Jason Quick opens up about leaving the Blazers' beat

The paper for whom Quick handled that beat, the Oregonian, was known to have made life tougher on its own reporters by letting the Blazers get away with b.s., if they weren't happy with the way a beat person was covering them.

Thirteen years is a lot harder and longer if your bosses don't have your back 100%. Perhaps they did for Quick but they didn't for some who preceded him in that role.

 

Man, that really was brutally honest.

Kind of odd to me that he was that surprised/bothered by seeing the behavior of the players on the road. Even from my very limited contact working from news side, I've become pretty immune to the loutishness of pro athletes -- even individual guys who are held up as great role models off the field.

 

I don't see how he keeps his job. He wouldn't have done that if he wanted to. You don't spill newsroom decision-making processes, bash your own beat, turn on a source and overall seem very unhappy with your career path to a competing site without expecting repercussion. (For Blazers coverage, blazersedge is real competition for The Oregonian.)

 

Interesting but this was his job. There are plenty of aspects about this business that are depressing. Every day, Quick had a choice: go to work and accept what the job entailed or stay at home. He chose the former. No need to bitch and moan.

 

That whole thing was a little weird and a lot bitchy.

 

Kinda sounds like he started out approaching the beat as a fanboi and was disappointed when he actually had to be a journalist. Anybody who is let down by the behavior of star athletes has apparently never been to high school. You do have to approach covering the human side of these guys with a healthy dose of cynicism. I know it feels good to write (and read) those feel-good stories, but (paging Starman) you always have to be ready for that feel-good story to go bad.

And: Real reporters don't whine about access. If they get blocked by "official" channels, they find ways to create their own access. I know it's not as easy as it sounds -- I've been there -- but the best know how to do it. I loved *nothing* more as a reporter than hearing the words, "How did you get this number?" If team officials want to make access into some kind of cat-and-mouse game, you learn how to play it. Yes, it's exhausting, and no, it's sometimes not fun (and yes, full disclosure, that exhausting-ness is part of the reason I moved to the desk). But that's the difference between reporter and stenographer.

Frankly, that whole interview sounded like a cornerback complaining about having to tackle people when all he wants to do is run back interceptions.

 

Quick is one of the best reporters around, but I was cringing as I was reading that, because it sounds like he's trying to get fired.

Either that or he's colossally burned out and is sharing way too much.

We've all been there, and I'm completely sympathetic, but nothing good is going to come out of him talking publicly about it.

 

FileNotFound, could you cite a part of that interview that makes Quick sound like a fanboi?

He sounds like an egotist seeking better uses of his mighty talents to me, as though he's above covering the Blazers. That sounds more like the opposite of a fanboi, someone who thinks he inherently is better than his subjects.

 

He just sounds burned out.

 

Definitely in need of a double dose of STFU and TI!!!!

 

This is exactly what Jason should be doing. His work at the College World Series - where of course he got complete access, because he was covering Oregon State, not Oregon - was some of the best work he's done in a decade.

I've know Jason since he was a high school reporter, when he had the balls to take on the high school coach, a legendary figure in Oregon. He is the furthest thing from a fanboi.

But when asked, he will tell you his opinion (hey, don't ask a question if you don't want to hear the answer), even if it won't be what you wanted, or expected, to hear. And that's what I take away from this interview.

Rather than complaining, I see him telling what he sees as the truth. Access at Oregon does suck. The JailBlazers were horrible people. Their upper management under Patterson was a mess. Athletes routinely lie to you. The Oregonian management has made some very questionable staffing decisions. It is impossible not to get cynical or jaded after spending more than 20 years in the business, especially if a big part of your job is covering lying scumbags like the Blazers. I think readers are interested in seeing behind the scenes and won't view this as complaining.

Quick (or Ken Goe) is probably the best guy the Oregonian has, especially since their recent purge of Buker, Beseda, et all eliminated about 100 years of institutional knowledge. He writes circles around Canzano. He knows the Blazers, the Ducks, the Beavers, and the high schools. He should be writing about the colleges and the high schools, because that's where the best stories are in a state with only one pro franchise.