It’s up to you now…what kind of journalist will you be? Undoubtedly, at first, the fact that you’re working in the “biz” will be the hook…But where does it go from there? If you’ve been a follower of this blog or a student at the seminar series, I hoped you’ve picked up enough along the way to have a pretty good clue…The guests and events of this just past week certainly drove home some salient points in 2015…
“Accountability of the bloggers, the tweeters, of high school kids”, warned Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. “So many of these other people (other than he and his fellow working reporters, i presume) want to be this but they don’t have the experience, they don’t know what they’re doing, and more importantly, they don’t have the accountability. If someone from the (Boston)Globe or (Boston)Herald is as wrong as some of these people, they’re fired! they’re fired! And it’s a trend that’s not going to stop. You can do whatever you want!”
Kirk Minihane , also of WEEI joined Bradford in our final session and if there was anyone who seems to be doing anything he wants, it’s Minihane…. His on air dust-ups with Joe Haggerty and Gary Tanguay might have been a bit contrived but the talk show host seems to be almost lamenting the lack of personality in the industry at the same time. “There’s nobody young that’s made an impact here (Boston) in a long time. There’s nobody in their 20’s, their 30’s that’s kicking ass on the radio, on t-v, in print, that next generation kind of thing. It’s open, open for someone who’s not afraid to take chances.” I’m not sure we can chalk these incidents up to “chances” but it’s still an interesting proposition. Do we really need to revisit the Erin Andrews rant? Boston sports talk radio is littered with vanilla, middle of the road hosts who couldn’t get listeners to listen. Local television is worse, the format is king in that medium, not the players. So maybe Minihane has something there.
So how do you put yourself out there and still be help accountable? One needed only to have an eye on Las Vegas this past week and you just might have found your answer…
Michelle Beadle and Rachel Nichols stood up for their own beliefs (being accountable to themselves) in spotlighting Floyd Mayweather’s history of domestic violence leading up to the fight with Manny Pacquiao and look what happened. Showtime denied the pair credentials for the fight. But who was the loser here? I’m thinking it was the boxing types and not the reporters. At some point you have to decide what’s the real issue here.
It’s up to you now…
Access and accountability, two subjects virtually every seminar has touched on over the past our months…It’s up to you now to put into play what we’ve tried to pass along…
13 Comments
Conor Ryan posted on May 3, 2015 at 8:24 pm
Throughout all the seminars that we have sat through, one prevailing theme that I have noticed in all of them — whether they revolve around beat reporting, play by play, media relations — is the idea of hope and opportunity.
As most of us prepare to graduate, we all recognize that the cards are mostly stacked against us. That’s certainly not breaking news.
For many in this room, our first gig in sports journalism will likely not be glamorous, whether it be covering high school sports, making a trek out to North Dakota or some other random part of the country or even working for free in some cases.
And yet, despite the fact that the pay might be crappy and the jobs will be few and far between, it’s important for all of us to remain focused on the task at hand.
For the first few years, we might be teetering on the edge, as Rob Bradford said, debating whether or not to jump ship and look for a career in something a bit more promising.
It’s a disheartening notion to think that some of us, despite spending years aspiring to make our mark in sports media world, might have to let go of our aspirations in order to make ends meet.
But if anything, these seminars have hit home the fact that the rewards far outweigh potentially weathering a few rough stretches at the start.
As both Rob and Kirk Minihane noted, this market has yet to blown away by a new up-and-coming presence, meaning that such a window is open to all of us.
It’s a tough field, no doubt, but we can’t waver in terms of achieving our goals. As Rob said, once we put our foot out of the door, it’s very hard to get back in.
Josh Schrock posted on May 3, 2015 at 10:41 pm
The final seminar had some good advice on how to be successful journalists as many of us begin our professional careers. What stuck with me the most after the seminar was when Kirk and Rob were talking about what makes a good sports writer. Both of them being a good writer comes down to your ability to find the story every day that interesting nugget that your other cohorts aren’t going to focus on. The ability to find the story each day doesn’t necessarily depend on your skill as a writer but on your ability to decipher which information is vital and at what point. Rob Bradford discussed that when he hears something from a source or happens upon something in the clubhouse he doesn’t always report it but rather knows when certain information will be more valuable later and stores it away. To me, it went back to something we talked about earlier in the semester with Mike Reiss about knowing who you are writing for and what they want to know. No matter what you are covering, be accountable, attentive and treat it like you would covering your dream job and you will be able to find that interesting nugget everyday and hopefully make your way from Elkhart to your dream just don’t take your foot out of the door.
Nick Garrido posted on May 4, 2015 at 8:17 pm
This was a great seminar to end the semester with. I agree with Conor, one common thing I’ve noticed with the speakers that have come into class is that they’re all optimistic that we can land jobs and that there are jobs to be had in this field. You have to be different, make yourself stand out, and be unique. Kirk Minihane isn’t afraid to say what is on his mind. It’s gotten him into a bit of trouble but you can’t argue that he stands out in this sports radio market.
There is a market for young people in this business. Like both guys said, it may take some luck but if you work hard, you can be successful in the sports industry. You also have to hold yourself accountable. Always confirm something before you tweet it out and go through your resources are a couple things that were also touched upon in this seminar that we’ve talked about quite a bit this semester.
This seminar to me was important because it proved that sometimes your first job in the sports industry may not be the type of job you end up with years down the road. Kirk started off writing before he ended up going into sports talk radio. Sometimes its just about getting your foot in the door and just let the chips fold. I’ve grown to be more optimistic as the semester has gone on about my chances of landing in a good situation and I got my first job offer today so the optimism has definitely helped my mental state.
Nicholas Picht posted on May 5, 2015 at 12:49 pm
I agree with Nick that this seminar was a great one to end on. Rob and Kirk provided us with a perfect mindset and attitude to take out into the workforce with us upon graduation – just go in there guns blazing and ready to make an impact right away. I spoke to Kirk after the seminar and his advice was, “dude, just go for it. Who gives a damn if you ruffle a few feathers, at least it makes you stand out.”
Obviously he’s not advocating calling out one of the most well-known female reporter on live radio, but he is 100% right. All of these guys stand out – John Buccigross, Steven A. Smith, etc. – because they’re different from the rest. Granted, Steven A. isn’t the best example, but it still gets my point across. He’s ruffled the most feathers in the sports and television business, maybe other than Don Cherry. Yet, his net worth is 10 MILLION DOLLARS! Call him a sellout all you want. I’m just saying I would’ve liked to have enough money to sit ringside at an event like Mayweather-Pacquiao myself. Speaking of May-Pac, what a classless act for his camp to pull Michelle Beadle’s and Rachel Nichols’ credentials, and Kudos to those two ladies for sticking to their guns and standing up for what’s right.
Anyway, back to the seminar. I think Rob Bradford made a great point as well when he said, “You need to know what’s a good story and know what people want to read. There are people who come from Northwestern or Syracuse who know how to write, but cannot find a story.” First of all, we might as well throw BU into that pair of schools I just mentioned. Secondly, he’s also 100% right. Sure you’re pedigree means something. But at the end of the day, it’s what you do and how capable you are of taking a nugget of the game nobody has thought about, and turning that into something people want to read.
A good example of what I’m talking about is right here → http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-rays-radical-reliever-experiment/.
Rob Arthur turned a conventional inter-league game between two subpar baseball teams into a statistical examination of how and why the Rays decided to pitch their entire bullpen for nine innings. There is no shot I would’ve read that game recap of that game. But, I did read this article. And, for baseball nerds (for which I’m a huge one) and non-baseball nerds alike, it was an interesting read and really highlights Arthur’s ability to find a story out of nothing.
Overall, this seminar served as the final push I think we needed before we move forward out of BU and into the “biz.” It definitely gave me motivation to stand out, be different, and let my personality shrine through in my work.
Katie Peverada posted on May 5, 2015 at 2:59 pm
One thing Kirk Minihane said that really got me thinking was when he said “ESPN is in the entertainment business…they have good reporters but they aren’t pretending to be anything that they’re not…”
I think we can all agree, at least to an extent, that ESPN is, in fact, all about entertainment these days. I just read an article, for example, explaining that the whole Stephen A. Smith “interview”/love fest with Floyd Mayweather was all about trying to drive up the ratings for SportsCenter. Throughout the week, as they showed clips, I questioned how we were still calling Smith a journalist (here he was with a guy who had been convicted five-times, and there he was a few months ago defending a guy caught on tape punching out his fiancé). However, as Nick pointed out, and as Kirk said, we can be hateful or jealous all we want regarding ESPN’s “journalism,” but in the end they’re not pretending to be the New York Times or HBO Real Sports.
Those last two, arguably, practice sports journalism whereas ESPN has strayed from that track. Sports journalists have accountability – they have to – in all aspects. It’s as simple as showing up in the locker-room everyday on a beat. In order to reach that level Kirk and Rob Bradford were talking about, we have to take a risk, and when it blows up in our faces we have to be accountable for our actions. I know we can’t be picky – and let’s be real, if a place like ESPN offered any of us a job right out of school we wouldn’t think twice – but we should always check ourselves.
And finally, as the blog post showed and as a few have mentioned, Beads and Nichols were banned for standing up to Mayweather’s history and for being accountable. Today, Beadle expanded a little on that today on Twitter ( http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sm2oaj ). She even pointed out that last year at the ESPY’s she told Mayweather “I like the way you live your life.” Right after she said that, she was hit on Twitter for condoning his lifestyle. What did she do? Took the time to look into the matter, admitted she was wrong, and was so accountable for her actions that she was banned for the fight Saturday. She ends the long post by saying it’s time to use her voice. It appears that she’s using it in all the right ways, and hopefully one thing we can all take from the seminars we’ve had this semester is to do the same. Write the story in the right way.
Sara Varela posted on May 5, 2015 at 4:09 pm
In one of my other journalism courses, the professor asked us if journalists have to be more ethical than other people, and I think journalists, in general, aren’t more ethical but have another set of ethics that can take effect. There are everyday ethics we apply to our lives, and there are journalism ethics that apply to the job. I’m sure for most they overlap, but there are moments we might have to choose.When knowing something about a player’s personal life came up in the seminar, I really started thinking about how I would handle the situation. As a sports reporter, it would be my job to report on the game and the details surrounding it, but would reporting on a player’s personal life be a step away from that? Part of me feels as if it wouldn’t be my place because I’m not necessarily there to report the players’ personal lives, and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize my relationship with the players, however; society cares about the personal lives of everyone, including players. Fans are readers, and if a story matters to them, there is probably a place and a time for it. If no one reports on the domestic violence, the drug use, or even concussions, then those stories stay buried underneath the flash and admiration. I think as journalists, we have to be able to gauge what information will benefit the fans and what they need to hear. I think the discussion, about accountability and the various aspects of a journalist’s job, was a great ending point for the semester.
Katharine Huntley-Bachers posted on May 5, 2015 at 7:57 pm
This week’s seminar really highlighted the differences between radio and television and also duly highlighted the necessity for a show which creates a hybrid between the two mediums. Listening to the freedom Kirk Minihane has while speaking on his radio show, and how popular he has become in the mean time really begs for a television medium of radio. Besides Pardon the Interruption which is extremely scripted and Around the Horn, there are not many places for television personalities to talk about their opinions.
Dan Patrick and Jim Rome became extremely popular after years on the radio. There are also numerous radio shows which are televised. People would tune in each day to watch someone who really incenses them, or to watch someone who agrees with them verbally combat someone who disagrees with their own personal views. The unpredictability of sports radio, and radio in general, has assured the resilience of radio. If another sports network wants to make a play on competing with ESPN, they could really hit a home run with this idea.
Pat O'Rourke posted on May 5, 2015 at 8:34 pm
The big thing I took from this seminar — and maybe the biggest thing I took overall from this semester — was that the climb up the industry is a process that can be long and tedious.
I was shocked to hear that Rob Bradford didn’t get his first full-time job in the industry until he was 30 years old. I’ve been reading and listening to Bradford since he was at the Eagle Tribune in Lawrence, where he carved his niche as a Red Sox beat writer while appearing on the Big Show on WEEI, which I listened to religiously growing up. He’s currently the EIC for WEEI.com and one of the more prominent baseball writers in Boston, if not the country. He’s always been one of my favorites, and I read the autobiography he co-authored with Mikey Lowell.
Prof. Shorr first sentence in this blog post is “what kind of journalist do you want to be?” I think becoming the journalist you want to be is a matter of fate. Over time, you learn your strengths, you learn your weaknesses, and that comes from years of experiences and opportunities. We all gravitate toward what you’re good at. Kirk Minihane makes a great case for that. He was a screenwriter in California when he got his foot in the door at WEEI as a copy editor/fantasy sports guru. That led to him becoming a weekend host, which led to him becoming a full-timer on Dennis and Callahan, which has been one of the top-rated morning drive shows in Boston for almost 15 years. As someone who grew up listening to D&C on the way to school, Minihane brought a much-needed energy to the show, and may have very well saved the show.
I’m also glad that the point of how no young people have exploded on the scene and taken the market by storm was brought up. I think there’s two factors that go into that. First off, Boston is a unique place. I think this is the hardest market to succeed in because it’s so parochial, and so intense. There’s a lot of things people in nationally care about, and care about in every other market in the country, that nobody in Boston gives a crap about. That’s why so many people fail here, in my opinion.
The other factor is the national market is much bigger than it was back in the days of Will McDonough and Peter Gammons, with a lot more money. Chevrolet and Pepsi have much deeper pockets than Giant Glass and the Boch Motor Group. That’s why we see so many talented writers in Boston go national. A bigger audience and an even bigger paycheck. Makes sense, no? It’s why Greg Bedard and Ian Rapoport, just to name two names, are no longer in the Boston market. There’s more money and a wider readership at SI.com and the NFL Network than there is at the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald.
Dylan Haines posted on May 5, 2015 at 9:03 pm
As mentioned earlier in the semester, radio and print are two separate worlds of sports journalisms. Both require the journalist to establish a personality or identity but radio is more freeform than print. On air, the necessity of debate cannot be more clear. A laid-back radio show with a lack of arguments is not entertaining to the listeners that wish to hear intriguing debates about various topics.
Print appears to have more boundaries that a journalist needs to stay within. A journalist with a mouth of a radio personality may not prove to be a good combination of skills for a news organization. It could be! Depends who you write for. The general idea though, is that print journalists need to follow strict rules that may accumulate to more rules than radio hosts.
Print journalists are enduring the everyday work of going to locker rooms, getting sound bites, etc. Kirk even said he could not do that for too long. He’s not the right person for that job. So just as a loudmouth may be better suited for radio, a meticulous reporter who can persevere the long nights in the locker room may find that print is for them. These features of a person go beyond journalism, as Kirk said he grew up knowing he could hold debates with other people and want to win.
For print people, like myself hopefully, having the the skill of knowing what the audience wants to know is crucial. Being able to decide what is a good story key. Rob emphasized this as being as important, maybe even more important, than the writing sills themselves. As he said, cookie-cut journalist students may have the technique but need to find the instinct of a good story internally.
Joe Weil posted on May 6, 2015 at 1:08 pm
It’s a hope of mine to go back to New York at some point and do radio work/play-by-play there. So it was great talking to Kirk Minihane afterwards because he told me that it was more than possible to do that. As he pointed out to me, there aren’t that many young sports talk show hosts in New York City. Maybe at some point I can be one of them.
I actually thought it was somewhat reassuring that a person with no radio background is now one of the biggest voices in Boston sports talk radio. Kirk started off as a (movie?) writer before he got in touch with WEEI.com. All it took to make him big was an opportunity and practice. For all of us that plan on starting in small markets, Kirk told us “don’t be afraid to try new things”. He was able to experiment on his weekend shifts and now he knows what works and what doesn’t on the radio.
Conor talked about this in his post, but as Rob told us, this is an all-business. It’s hard to get out and then get back in years later. But this seminar series has reassured my belief that this is a field I want to be in. It may take time and it make take years to get where I want to be, but I’m up for the challenge.
I’m all in.
Lee Altman posted on May 6, 2015 at 9:37 pm
Sports radio has moved away from its traditional, journalistic roots, focusing more on entertaining its listeners. Entertainment sometimes can come at the expense of accuracy. Kirk Minihane and Rob Bradford presented their position that sports radio is a form of entertainment, and that radio hosts are not journalists and, therefore, should not be held to the same standards as journalists. The downside to this position, however, is that by exempting themselves from journalistic standards, sports radio programs can run relatively free in their broadcasts.
Traditionally, the format of sports radio was based on informed discussion with credentialed analysts and thoroughly researched and reported features, such as those that fill the hour long broadcasts of Only A Game? Granted, Only A Game is disseminated to a national NPR audience, but it is produced and performed out of the WBUR station here in Boston. It is clear that each segment of the show has been painstakingly reviewed and edited by its host, Bill Littlefield. When Littlefield discusses mainstream sports on the show, he does not speculate and make assumptions. He debates with experienced analysts such as Tim Kurkjian of ESPN and Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports.
Littlefield is rarely, if ever, criticized for making unfair comments. This seems to be a more common occurrence for many of Boston’s other sports radio shows. For instance, in March, 2015 Shane Victorino called out Felger & Mazz in response to their claim that Victorino was throwing his teammates under the bus. Victorino furiously stated, “These individuals sit behind a mic and they take a story and they make it into a big fish rather than keeping it a little fish… I never said any individual’s name. And you guys are quick to assume… I’m trying to call out my teammate or trying to get them shipped away.”
Following the Victorino incident, Felger and Mazz once again drew the ire of a sports figure- this time NESN Bruin’s Broadcaster Jack Edwards. Possibly emboldened by Vicitorino’s incensed response the week before, Edward penned a letter to Felger saying, “You can choose to take shortcuts, be sloppy, reckless with innuendo, and mean-spirited, but you crossed the line when you lied about me this afternoon on your rant… I heard it. I knew I hadn’t said it.” Felger admitted he made a mistake and issued an apology in turn.
Minihane talked about his brief suspension by WEEI when he faced scrutiny over comments he made about reporter Erin Andrews. Minihane said on air, “What a bitch! I hate her! What a gutless bitch! Seriously, go away. Drop dead.” This passionate rant surely entertained many of the show’s listeners but it didn’t really advance the argument of whether Erin Andrews is a good reporter or not.
Hosts such as Felger, Mazz, and Minihane are not responsible for the modern and prevalent sports radio culture; the sports fans who tune in to listen to these shows drive the ratings. In a 2013 Boston Globe column, Dan Shaughnessy wrote, “Journalists who cover politics, science, medicine, labor and international relations are asked to put their agendas on the shelf. Tell the story.” It appears that some sports radio hosts reject this blueprint, eschewing the title of journalist, and broadcasting instead with confidence in their roll as entertainers. In an article Minihane wrote after the Erin Andrews incident, he said, “I screwed up. The blame is mine. If you hate me for what I said, or choose to stop listening… I completely respect that.” Chances are though, that listeners kept their dials tuned to the show and will continue to do so.
Keiko Talley posted on May 7, 2015 at 4:15 pm
I thought the energy of the two speakers this week was very interesting, I guess that would be because they are on radio. As our speakers said, people on the radio are able to get away with a lot more than the people on TV, who are told what to say and how.
A large part of being a journalist is teetering on the line of what is ethical, when we cross that line than comes in responsibility. If we aren’t able to take responsibility of what we did or said than there truly isn’t much reason to be a journalist. When Kirk first told us about his Erin Andrews rant, he told us how he opted to be suspended for a certain amount of time but it was his producers who said no. It wasn’t until a month later that he was suspended, after making another Erin Andrews comment.
I found it interesting that even when telling the story he didn’t say much about how he was sorry for saying what he said. As a sports reporter you have an obligation to be fair and somewhat respectful. He is entitled to his own opinion, but in my mind-maybe because I am a female who could absolutely be the butt of some radio hosts jokes-I see no difference between the things that he said and the things that Brit McHenry said to the tow company. However, he was suspended and had to say sorry so in a way he was held responsible.
These are things that we as new journalists entering the work world are going to have to face. We are going to have to decide when to keep our mouths shut and when to open up. However, we also have to remember that when we do take that risk and open up we are also risking our job for X amount of time.
Christina Patracuolla posted on May 9, 2015 at 12:30 pm
In every seminar this semester, I have asked myself if I could do what each of these talented people does. Most of the time, I decide I probably can’t. What I did realize is I don’t have to do exactly what they did or go about it in the same way that they have. By having so many successful guests, some in the same profession and seeing how they got to where they are, it showed me that each of us will have individual paths and as the business progresses this path will continue to evolve and change.
Kirk Minihane and Rob Bradford were a perfect example of how y our job can be perfectly molded around your personality. In all honestly, Minihane was an extreme example and semi-intimidating considering how strong his personality is. It was cool to see that though because it made me think about what job in the business would fit the best with mine. Yes, we all have dreams about what we want to do, but at the same time some people want to be Olympic runners, but it just isn’t in the cards for them. We have to really find what we are good at and pursue it no matter what the measures are. If there is one thing everyone has learned collectively, no matter what we’re doing it will not come without hurdles.
No class has had the ability to show such a wide range of options in the business, which has given me he opportunity to both narrow and expand my options for the future. Something Minihane and Bradford accentuated was letting your personality come out no matter what branch of journalism you’re in. After all, writing is one of the most important forms of expression. I don’t think we will all be going as far as Minihane (without getting fired), but the world of journalism is looking for unique voices, not robots. Each speaker has driven home the importance of writing well and I do believe the technicalities to writing are important, but the ability to write beautifully means nothing if the ideas aren’t there.
Will I fall in love with my first job ever? Probably not, but I have hope that in the end I can get to where I want to be without regretting where I have been.