Advice on Dealing with a Disgruntled Source

Ding Ding Ding. The crux of this issue is the "friendly" vs. "friend."

You have to be friendly, engaging and accessible on a beat, especially one that requires frequent contact with sources. You are not, however, friends.

I've had many conversations with sources who thought they were my friends after a negative story ran. I essentially tell them that they have misinterpreted our relationship and that I have a job to do first and foremost.

 

Late to the party here, but it's definitely a fine line. Seems the OP was just concerned that he had appeared insensitive with his text response, and the NFL prospect was upset about it. Definitely nothing wrong with saying, "Man, that really sucks." In fact, that would be preferable to me if you've been covering the guy for a few years, and that's what prompted the original post. Now, if the guy gets pissed at you for running a story that paints him in a poor light? Tough shit. That's your job, and if it's true that's all that matters. This guy sounds like he felt like a piece of meat, and being cut then getting the seemingly dismissive text just poured salt in that wound. Glad it got ironed out.

 

Oh, he's a piece of meat, all right. Welcome (almost) to the NFL.