Tennessee bans Knoxville reporter

[Omar_dont_scare]

I don't either, Omar. Like I said, "If you know the guy ..." I'm not sure if anyone here is qualified to answer the question of whether he does or not. But if they had talked just a day or two before to set up the interview, as I believe I read in one of these blog entries, then I doubt Inky forgot over the course of one or two days who Dave Hooker was.

That's valid. But here's my thing. If they met face to face to do the interview, I doubt Dave said "Hey this is Dave Hooker" because Inky knows what Hooker looks like. When Dave called on the phone, I'm sure he identified himself.

I think your bigtime D-I athletes know faces of media guys and gals. And they know names. But a lot of times I think they don't necessarily know the faces that go with the names unless it's one of the guys that does interviews all the time. And Inky wouldn't fall in that category.

I don't know for sure one way or the other, just discussing based on my own experiences.

[BTExpress]

Man, I'm glad I don't have to deal with the bullshit that is covering colleges... I know it's not like this everywhere, but give me a fucking break...

Yep. Nothing beats living the good life covering teams coached by Nick Saban, who treats the media with professionalism and class.

[/drippingwithsarcasm]

[Mizzougrad96]

Well, Saban is the extreme... I'm not saying that covering the pros is any day at the beach, but I don't have to ask permission to ask an athlete about his injury...

Also, at least with Saban's team, under NFL rules he has to make the locker room available for 45 minutes on every day they practice, plus postgame... Most college beat writers never get to see locker room access...

[Omar_dont_scare]

Well, Saban is the extreme... I'm not saying that covering the pros is any day at the beach, but I don't have to ask permission to ask an athlete about his injury...

Also, at least with Saban's team, under NFL rules he has to make the locker room available for 45 minutes on every day they practice, plus postgame... Most college beat writers never get to see locker room access...

More assholes in the pros, though... at least with regard to athlete-media relations

[Mizzougrad96]

I guess you're entitled to your opinion, but I've covered both and it's not close...

[Omar_dont_scare]

I guess you're entitled to your opinion, but I've covered both and it's not close...

Misspoke. Fixed.

[Pringle]

I would trade my company line college kids for a few pro assholes who at least are willing to be their own man and say what's on their minds, even if that means being surly once in a while.

[awriter]

I don't either, Omar. Like I said, "If you know the guy ..." I'm not sure if anyone here is qualified to answer the question of whether he does or not. But if they had talked just a day or two before to set up the interview, as I believe I read in one of these blog entries, then I doubt Inky forgot over the course of one or two days who Dave Hooker was. Again, though, I don't assume this. Just making the statement that I don't think you can say him not identifying himself as a KNS reporter is necessarily a shady thing to do.

If Inky didn't know the reporter he would have asked, "Who are you? And who do you work for?" I think it's a pretty safe bet that he knows the local reporter, especially if they arranged the interview. The fact that the reporter asked him more than once what he would like to say to the Tennessee fans and says going to write it makes it clear the conversation is on the record.

[Mizzougrad96]

I would trade my company line college kids for a few pro assholes who at least are willing to be their own man and say what's on their minds, even if that means being surly once in a while.

I agree completely...

At a lot of the major colleges they treat these kids like they're five. I remember reading somewhere that a coach said "Player X isn't qualified to comment on his injury..." and it was something like an ankle sprain or something like that...

[Pringle]

I would trade my company line college kids for a few pro assholes who at least are willing to be their own man and say what's on their minds, even if that means being surly once in a while.

I agree completely...

At a lot of the major colleges they treat these kids like they're five. I remember reading somewhere that a coach said "Player X isn't qualified to comment on his injury..." and it was something like an ankle sprain or something like that...

That's why I never understand on here when someone says, "I like covering East High preps - the kids are so unselfish. They always thank their teammates first and are so polite! You don't get that in the pros!"

Hell, no, you don't. That's why it's so fun to cover. It's mind-numbing to hear over and over again, "We just have to worry about ourselves this week, not what State U is going to do" or "Army/Stanford/Indiana/Mississippi State/Duke is a great team ..."

[Mizzougrad96]

What's interesting is when you interview some of these guys in college and they're as boring as you can imagine.

Then they get to the pros and they remember they have a personality because they don't have a SID or a head coach ready to jump their shit for saying anything.

A friend of mine told me there was a school that passed out sheets to athletes that had an answer to any question they could face from reporters that is filled with cliches...

This isn't the case at all the schools. It just seems that way a lot.

The beat writers at the main local college that we cover get access to players once a week and after games they bring the same 4-5 players out.

[Left_Coast]

Someone in the athletic department set up the interview between the reporter and Johnson. Who did Johnson think he was talking to if not a reporter? The on/off the record comment is a smokescreen/trying to cover the SID/athletic department for the kid talking to the reporter.

[BTExpress]

Fear of the SID or head coach really has little to do with it.

The pro athlete simply has more life experiences from which to draw and a few more years of media exposure under his belt.

Thus, after a while, he gets better at interviews and dealing with the media.

Bill Walton could hardly string a sentence together at age 20. He's a professional broadcaster --- well, sort of --- at age 50.

Just like we are better journalists and writers and editors and communicators at age 30, 40 and 50 than we were at 20.

[busuncle]

Fear of the SID or head coach really has little to do with it.

The pro athlete simply has more life experiences from which to draw and a few more years of media exposure under his belt.

Thus, after a while, he gets better at interviews and dealing with the media.

Bill Walton could hardly string a sentence together at age 20. He's a professional broadcaster --- well, sort of --- at age 50.

Just like we are better journalists and writers and editors and communicators at age 30, 40 and 50 than we were at 20.

I would agree with that. 18-year-old kids are not usually confident speakers, especially with a crowd of old, strange white men sticking recorders in their face. Four or five years later, they're usually much more poised, relaxed and confident.

[Fenian_Bastard]

To be fair, Walton had a horrible stutter that he didn't get therapy  for until he was just leaving UCLA.

[Pringle]

Fear of the SID or head coach really has little to do with it.

The pro athlete simply has more life experiences from which to draw and a few more years of media exposure under his belt.

Thus, after a while, he gets better at interviews and dealing with the media.

Bill Walton could hardly string a sentence together at age 20. He's a professional broadcaster --- well, sort of --- at age 50.

Just like we are better journalists and writers and editors and communicators at age 30, 40 and 50 than we were at 20.

I would agree with that. 18-year-old kids are not usually confident speakers, especially with a crowd of old, strange white men sticking recorders in their face. Four or five years later, they're usually much more poised, relaxed and confident.

And college coaches and SID staffs think that they're "protecting" the kids by making the only interviews ones where 20 people surround them with a microphone, camera or tape recorder, while one-on-ones, which would make the athletes 100 times more comfortable, are nearly impossible to come by.

Makes no sense.

[Mizzougrad96]

Actually, it does...

It is the mission of the college SIDs to make sure that the athletes almost never see a reporter as anything other than someone who holds a notebook and a recorder who hurls questions at them.

If you grant one-on-ones, you risk the player developing a friendship or mutual respect with the reporter where it could lead to said player telling the reporter things that the school doesn't want out there...

[SF_Express]

Paper formally protests ban:

http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/9726362

[joe]

Now, if they don't send anyone to the game, this "protest" will have some teeth. Otherwise, a late -- very late -- attempt to save face within the industry.

[Mizzougrad96]

I would stand and cheer if the News-Sentinel didn't send a single reporter to the Alabama game...

That's not happening though...

[MileHigh]

I still say get the reporter a credential through the Alabama SID office.

[awriter]

I still say get the reporter a credential through the Alabama SID office.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Alabama have to submit its list to Tennessee, which would then deny the credential anyway?

[85bears]

I would stand and cheer if the News-Sentinel didn't send a single reporter to the Alabama game...

That's not happening though...

The problem with that course of action is that you'd be punishing your readers for your own squabble, and they'd see it that way, too.

[Cosmo]

Actually, it does...

It is the mission of the college SIDs to make sure that the athletes almost never see a reporter as anything other than someone who holds a notebook and a recorder who hurls questions at them.

If you grant one-on-ones, you risk the player developing a friendship or mutual respect with the reporter where it could lead to said player telling the reporter things that the school doesn't want out there...

Great post, Mizzou. In a way, it's much easier dealing with small schools in this way because they want the coverage so much that they'll grant access that you can't get at a BCS-level institution.