us”, they complained. “I just want to file my story and go home” they would say. “My whole idea on that was why wait until tomorrow to read something i can tell you right now?”…Reiss was light years ahead of his peers. One of the early models of advancing the story.
Like every other reporter doing his/her job, Massarotti and Reiss had to wind their way through the muck and mire of information…some of it good, much of it useless and unchecked….But both agreed, they weren’t in it to beat the drum for someone else; “Why are they telling me (this)? You should never underestimate that someone is carrying out some sort of agenda on their behalf too, stated Massarotti. You’re kind of using each other and everybody understands it and it’s ok.”
Consummate pros for sure, hard workers by trade and choice. They both truly understand what it takes to “march to a different beat”, “It’s a volume job, Massarotti told the students, it’s how I would describe a beat reporters job, it’s hard work. It doesn’t mean that the quality of the work you’re turning out is any less valuable (though). There’s a lot of it, it’s demanding.” While agreeing, Reiss wanted to make sure the students didn’t lose their passion along the way; “Think like a fan. You have a press pass and access to people that anyone would want (access to) so ask them what you think a fan would want to know.”
Sage advice. You can’t beat that!
15 Comments
Kelly Landrigan posted on March 22, 2015 at 10:51 pm
I enjoyed the beat reporting seminar a lot more than I initially thought I would. Both Mike Reiss and Tony Massarotti have had fascinating career paths so far, and to me, it seems like both can only go up from here. I think the idea of covering a particular sports beat is both interesting and intimidating to me. Ideally, you would get to follow a sport that you love, and would hopefully make yourself some type of expert regarding that particular team. I think beat reporters offer the best sports analysis of anyone out there right now. I often put more stock into what those reporters have to say than national writers who cover the sport as a whole.
Both Reiss and Massarotti brought up some points that really resonated with me. The first was Reiss’ experience working as a reporter FOR the New England Patriots, which Nick and I could kind of relate to with our BU hockey experience this year. While Reiss believed this would give him an advantage in the job market, it actually was detrimental to him. He told me after class that he felt like he was treated differently by the players when he worked for the team versus covering the team now for ESPN. When we had the Newcomers seminar, Alex Corddry mentioned how she worked for the Washington Redskins as a team reporter, and it seemed to me that she as thought it maybe wasn’t the best journalism career move. However, Reiss told me that he still thinks it’s a good career move for young journalists, which is great advice considering how many team reporter jobs there are out there now.
The second point that both Reiss and Massarotti touched upon was the idea of remembering your audience. I think a lot of times journalists forget the privilege and position they are in. As much as people like to say journalism is a dying field, every day people tell me that they would love to do what I do. The advice to use your press pass wisely and to think like a fan might be some of the best advice I’ve heard in a while. Most likely, you have some interest in either the sport, team, or an individual player you’re covering. Sometimes, I’ve gotten myself so worked up over asking the right question. In those situations, I try to remember why I love the sport and get back into that fan mentality. Of course, you can’t take it too far and ask ridiculous, tabloid-type questions. However, fans are often so invested and have such a genuine curiosity that would lend itself to great journalistic efforts.
Nothing would be more rewarding to me than having the opportunity to cover a NFL beat at some point in my career. It would be an honor to do half as good of a job as these two gentlemen do every day.
Nicholas Picht posted on March 23, 2015 at 1:27 pm
First off, I have to say that I got way more out of this seminar than I originally thought I would. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the “Beat Reporting” seminar, but it really was beneficial and inspiring to hear both Mike and Tony’s stories.
After listening to both men speak, I was blown away by their professionalism. I could tell they both really took pride in their work, and worked hard to get their stories. Even further, more so Mike than Tony, but I could tell they both loved their jobs as beat reporters, and cherish(ed) every moment doing those jobs, even if it does mean some sleepless nights and rushing a story in on a deadline. You could just see the passion in Mike’s eyes when he verified his devotion to the job. He said, “I love it [his job] Frank, I really do.” And as Frank says almost every seminar, when you love your job, “It beats working for a living.”
Mike’s story about Kyle Arrington really resonated with me as a young reporter. All he had to do was introduce himself and make Arrington feel like a person, and not just somebody who Mike will walk by in the locker room, ignoring him until he makes a key interception. And to have those introductory conversations with all 53 members of the team is not only impressive, but also probably the main reason why players feel so comfortable talking to him. And the resonating point for me is the ease with which people can talk to me. I’ve heard from countless members of BU’s team that it’s easy to talk to me and tell me what’s going on, both on the ice and in the locker room, good or bad. And I finally realized while listening to Mike that it’s just because during the season’s start, I introduced myself to the guys when I first met them. Knowing that even the best of professional reporters uses that same tactic really made me feel good and also made me feel like my work this season was validated.
I think another point Mike and Tony really hammered home was having confidence in yourself and sticking to your guns. When Tony told stories last week, he would always include at the end, “And if they say something to you, say ‘Well, what’s false’ or ‘what do you want from me, when you don’t help me I have to interpret this all for myself.’” He really seemed to stand up for himself when he described tough situations. There are undoubtedly tough situations in a professional locker room – the team losing, contract negotiations, and even poor individual play. It’s stuff beat reporters HAVE to bring up, and Tony, to me, seemed like he embodied the model way to deal with those situations – stand up for yourself and “avoid the cheap shots.”
Overall, our guests provided so many take-aways for me to go out into the field and use in my own career. Out of all the advice they gave, I think the most useful was their words on why they write. “It’s for the fans – never forget that,” Tony said. It really is true. For all the fans invest in the games and in these teams, they deserve not only the players’ best, but our best work too.
Alex Hirsch posted on March 23, 2015 at 4:57 pm
This was the class I have been waiting all semester for. Mike Reiss is the reason I applied to Boston University to get into Sports Journalism. Tony Massarotti hosts my favorite radio show. Not only that, but when things were bad at work, I would go to my car and listen to their show to just take a break from life. He, weirdly enough, helped me get through my days. I told him this.
I also told Mike that he is the reason I got into journalism. I found out he grew up down the street from me and went to the same elementary, middle, and high school as me. I read his posts everyday and find them very insightful. I told him all this and he thanked me, but then I told him the reason I got into journalism was because I disagree with a lot of what he has to say. I wanted to get my own voice out there and so I applied to school. He found this to be very interesting.
I want to do his job. Sort of; I would prefer to be on camera more than writing. Regardless, I want to give my opinions, and after hearing him speak, I realize just how hard that is to do. I had no idea about the line he had to walk in order to not upset players and the organization. He has the inside track on most Patriots stories and he writes those stories in a way that does not upset anyone. “Brady goes 10-30 and has an off game,” rather than, “Brady needs to get his head out of his a**!” By not upsetting anyone, he is able to continue a positive relationship with the team and players. He is not capable of writing the way Tony speaks on the radio. This was something I had never realized.
I also learned the importance of covering a team. Both Tony and Mike told me separately how important it will be for me, so that I can become a voice of authority. In order to give my opinions, I have to have knowledge of the team and without that knowledge, why would anyone care what I have to say? I would be no different than the next caller on Felger and Mazz. I have always assumed that my path would lead me to a news station as a reporter after graduation, and it still may. But, I never knew that my path could lead me to solely covering a team. The thought of even more options overwhelms me a bit, but also seriously excites me.
I emailed Mike after class to see if I could sit down with him and really pick his brain about his job. There are so many different things I would like to do with my career and I want to learn from as many areas as possible. Mike’s area is extremely important to me. I just want to do it with a touch of Alex Hirsch.
Sara Varela posted on March 24, 2015 at 5:58 pm
I loved the energy of this seminar. It was very genuine and neither of the guests held back when it came to advice, opinions, and the facts of life pertaining to a beat reporting career. I think everyone was able to take something valuable from the seminar regardless of their preferred career objective.
I thought it was really interesting that Mike started out with a team newspaper and was told to leave the position if he wanted something more out of a journalism career. Almost every journalism professor I’ve spoken to about content marketing and team publications has told me to stay away from them because it’s not real journalism. The fact that the belief still holds true today was surprising because these publications are gaining popularity and always looking for writers with journalism backgrounds.
The advice I found most useful was to think like a fan. Constantly in marketing I have to figure out ways to engage the fan and get them interested in the event and sometimes it can be very difficult to push tickets to a show no one really wants to see. That’s when thinking like a fan can help because it allows for a creative response. From a journalism perspective, it really improves the experience, as well as the writing as noted by our guests. Another detail that was interesting to me was the rate of change that comes with beat reporting. Every professional has their own way of performing a job and can get into a groove, but it can all change with one decision by management or a losing streak. It’s important to remember that the organization you’re writing for will develop at a certain rate, and it’s your job to keep up with the company, industry, and the team.
Beat reporting sounds like a lot of work and commitment, and after hearing from Mike and Tony, I don’t think it’s a route I would like to go if I was writing. In the entertainment industry I’ve worked with rock, pop, classical, hip-hop, and even dance groups and each one provided an experience I will never forget. I enjoy being able to take my talents across the genres and as a writer, I think the same holds true. I would love to cover sports, and maybe just one sport, but not one team. It’s probably a great experience to be involved in the high and lows of a team, but I would prefer to not be involved in all of them.
Josh Schrock posted on March 24, 2015 at 7:55 pm
At the start of the semester this was the seminar that I was most excited about. It’s the path that I had in mind when I decided I wanted to be a sports journalist and it’s the job that I would love to have someday. I did an internship as a beat writer for a New York Collegiate Baseball League team a few summers back and I fell in love with the everyday flow of it.
Much like Tony Massarotti, I “love the baseball.” That’s all the job was, all baseball, everyday. I loved it. So it really peaked my interest when Tony and Mike talked about the difference in sports you cover and how that affects your life. I had never thought of covering a baseball beat as something that is a grind. Tony made the comment that covering a baseball beat is more for a young person, who doesn’t have a family because of the nature of the schedule. He told me after the seminar that it takes the right kind of person and situation to be able to do the job for a long period of time simply because of the everyday wear of the baseball schedule and how the Internet has changed the news cycle.
He also told me though that if you really want to do it, the biggest key to getting started is to just be in a newsroom. Get the feel. He told me it doesn’t matter what you are covering, or what you are doing but just be there so that you can understand the pace on a daily basis.
I also thought that both Mike and Tony’s comment about thinking like a fan were very interesting. I think we get really caught up in the idea of objectivity that we can lose track of who are writing is important too. The fan inside you can help you write more compelling and interesting stories as long as you don’t do it with blinders on and I thought that was a very important lesson to take away from this.
Nick Garrido posted on March 24, 2015 at 11:21 pm
Before college, beat reporting was something i wanted no part of. However, throughout my four years here, its something that’s really started to intrigue me. I understand how much work it is and how many long hours it can be but I share a very similar opinion to Mike on several things he brought up. If you truly love the sport and love covering a certain team or a certain sport, it will truly help you get through those dog days in the season and long hours.
What i’m going to take away most from this seminar is the fact that no matter what field you enter into, you have to love what you do. If you love what you do, it’s not going to seem like work. “It beats working for a living” is something i heard a whole lot throughout this seminar and just in seminar’s that we’ve had in the past.
This seminar was important for us because there are a lot of components to beat reporting that newcomers don’t necessarily know and it was great to have Mike and Tony shed some light upon them. Beat reporting can be a bit controversial because its very possible for writers to get on the bad side of players and coaches. Baseball beat writing definitely intimidates me. Being in the clubhouse 162 times a year seems to me a daunting task.
Tony explained the fact that he and Terry Francona had several conversations when he was a beat writer for the Red Sox.
The key to any job covering any team is to be fair no matter what. If a player is having a bad game, it happens and there are ways of writing without coming across as too over the top. If there’s anything i learned specifically in this seminar about beat reporting is that being fair and being professional will get you a long way. There may still be players like Mike said that you will not be close with. However that shouldn’t distract you from being the best beat writer you can be.
I learned that there are definitely many reasons why Mike and Tony were and still are successful. They handle themselves so professionally whether it be introducing themselves to players right away and hashing it out when there may be disagreements. If I go into beat reporting, those two guys are definitely the people i model myself after.
Pat O'Rourke posted on March 24, 2015 at 11:34 pm
Like Alex with Mike Reiss, Tony Massarotti was one of the biggest influences on my entry into the field. Growing up, I read his books, I read his column in the Herald, I listened to him on the radio, I watched him on television. He was one of the distinct people I looked to and said to myself, ‘I want to be him someday.’
When I was in middle school, I asked for ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ for Christmas. My parents didn’t think I was serious. Then I told them it was a Tony Massarotti book about the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry, and it made more sense. Like Mazz, I grew up a Red Sox fanatic, and he was my go-to when it came to information. Somewhere along the way, he made me think this was a pretty good gig.
From my experiences with covering teams, or other beats, there are certainly key aspects that I agree with Tony and Mike Reiss on. The biggest one for me was the separation between the fan and the journalist. That when you cover the team, the emotions you feel as a fan aren’t there. I can relate to that by covering BU hockey for the BU News Service.
Growing up, I was a diehard fan of BC hockey. I grew up idolizing guys like Cory Schneider, Patrick Eaves, Brian Boyle, Nathan Gerbe, and so many other great players to go through the program. I didn’t hate BU, but I certainly didn’t cheer for them. I respected the hell out of Jack Parker, read Travis Roy’s book, and admired the influence the program had on what I consider to be the greatest moment in American sport, the 1980 US hockey team. That said, I remember eighth-seeded BU beating top-seeded BC in the 2004 Hockey East quarterfinals. I remember BU winning the Beanpot what seemed like every year. So the five straight Beanpots, five conference titles in six years, and three national titles in five years for BC made me feel good. Then I went to BU.
Covering BU hockey, I’ve felt no bias, no allegiance toward any program. I report on the team on what I see, what I hear, and give readers good, unbiased news and commentary. Or at least I think so. Granted, I want to see BU win. But that’s because with wins come a fun atmosphere at Agganis, and players and coaches in better moods. If they lose, I still have a story to file.
The next big concept is the relationships, which is something I’ve heard anyone whose covered a beat say is vital to the job. In Mazz’s book ‘Dynasty’, Jason Varitek wrote the preface, and I remember him speaking about how much he trusted Tony, and how he a reporter he knew he could go to and get a fair shake. If you can get your hand on that book and read that one section, I suggest it. The rest of the book is certainly worth the read as well, so feel free to read on.
I’m currently in a beat reporting class in which I’m covering the city of Melrose (better known as the hometown of Andy Brickley), where I live. A key to success in that class was making a good relationship with the mayor. I went to a school meeting at 7:30 a.m. one day partially because I knew he’d be there and I wanted to introduce myself.
Having Tony Massarotti and Mike Reiss I feel was one of the best classes we’ve had of the semester. In addition to Mazz, Reiss has long been one of my favorites when it comes to the Patriots. I’ve been following him since he was still writing for the Boston Globe, and was always on the late NESN SportsDesk. To get such good insight and advice from two of the best in the business was a truly beneficial experience.
Also, because it touches on a topic we discussed in-depth last week, Ray McDonald was signed by the Chicago Bears today. I find that despicable and disgusting. Granted, it won’t stop me from watching the games come the fall — and it won’t with you, either — but to see the characters the NFL continues to give second chances to is disturbing.
While I was adamant that these guys aren’t role models, nor do they need to be, I believe the NFL has a social responsibility to keeping guys like Ray McDonald, Greg Hardy, Ray Rice, and Adrian Peterson out of the NFL. There should be a level of character these players should be forced to follow — which means no domestic violence, felonies, gang activity, etc. If they can’t follow it, then find another job. The world needs ditch-diggers, after all.
Unfortunately, many teams in the NFL still overlook rap sheets for scouting reports (I guarantee that if Aaron Hernandez were set free tomorrow, there’d be teams giving him looks). Knowing that and being disturbed by it, it won’t stop us from watching. We know that, and so do they.
Dylan Haines posted on March 25, 2015 at 12:49 am
After missing the newcomers seminar a few weeks back, I felt as if I missed out on solid advice from people who just entered the workforce. That notion quickly changed after hearing phenomenal advice from two men that have already made their name in the business of sports journalism. Two veterans, that are still in the business, connected to us aspiring journalists by reliving their pasts.
The seminar gave me a boost of motivation to become a beat reporter for a specific team. Prior to this seminar, I did not have a definite goal in mind of becoming a specific type of sports journalist. The field of analysts struck me as a possible avenue because I play basketball so I may be better fit for breaking down the game to viewers and readers. This thought came from the seminar featuring Matt Chatham and Billy Jaffe after hearing Matt explain his football writing website.
By becoming a beat reporter, I can still watch film, go over scouting reports and analyze certain aspects of the game while focusing on just one team. This combines the two fields, if they were ever separate. Both fields have their tedious work that requires a lot of commitment; a common theme throughout many of the seminars. Professor Shorr mentioned the line, “It beats working for a living,” to the two men and they immediately agreed, with confidence, that the path of becoming a great sports journalist is rewarding, not only in the end, but also during it.
Apart from the career path of becoming a beat reporter, the two men taught me to write with confidence. I am my own brand. I need to “treat every assignment like the Major Leagues,” as Mike Reiss said, whether it is a high school basketball game or the NBA Finals. I need to climb out of the hole that many sports journalists are thrown in to and stake out my ground. The world of sports journalism is a dogfight and the ones that stay the course and put in Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 hours,” as Tony mentioned, tend to succeed.
Conor Ryan posted on March 25, 2015 at 1:09 am
It can be easy to for any up-and-coming journalist to be disenfranchised with beat reporting. After all, the long hours and constant travel can really wear you down. I took a sports journalism course here at BU with Paul Flannery of SBNation, who noted multiple times that the brutal work environment of a beat writer can be both a rewarding and draining experience.
At this point, though, I feel like every senior/junior/grad student is aware of the pros/cons of becoming a beat writer. Even the Boston Herald’s Scott Lauber hit on that point earlier this semester, stating that traveling with a team day in and day out certainly is not for everyone.
I wasn’t able to make it to last Thursday’s seminar, but by reading the comments here, I was quickly able to pick apart a few points from Mike Reiss and Tony Massarotti that really resonated with me — ones that are not the same spiel regarding the heavy work associated with the gig.
In the ever-evolving and highly competitive market we call journalism, it’s pretty much a given that hard work and connections can held ascend you into a good position for a promising job, but to truly stand out, you need to toss some new ideas into the traditional beat routine.
Any professional beat writer can crank out the same recaps, sidebars, features, previews etc. on a daily basis, and while the quality of the copy and content might be impressive, it really isn’t breaking any new ground.
Mike Reiss stands as a beat reporter that wasn’t afraid to push the envelope, accepting the growing role of digital reporting years before his fellow writers. The decision has ultimately paid off, as Reiss has amassed a strong online following over the years en route to becoming one of — if not the — premier reporters covering the Patriots.
Going against the grain can be nerve-wracking for green journalists just entering the market, or it just might not seem like a good investment of time. (After all, beat writers have a dreadful schedule for most of the year.)
But it has ultimately proven to be a successful tipping point in some careers. For example, 20-something sportswriter Jason Mastrodonato — who worked the past few years churning out impressive content for MassLive — now works alongside Lauber at the Herald, while former WEEI writer Alex Speier — one of the first beat writers to throw sabermetrics and other in-depth stats into his work — now has a new desk at The Boston Globe.
It can be hard to stand out in the hectic environment of beat reporting, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth trying.
Karly Finison posted on March 25, 2015 at 4:50 pm
I was extremely impressed with the professionalism of Mike Reiss and Tony Massarotti. Both provided not only insight into beat reporting, but gave us an even greater sense of the profession and certainly how it has changed since Reiss and Massarotti got their starts. Reiss even brought out his old keyboard.
I had never really thought about the lifestyle differences of beat reporters and how a writer covering football has a very different routine from someone covering baseball. Football games are on Sunday and for the most part writers have a week to prepare for each game, a week to develop new and interesting content. Yet for baseball writers, it can be much more difficult. As Massarotti explained, late nights and travel during the week can be draining.
I took Paul Flannery’s sports journalism class last semester and covering the Red Sox was much more challenging than I expected. I often thought, how do writers do this every single day? The team was losing. And as Massarotti mentioned multiple times during the seminar, it’s much easier to cover a winning team. Yet through Flannery’s class I got much better at developing storylines, looking at statistics and incorporating them into my analysis to ultimately create a piece that was new and fresh for readers, who we must remember our fans too!
When Reiss brought in his rejection letters, it was a helpful reminder that we won’t necessarily land our first choice job right out of college, or even our second, third or fourth. Yet as many of our guests said, and just as Reiss did when he posted his stories online before anyone else was doing the same, we must remain persistent and continue to develop content that sets ourselves apart from the next sports journalist.
Keiko Talley posted on March 25, 2015 at 5:15 pm
Reiss, like many of our guest speakers, has shown us that risks and standing out from the rest will take you just as far in life as connections. He took a huge risk leaving PR and working his way back up in Journalism. He knew he had a goal and wasn’t afraid to take a risk and change his life path to get to it. As the “blog father” he stood out from his peers and did something different, something that now almost everyone is taking part in.
Beat reporting is much different than most of the other types of sports journalism. Covering a sport allows you as a journalist the freedom to write about a team that you are passionate about with the mindset of a fan. Massarotti even said that he is been told that his pieces that were written as a Red Sox fan has helped set his stories apart and made them much more appealing. A beat reporter is writing for the fans, not for the players, as Massarotti often mentioned.
However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have it hard. Beat reporters, more so baseball than football, have to constantly find new and interesting ways to tell the same story night after night. They also don’t seem to have much of a social life…another commonality in this industry.
It was really comforting seeing that someone as well known and so knowledgeable like Mike Reiss still had all of his rejection letters. It was a great reminder of determination and how everyone is going to get rejected. No one is going to come out of college or grad school and be amazing at what they do and just seeing that was a great reminder that just because one place may not like you it doesn’t mean that others wont, and from those who do like you you’re given an opportunity to show people your potential and it can only sky rocket from there.
After they spoke I talked to Reiss about a future job and what tips he had, if any, on getting that job. His first question was “What are you involved in here at BU that is going to help you out there in the real world?”. After I gave him my list of things I am involved in his only advice was to continue doing that. He made it clear that just because I’m in broadcast doesn’t mean I should only focus on broadcast. Just like Reiss and Massarotti went through the twitter and Internet change in journalism, as we come into the work field were entering the well-rounded field. To get to where Reiss and Massarotti are in their careers we need to dip into every aspect of journalism and try to work hard at all of it this way we have a much better chance to stand out and get the dream job.
Christina Patracuolla posted on March 25, 2015 at 7:25 pm
Since I began studying journalism, I have realized that beat reporting has been a scary, yet necessary branch of the business. I’m currently taking beat reporting and although I have a fantastic teacher and mentor, it is by far the most trying and stressful course I have taken in the College of Communication. Do I want to be a beat reporter? No. Will I do some sort of beat reporting at the start of my career? Most likely.
Either way, Reiss really put into perspective how fast technology has evolved over a period of time which made me think more about the digital side of journalism and how on top of it every reporter should be. Whether you’re a beat reporter or not, he made me realize that it is important not to be the last one to transfer over to the new technology. The blog set him apart and in a world where the Internet has thousands of news sources and outlets, getting ahead is dire.
As a creature of habit, I was the last of my friends to get an iPhone, a Mac computer, get a twitter account and an Instagram. Reiss and Massarotti drove home the idea that you must step out of your comfort zone, not just out in the field, but in accepting the way the business is changing as it did before their eyes. It also made me wonder how technology could possibly advance even further.
I know many people in class see themselves at ESPN and big name news sources alike at the peaks of their career, including myself. Reiss talk about how fast paced ESPN is and it made me think about what leads up to any big time job like a career at ESPN. The fact that beat reporting is such a touch and go branch of the business made me think about how prepared and experienced Reiss and Massarotti are as a result of it. Mybe beat reporting wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to start out doing.
Reiss and Massarotti did not ease my nerves about the life of a real world beat reporter, but they did open up my mind to the positives of life on the run. When Reiss said, “It’s not conducive to family life, but if you love it it’s worth it,” it summed up the job for me.
Katie Peverada posted on March 25, 2015 at 8:03 pm
The first thing I’ll say is that in my small experience with beat reporting, everything that Mike Reiss and Tony Massarotti shared with us and told us is true. I spent the summer of 2013 in Saratoga Springs, NY, working for the newspaper there. I spent a few weeks following the local collegiate summer baseball team there, where I quickly figured out which coaches to talk to and which players would be forthcoming and intelligent. However, it was my month at the Saratoga Race Track – not necessarily a traditional beat – where everything that Reiss and Massarotti said rings true, albeit on a much smaller/amateur level. At the track, I found that as the more days went by, the more people talked to me. I made sure to show up to every facet of every race, starting with the horses entering the paddock to the riders up to post time to rushing to the finish line for video and then to the winner’s circle to catch the post-race presentation and rider interview. Doing that for the nine or 10 or 11 races over the course of the day became tiring, and I was glad I was only at the track three days a week. But all that was human instinct and just habit – if people see you repeatedly, they get to know you. I became friends with a security guard, and that way I had an easier time than other people getting in and out of one place so I could be first at the next (Both Massarotti and Reiss touched on building relationships and having interpersonal skills, which, if you read my post last week, is HUGE both in this business and in life).
So all that being said, I wish I had somehow had this seminar before that summer (mostly because that was my very first experience with sports writing or journalism of any kind).
Massarotti mentioned learning the game so that you can personally see the holes and so that you can be like a scout. You’d think I’d of thought of that, but I never took the time to study horse racing. How many more people could I have reached or met if I just took one more step? If I’m going to cover any sport (or be the SID for any sport), then I truly need to commit myself to learning that game. Some (ice hockey, baseball/softball) will come easier than others (basketball), simply because I played them for a long time. If I can establish the fact that I am knowledgeable, then people will have a reason to look at me and think “Yeah, I care what she’s saying.” As Alex said in his post, both men pointed out how important it is to have knowledge of the team, too, and I’m currently of the position where I want to help reporters get that correct information because I deeply respect what they – people like Reiss – need to do and do well. So I approached Reiss questioning how people might look at me if I wanted to work for a team versus being the beat writer about a team, as it seemed he, and other media, might have looked down upon that, and as my father recently asked “Why would you do relations/sports information if you could be Bob Ryan? But Reiss made me realize that no matter the role I was in, I would use the same skills. I would have to know the people, know the priorities and roles, and know the audience. The one thing Reiss pointed out that made me hesitant to keep pursuing this specific track, though, is that I can’t necessarily follow the story I want and might have to change course. But, as Massarotti said it’s okay, if you’re feeling like it’s a sacrifice, to make adjustments (as he and Reiss made adjustments).
Lee Altman posted on March 25, 2015 at 10:51 pm
A professional locker room can be a scary place. It can sometimes feel like a jungle between the collection of players with different personalities, organization personnel, and fellow reporters. There is no map, nor guidebook for traversing the locker room. Different organizations and different sports present different challenges. For one, the physical layout can vary greatly. For instance, a basketball locker room with 12 cubbies may seem like a far cry from the 53-man behemoths of professional football. In the Patriots locker room, if you stand at one end, you cannot even see the lockers at the other end.
Furthermore, the rules and regulations of different sports leagues allow for either limited or abundant access to players. Tony discussed the double-edged sword of covering a professional baseball team. The MLB allows unparalleled access to the clubhouse and there are 162 games worth of stories. The long and grueling season and sheer amount of access, however, can compound and create issues. Multiple hours, every game is a lot, even for the most seasoned beat reporters. Tony talked about getting called into Red Sox Manager Terry Francona’s office and being reprimanded occasionally during the “dog days” of the season. Tony did not attribute this to any of his particular articles or actions but rather to the friction caused by spending so much time covering the Red Sox organization. Conversely, football has very limited access to the locker room and only a handful of games during the season. These present entirely different benefits and challenges that Reiss must operate around.
With so many differing locker room landscapes, every reporter develops their own method and approach. If you are a new journalist on the scene and are not privy to the etiquette and rules, the best thing to do is observe a beat reporter. Beat reporters are in the building every day and know how the machine works from the levers to the gears. Personally, when I interned at WBZ and began attending Patriots’ locker room sessions, I looked to two reporters as role models and examples: Levan Reid and Mike Reiss.
When I heard Mike Reiss was going to be a guest speaker in our class, I was immediately excited. I have been an avid fan of his writing since he joined ESPN and admire the way he has commandeered the Patriots section of ESPN Boston. My first day in the locker room, I felt like a fish out of water and looked to Levan and Mike. I observed Mike coolly and confidently work his way through the locker room talking casually to some players and getting sound bites from others when necessary. Reiss certainly wasn’t exaggerating when he said, “he tries to know as much as he can about each player.”
I found it particularly interesting when a classmate asked Reiss how he deals with players who have been coached to give generic, public relations fueled responses. Reiss brought up Rob Gronkowski as an example. Gronk frequently gave cookie-cutter quotes in the locker room, but to Mike’s credit, I rarely saw any of these generic quotes in his articles. Mike carefully asked questions that occasionally elicited authentic responses- and any Patriots fan knows that when Gronk gives an authentic quote, it’s usually a good one. This was just one of many examples of good beat reporting that Reiss exhibited day in and day out in the locker room.
While some journalists might find beat reporting a grind, reporters like Mike Reiss and Tony Massarotti have found great success and enjoyment doing it. They represent two of the best in the business. If the newcomers from the last seminar represent a beginning to the sports journalism journey, Mike and Tony certainly represent a destination.
Joe Weil posted on March 26, 2015 at 1:24 am
Anyone who knows anything about sports journalism knows that beat reporting can be a grueling job. I thought it was interesting that right off the bat Mike Reiss and Tony Massarotti described the difficulties of being a beat reporter. Mazz talked about how covering the Red Sox (and their 162-game schedule) worn him down as he got older. Mike even conceded there are “a lot of divorced people,” in the beat reporting world, because the job takes you away from your family.
But what made this seminar great was that we had two reporters at different stages of their career. Mazz is no longer covering the Sox on a day-to-day basis, but Mike still loves his job covering the Patriots. He’s been doing this for a long time, but he still enjoys it.
As a beat reporter, you are the connection between the fans and the team on an everyday basis. Just like being around anyone for a long time, that can lead to some uncomfortable situations. For instance, Mazz cited that Terry Francona would have him come into his office whenever he was upset about one of his articles. But it’s important that you stick to your convictions and as Mike said,“show up every day.”
And because you are such an important figure in whatever community you cover, that leads to great opportunities…both in your field and outside of it. Since a beat reporter is around the team on a constant basis, they tend to get the best quotes. For instance, I love the NBA and the most compelling team to follow in my opinion is the Oklahoma City Thunder. Whenever anything is happening with the team, I read ESPN’s OKC beat reporter Royce Young first. He has everyday access to the Thunder and because he’s been around the team for a while, he has the best stories.
I thought it was great that Mike and Mazz talked about the importance of being proficient on all mediums. Both these guys were/are not just beat reporters. Mazz hosted radio shows while he was covering the Red Sox. Mike meanwhile does standups for ESPN.com, tapes roundtable discussions with WBZ, and does quick hits on SportsCenter to discuss all things Patriots.
But even if you’re covering a small-town team, it’s important to treat your job like you’re covering a major-market ballclub. Dylan talked about this in his post, but Mike’s point about putting your all into every story is important for all of us to remember. While I plan on going the broadcast route, this is something I need to think about going forward. Always try to have the best story. As Mazz said, this won’t happen every time, but there will be days it does (example: Mazz’s story about the Red Sox going over .500).
In my opinion, beat reporters have the most important in our field. A lot of what drives sports broadcasting comes from the nitty-gritty work these guys put in. For instance, one thing I learned from interning at 98.5 The Sports Hub is that a lot of segments start from reports by beat writers.
Even today, ironically, Felger and Mazz used a beat reporter’s story to blast Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino for insinuating that the team should trade Mookie Betts. Ryan Lawrence, a beat reporter from the Philadelphia Daily News, asked Victorino about the team possibly acquiring his old Phillies buddy Cole Hamels. Victorino said, “You’re hoping this guy becomes a Cole Hamels. Hoping. Oh wait, that guy is there now. And even as a hitter. Why would you hope that guy becomes this hitter, when you have it right now?” This ended up being a central topic of today’s show (Here’s what I’m talking about: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/03/25/felger-mazz-is-shane-victorino-openly-lobbying-for-a-mookie-betts-cole-hamels-trade/) … Just think about that for a second…One quote from a Phillies beat writer fueled a discussion on the most popular sports talk show in Boston.
Being a beat reporter is an all encompassing, all-consuming job. But at least you get to be a part of the story everyday.