dumb reporter anecdotes

Sorry!


Don't waste your time suing. My total estate is only worth $8.87, and that was going to be your inheritance.

 

I was talking to a medal winner at the state swim meet a few years ago. Held a taperecorder while jotting down his quotes. My press pass was pinned to my shirt.

A reporter from a bigger daily in the neighboring county -- which only bothers to cover that swimmer's high school when it competes for state championships -- walks up and starts to ask him a question. She then notices me standing there, already minutes into the interview, and asks:

"Are you a reporter, too?"

 

The resident idiot on my last beat walked around one day looking really excited, like he had something big he was ready to ask a coach. He had a chart in his hand, and he thought the tight end depth chart had been completely changed. BIG NEWS, he thinks. So he goes on and on asking this question to the offensive coordinator, who gets more and more confused as the question goes on and on.

Eventually, the OC stopped him and said "John Doe, I don't want to sound like a jerk, but you've got the alphabetical list in your hand."

This was the same reporter who single-handedly ruined dozens of good interview sessions by walking up to a player or coach we'd all been lathering up and completely changing the topic. And he wasn't an asshole at all — he just didn't know what he was doing.

The poor guy was probably the dumbest non-college paper reporter I've ever been around. Several fart jokes were made about him, because every time he walked up to a crowd, it dispersed quickly. Some people actually starting sniffing out loud when he walked up sometimes. Anyone who was on that beat knows exactly who I'm talking about. A buddy of mine was from that guy's town, too, and he acted shocked when I told him these stories.

"Man," my buddy told me. "He is THE source for State U. news back home. THE source."

 

Getting to see Allen's dad make fun of his manhood is the kind of thing that makes SportsJournalists.com a very special place.

 

Nice young reporter walks up for some advice.

She says: "What does it mean if your car's oil light is on?"

I say: "That's a big problem. How long has it been on?"

She says: "About three weeks."