Jason Quick opens up about leaving the Blazers' beat

I can't imagine going from covering professional sports to covering colleges, because, with very few exceptions, the access is horrendous by comparison.

 

I'm surprised he's not a columnist.

 

What he's experienced is nothing different than what any NBA beat writer goes through. And as far as working the college beat, again, he's not experiencing anything more or less than what other Division I college beat writers go through.
He's bitching about having to cover the TrailBlazers for 13 years. At any time, he could've given it up. He didn't. Time to keep it moving.

 

I would imagine that covering the Jail Blazers would probably be one of the toughest beats to cover for the last decade of any professional baseball, football or basketball team. I don't know enough about hockey to comment.

Covering any team on a daily basis is a grind. When you add all of the off-the-court issues that the Blazers have had, when you have a team that sucks, coupled with players getting arrested all the time, it becomes that much tougher, because you're seen as the enemy and everything becomes that much tougher to do.

Yes, that's part of the job. But it does offer a pretty reasonable explanation as to why Quick sounds so burned out. There were a few things in that interview where he definitely had a "I'm too good to do this anymore..." vibe to it. That's never acceptable.

Quick is a great reporter. He would be much better used as a takeout guy or a columnist, but those jobs are tough to come by. The list of writers who can say, "I'd be so much better if I didn't have to chase down free agent rumors..." is an endless one.

 

I didn't read him as "bitching" about it. He asked to be taken off the beat and management agreed, before changing their minds when another writer bailed.

Actually, the beat writers at the state's other FBS school, 40 miles away, have a 180-degree opposite experience, with open practices, injury reports, and complete daily access to the coaches and players.

 

Yeah, but that's Mike Riley -- I would wager he ranks #1 in college football and maybe in the entire known universe for access and openness and just being a good guy. The Oregon contrast is extreme because of that market, but Oregon isn't all that different than most of the top programs.

There's also an inherent difference between hoops and football -- the football guys all think they're in the military and they have rules and orders just because.

 

It's like that in a lot of places. Florida State has unbelievable access (or at least it did when Bowden was there) and Florida is among the worst in the nation. Auburn has a reputation for being very media friendly, but Alabama does not.

 

Micro, here's my point: At any time, he could've left. He didn't. Why bitch about it now? I see no purpose in it.

 

Exactly. If you have an uncooperative athletic staff, you have to work a little harder. And if you have a cooperative staff, you still have to work hard because if not, they'll spoon feed you stories THEY WANT publicized.

 

Vers, upon further review, I think you're more right than I am. I was reading it more as him wanting to write feel-good stories about heroic athletes and instead getting stuck having to report about (and observe the behavior of) flawed human beings. But I think your assessment of it is more accurate.

 

I understand your point, I just don't think he was bitching about it. He was just telling the story about how it was.

Perhaps. But if the staff cooperates, you can do whatever story YOU want to do, when you want to, without having to worry about access. You don't need stories spoon-fed to you because everything and everyone is fair game. In both instances you work hard. With access, you also work better, faster and more thoroughly because you're not wasting time simply trying to get access, and when you do, far more sources are readily available.

 

The schools who have terrible access are banking on beat writers giving up and just going through the motions because they don't want to deal with the grief that you'll get if you start rocking the boat. More often than not, it works, which is kind of sad...