“They’re just people like you and me”…We hear that all the time when trying to explain how to interview, how to get close to an athlete…But what that doesn’t take into account is that, often times, there’s a a jealousy, maybe even an envy going on, in that these same athletes can swish a basket from twenty feet, throw a ninety five mile an hour fastball or put a puck through a goaltender’s legs with amazing accuracy…Reporters figured out at some point they couldn’t do that anymore and did the next best thing, they saw a way to stay around the game, sports journalism…
The athlete/media relationship is one of the cornerstones to learning how to survive in world of sports journalism…Face it, you need them more than they need you…And sometimes that gets in the way…
At a recent Boston University Sports Journalism Seminar, Ian Thomsen of NBA.Com and Boston Celtics first year player Jaylen Brown came at the topic from different sides….
Brown was accompanied to the seminar by veteran Media Relations expert Jeff Twiss, Vice President of Media Services for the Celtics and while we’ll deal with that media relations subject later in the semester, Twiss told the students “This is their office, their setting, be aware of that”…Imagine players, writers, bloggers coming into your dorm, your apartment, your classroom, sticking iphones, recorders and video cameras into your face(s) to find out why you didn’t do so well on that last quiz!…you’d probably get cranky too if it happened every day before AND after the quiz…”Gee Jordan, how do you think you’re gonna do on this big test in ten minutes, did ya study, do you know your stuff?”….Followed after by, “Jordan, what were you thinking when you answered that question five (wrong)?…What’s it gonna take to do better next time?”…And “talk about question 12″…Let me go ask Coach (Shorr) or some of your teammates!!…
Then Jordan gets to read all about it on every social media site known to human kind…But if he’s lucky he adopts an attitude like Brown, “I don’t want to let it bring me down” he answered when asked if he reads what people write and say…Thomsen has seen his share of the other side however, having been pulled aside by athletes who don’t like what he said, even though, often times, it comes secondhand, “Sometimes I agree with them”…A good approach not always accepted among the media…
While getting the information is the goal here, it’s just as important to remember where you are and what you’re doing…Thomsen readily acknowledges that he learns so much from “these guys” and that listening is a formula for success…Brown, who just happens to be younger than every student in the class, has an engaging perspective on the process….”I definitely think there’s a line (about what you can ask)…but sports and real life are separate”…Reporters are going to push but Brown counters with “It’s up to the person (the athlete) to determine where that line is”…
That’s pretty much what it is in a nutshell….And if you think about it, life is pretty much like that as well…Be aggressive but be respectful…Do your homework (literally) and never settle…..
Next week: Beat Reporting with Zach Cox of NESN and Brian Robb from CBS Boston
11 Comments
Curtis Stoychoff posted on February 7, 2017 at 1:51 pm
I think it’s definitely true that reporters need athletes more than the athletes need them, because obviously without the athletes the reporters don’t have a job. But in a sense, I think it is also interesting to think about how the athletes need the reporters as well. If no one is covering the NBA, less people would watch. Less people watching means small profit margins. And smaller profit margins means clubs would either have to carry a smaller number of players on their roster or just pay all of those players less. Whichever is the outcome, the athletes clearly wouldn’t be doing as well for themselves if it weren’t for the media who cover them.
As for the seminar itself, I thought having Ian and Jaylen together was a very interesting combination. Obviously Ian is a lot older and has been doing what he’s doing for a long time. While Jaylen is just getting his feet wet in the world of being a professional athlete. You could tell that Ian puts so much into what he does and at the same time, truly cares about and respects that athletes that he covers. Not only was it good for us as a class to see that but I feel like it was good for Jaylen as well just in case he does encounter members of the media who cross that line he talked about, he’ll remember Ian and it’ll hopefully give him some faith that there are more guys out there like him.
The topic of athletes and their relationship with the media is, I think, an extremely important one for us to study and really understand. If we’re going to be good/successful members of sports media, there are definitely a few things we need to understand and that’s why we had this topic. When we were growing up, most of us probably looked to these athletes as heroes, as people we idolized and wanted to be like. Now growing up and entering the professional world, that’s not what they are to us anymore. If you have to go interview Tom Brady, you can’t be gushing about all the times you watched him win a super bowl when you were a kid. You need to be focused and able to treat him as a colleague. After all, we now have a working relationship with people like him. Going off of that, we also need to understand that line that Jaylen talked about. Yes, we need to do our job and report on what we’re covering, but we need to remember that athletes are people too. The sooner we are able to identifying the line of what’s acceptable and what’s not, the sooner we will be able to be successful in this field.
Shelby Reardon posted on February 7, 2017 at 3:39 pm
Shelby/ Marisa podcast
Shelby Reardon posted on February 7, 2017 at 3:39 pm
Shelby/ Marisa podcast
https://soundcloud.com/user-128935005/the-w-column-women-talking-about-sports-journalism
Channing Curtis posted on February 8, 2017 at 2:13 pm
I completely agreed with Jaylen Brown when he said that there is a line that sports reporters should respect when covering an athlete. However I disagree with where that line is drawn.
In the days before social media and reality television, athletes were mostly known for their abilities on the court or the field. With very few exceptions did you learn much about their personal lives or their antics off the court. Today thanks to a 24 hour news circuit and constant stream of social media, you are now allowed more access into who these athletes are as people. They post pictures of their kids, the vacations they take and even their homes in order to showcase the lifestyle that they live. Now granted not all athletes do this but for the ones that do how do you expect a journalist to reasonably say that a topic is off limits?
Travis Kelce, the pro-bowl tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs had a reality dating show on TV last year. Is it out of line for a sports journalist to then ask him whether or not the show would distract him from preparing for the season?
J.R. Smith posted on Instagram that his wife had just had a premature baby and how hard of a time they were having. Is it wrong for someone to ask him about that in a player profile?
I completely agree that athletes are entitled to their privacy especially those that truly want It, however when an athlete has decided to put certain information out in the public domain they can’t be mad when they’re questioned about it.
Yes, sports journalists need athletes more than they need us. We have to respect them not only as good players but as people. We must remember how we would want to be treated in a similar situation. We also must remember that being an athlete is a choice and with that choice comes certain level of accessibility to the press. It’s a small trade-off for having those big pay days.
Jarett Leonard and Chris Picher posted on February 8, 2017 at 3:37 pm
Seminar Strategists Episode 2: https://soundcloud.com/jarett-leonard/seminar-strategists-episode-2
Stephanie Schalago posted on February 8, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Sports journalists and athletes have a different kind of relationship. While journalists tend to talk to athletes like their friends, they’re not friends. Jaylen Brown mentioned that there is an unspoken line that journalists can not cross when speaking with athletes. I believe that there is a line. Journalists should not bring up athletes’ families. However, if an athlete chooses to make his or her private life public, like publishing it on social media, then the journalist has every right to ask about it. There is a line, but it’s a blurred line. There are exceptions to every rule.
One thing that Jeff Twiss pointed out is that the journalist doesn’t know what happened to the athlete that day. He or she may have had a bad day, and doesn’t want to speak with the media. While it is part of the athlete’s job description to talk to media, it’s not necessary for him or her to speak to everyone. This particularly stuck out to me because sometimes people forget that athletes and celebrities are people just like us. They have feelings too. If I have a bad day, I may not want to interview the athletes, but I will have to because it’s my job. The difference between the athletes and me is that they can decide who they get to talk to on their rough days, and I won’t get to.
Overall, the relationship between journalists and athletes differs for each player and journalists. Some players may see journalists as friends, and others may see them as intruders. Some journalists like to twist the words that the athletes say in order to make them look bad in the media. Some athletes. like Jaylen Brown, choose to ignore the rude articles, but others may take it personally. Journalists need to be aware of the line, and depending on the athlete, they must know how far is too far. If the athlete has made his or her life public, then it can be asked about. But ultimately, it is up to the athlete and what they’re comfortable with.
Dylan Jones posted on February 8, 2017 at 10:23 pm
The relationship between professional athletes and those who cover them every day is one that is elastic, and always changing. In some cases, reporters and the athletes they cover can have buddy-buddy relationships and reporters can feel comfortable asking them about anything. In other cases, you have people like John Tortorella threatening to fight people at bus stops. In either situation, there is a certain line that with those you cover, whether it be in sports media or otherwise, that you shouldn’t cross, but once again, it depends on the specific athlete and the specific situation.
It was great to hear Ian and Jaylen interact and I imagine for Ian it was good to get an objective opinion from a athlete about the work done by people of his profession. Obviously Ian is a different case given both his experience in the field and his thoughtfulness in his interactions with the athletes he covers. I imagine to Jaylen he was a welcome change from some of the media members that just ask questions to get headlines.
Jaylen was surprisingly honest in response any question he was asked in regards to his opinion of and relationship with sports media. I appreciated the fact he was open about how he didn’t really liked being interviewed; Bill Belichick has made it clear for years but never said it out loud (at least to my knowledge). Sports media nowadays in general can get pretty exhausting with the hot takes, the fact that it is now a 24 hour profession, and how not much is off limits anymore including family, friends, or what you like on twitter. It doesn’t help he plays in Boston either, one of the more intense markets in regards to covering athletes. As a result, it was great to hear a professional athlete be very open in describing what his line is, and give an honest opinion of those who cover him. It gives good insight for the future.
As sports journalists we need to be respectful of those we cover. I agree wholeheartedly that if I had people asking me about the mistakes I make in my every day life I may go crazy, particularly here in Boston. As a result, while there is certainly a job to do and headlines have to be written, it is important to get to know those you’re covering, and know what is and isn’t off limits. Inevitably there will be situations where you have to ask a tough, unpopular question, and it’ll be the athletes’ job to answer it. If you have that respect from those you cover, much like I’m sure Ian does, the athlete will certainly be more likely to return the favor.
Eric Getzoff posted on February 8, 2017 at 10:41 pm
Getzoff/Souzza podcast:
https://soundcloud.com/user-691909582/t005-20170208
Jake Reiser posted on February 8, 2017 at 11:37 pm
Another week, another episode of To Be Frank! (This time, with better clothes.)
https://youtu.be/AImJeW-AIY4
Daniel Choi posted on February 9, 2017 at 12:02 am
Professional athletes belong to an exclusive group, especially NBA players. The NBA consists of 30 teams with 15 roster spots each, meaning the experience of playing in the NBA is limited to merely 450 people in any given year. The NFL has nearly four times as many roster spots, approximating 1,696. (Each of the 32 NFL teams have 53 regular-season spots). Counting in the 40-man expanded roster, the MLB nearly triples the NBA in roster size with 1,200. (Drops to 750 when counting in the 25-man active roster).
According to research findings published by the NCAA in April 2016, the estimated probability of an NCAA men’s basketball player transitioning to the NBA is 1.1%. (Women’s basketball at 0.9%; Football at 1.6%; Baseball at 9.7%). Approximately 18,697 student-athletes participated on an NCAA men’s basketball team during the 2014-15 season. By the NCAA’s estimation, only 200 of these 18,697 participants will realize their hoop dreams.
Playing sports on a professional level is a uniquely rare experience envied by some and unimaginable to many. The money is good and access to numerous fringe benefits makes it even better. But even luxury money, in all its practical and hedonistic glory, can easily attract new and uniquely difficult challenges. The same can be said about fame, which presents challenging experiences never encountered by a greater-than-great majority of people. Exposure breeds fame which heightens the demand for exposure which then influences the level and nature of the fame, which then again affects the demand for exposure. Even though wealth and fame can easily attract a crowd, I assume they can also nudge a professional athlete to increased isolation and an intensified suspicion of people. Journalists can try to benefit from the professional athlete’s struggles, perhaps even providing a few nudges toward the edge hoping for juicier material, but they can also choose to act opposite to what the athlete expects.
Viewing professional athletes in an otherworldly light is not decidedly harmful to journalists, but interacting with professional athletes in accordance with such a view in perpetuity will likely affect journalistic judgment and do more harm than good. Rewarding, dependable relationships develop well when interactions remain grounded and human. And if an athlete shows an obvious preference for keeping business and personal relationships miles apart, the act of making appropriate adjustments is a grounded step toward a healthier relationship with the athlete.
Borrowing from Ian Thomsen, professional athletes are human beings. There are experiences unique to professional athletes, yet the same can be said about nearly everybody. We have commonalities and differences. Jaylen Brown expressed understanding and respect for journalists, noting that they too have to carry out their job responsibilities. Some players do not mind sharing details from their personal life, but even they have a line that cannot be crossed. Valuing the process of getting to know and understand a person is best not forgotten when conducting an interview and presenting the work, regardless of the interviewee’s stature.
Cassidy Kelly posted on February 9, 2017 at 12:09 am
Listening to Ian and Jaylen speak this past week was an eye opening experience, as I have not had direct experience in sports media or interviewing a professional player. Ian certainly has had a lot of amazing experiences, and gave insightful responses throughout the seminar about different past experiences he’s had.
I think one of the most prevalent discussion topics that came up a few times was the idea of this line that is drawn between an athlete and the media. I found the perspective of both Ian and Jaylen on this topic to be interesting and felt like they were mostly on the same page when it comes to this. Outside of class, it had been something I was thinking about earlier that day when listening to Tom Brady’s press conference and the badgering questions he was asked in regards to his mother’s health. While I understand it was something the media wanted to know about, it still made me uncomfortable to hear him being asked over and over the same questions about a personal issue going on in his family. That being said, Brady also shared the struggles via social media and posting photos of his mom who was able to make it to the game. So while on one hand I do understand the media asking questions as he revealed the issue to the public, I still think that sometimes it can easy to be insensitive to the topic at hand as a media person. Jaylen and Ian seemed to both think along these same lines, and Jaylen mentioned that tricky topics such as family should only be talked about if the player brings them up.
The relationship between an athlete and the media is incredibly interesting and dependent on so many factors. It was interesting to hear Jaylen’s perspective, especially as he is still so new to it all. Ian has been able to see so many things change during his time as a journalist that he was able to highlight some of these. For us, we now have a constant media cycle with the Internet and the way that athletes communicate via his or her personal social media. Ian first began working when this was not a thing, and he recognizes that even the job he has now may not be one that is available, even though it is via a digital platform. The best piece of advice from Ian that has stuck with me is to research any athlete you are going to speak with before you meet with them. I think that was a great point and shows to the athlete the respect and time you took to prepare before speaking with them for the first time. Overall, a lot of the advice Ian and Jaylen were able to share were incredibly helpful to hear as someone new to the field.