sportsjournalism today

[AD]

intriguing stuff here, especially in revealing the backscratching, backbiting, wholly unethical circular world of agents/journos/sources. that is, the world made nauseatingly apparent when Rachel Nichols obliviously referred to Adam Mendelsohn as a "friend" -- not a source to be cultivated and understood to have its own clearly obvious agenda and leverage -- and no one seemed to notice.

Is Sports Writing a Fun Job?

 

[DanOregon]

Interesting. I imagine writing and reporting on people, finding out what makes them tick is always interesting - but I also know the well-written feature is hardly the coin of the realm these days. "The job" has become more about tweets and takes. Or at least how "the best" are seemed to be recognized.

 

[rubenmateo]

Stein not seeing a movie in 10 years and Shams stopping playing pick-up basketball, though neither surprising, are anecdotes that really struck me. I wonder what it's like for the reporters in this era with, as Woj put it in one of the links (from 2016), a "365-day-a-year" job who have partner/children. Or what happens once the reporter adds partner/children.

 

[playthrough]

Stein not seeing a movie in 10 years and Shams stopping playing pick-up basketball, though neither surprising, are anecdotes that really struck me. I wonder what it's like for the reporters in this era with, as Woj put it in one of the links (from 2016), a "365-day-a-year" job who have partner/children. Or what happens once the reporter adds partner/children.

I recognize that in the upper level of the biz you won't have perfect "work/life balance" (insert eyeroll), but the world will keep spinning despite you going to see "Batman." And you're allowed to have a family. Don't wake up at 40 or 50 and realize you missed the important stuff -- and being first to report the new contract for the fourth-leading scorer on the Wizards isn't the important stuff.

 

[maumann]

When everybody owns a printing press or a television station, the ability to control what's being printed or transmitted is lost. Technology has given the entire planet those tools -- in the form of smart phones, the Internet and social media. Traditional deadlines are now obsolete. Anybody -- especially the performers themselves -- is on even ground with the ESPNs and the New York Times of the world, at a much greater speed and efficiency.

It doesn't have to be well-written or well-photographed any more. It just has to be first, fast and free. That unfortunately doesn't make any money for the content producers because you'll never keep up, unless you can provide a perspective that's unique and resonates with whatever audience you're trying to reach.

I don't know what the answer is. But you have to be prepared to get out -- or get thrown out -- just as much as you prepare to get in. There aren't a lot of great ways to make a living, but enough people are making a living doing other things. Covering the Warriors is awesome until it isn't. Or NASCAR. Or the PGA. Or the local high school.

Have a Plan B, even if that's the worst-case option. There's no job worth literally killing yourself over.

And the comments show that other professions -- particularly teaching and nursing -- are in the same meat grinder.

 

[SoloFlyer]

Have a Plan B, even if that's the worst-case option. There's no job worth literally killing yourself over.

And the comments show that other professions -- particularly teaching and nursing -- are in the same meat grinder.

There are definitely other meat grinders out there besides journalism. Nursing has always been one, but it's become worse in the last 18 months for obvious reasons.

But there are jobs with a better balance. Or, at the very least, a more humane approach to work.

I got out of journalism earlier this year. I had been searching for a fit for three years. I finally got a lifeline through some connections, nailed the interview, and escaped.

One of the first things my new boss said during my first week was that it would take a year or so to feel comfortable in the new gig, to own it.

I was floored. Can you imagine anyone in journalism saying, "Hey, don't stress out if you don't own the beat for a year or so?"

****, some editors will start looking at you sideways if you're not breaking news in the first month.

So, yes, other gigs are hard. They're a grind. But there's something rotten in the work culture in journalism and it's running the good, talented people out of the industry and killing those who can't escape.

 

[Slacker]

Month? C'mon, man!

****, some editors will start looking at you sideways if you're
not breaking news in the first month ... week ... two days.

 

[Azrael]

1880: "These telegraph deadlines are killing me."

1910: "I can't take all the train travel."

1920: "They expect me to write and rewrite for all six daily editions."

1935: "On top of everything else, now I have to do radio three times a week."

1950: "I can't take all the flying."

1960: "On top of the paper and the radio, now the publisher wants me to write and host the coach's weekly TV show."

1970: "League expansion is killing me."

1980: "Since the publisher bought the team, on top of the paper and the radio and the TV, now they want me to write and edit the team magazine."

2000: "My second wife kept the dog."

2010: "I have 750,000 Marriott points."

2020: "I'm freelancing a podcast."

 

[User 11148]

I recognize that in the upper level of the biz you won't have perfect "work/life balance" (insert eyeroll), but the world will keep spinning despite you going to see "Batman." And you're allowed to have a family. Don't wake up at 40 or 50 and realize you missed the important stuff -- and being first to report the new contract for the fourth-leading scorer on the Wizards isn't the important stuff.

Yours made me think of the "RIP Steve Ellis" thread ...

 

[SixToe]

Glad I came along when I did and then got out.

I do miss the Marriott points, though.

 

[Moderator1]

It took me 12 years after I stopped being a traveling beat writer to use all my hotel points.

Had a heck of a run as a writer and an editor. Been a lot of places, seen a lot of things I wouldn't have seen otherwise. Enjoyed it.

Not sure I'd do it all over again but glad I did it once.

 

[Songbird]

Did it for 23 years. Loved every second.

Been out for almost 10 years.

Took a long time to square being out.

But I'm glad I'm out.

 

[ChrisLong]

1880: "These telegraph deadlines are killing me."

1910: "I can't take all the train travel."

1920: "They expect me to write and rewrite for all six daily editions."

1935: "On top of everything else, now I have to do radio three times a week."

1950: "I can't take all the flying."

1960: "On top of the paper and the radio, now the publisher wants me to write and host the coach's weekly TV show."

1970: "League expansion is killing me."

1980: "Since the publisher bought the team, on top of the paper and the radio and the TV, now they want me to write and edit the team magazine."

2000: "My second wife kept the dog."

2010: "I have 750,000 Marriott points."

2020: "I'm freelancing a podcast."

I remember good old Charlie Feeney -- Pally (he called everybody Pal) -- in Pittsburgh. He is typing away from the first pitch. An hour later, he files. An hour after that, here comes the kid delivering the early edition in the press box. So in the sixth inning, you could read about what happened in the third inning. No wonder Pally was crazy.

 

[MeanGreenATO]

Sports writing isn't really fun for two big reasons:
1. The things we actually like to do -- write, tell good stories, etc. -- don't really matter anymore.
2. Getting even the most basic of details/interviews for some stories requires so much more effort than 10 years ago that it makes the job so much more mentally draining.

I have a pretty great job right now but at least three times a week, if not more, I wonder if it's all worth it.

 

[Dog8Cats]

This was the nut to me:

In this era, many media members are highly incentivized to keep pace with Twitter’s demand for “breaking news,” but the game is rigged in a manner nobody can admit publicly. Certain big-time newsbreakers are represented by the same agencies as the players and GMs, so there’s a self-dealing aspect to how information gets out.​

I assume that the "insiders" with millions of Twitter followers are in bed with agencies, yes, but being represented by those agencies does seem like a conflict of interest.

What's more, though: Is "fun" the goal of a sports journalist? As a friend once said, about adulting in general, "They call it work for a reason." Not trying to discredit ESS at all (he's a helluva lot better than I am), but if one is in the biz primarily to feel the adrenaline during the best Steph Curry moments, maybe one's goals are misplaced.

And did ESS get fired from ESPN for performance - which is how I read his description - or as part of the massive layoffs of 2017 (which affected dozens of other people, regardless of performance)?

If Shams(? - whatever his name is) and Stein really denied themselves pickup basketball and movies, respectively, for the sake of not missing anything, I think they have a slightly inflated sense of self-importance.

 

[WriteThinking]

There are definitely other meat grinders out there besides journalism. Nursing has always been one, but it's become worse in the last 18 months for obvious reasons.

But there are jobs with a better balance. Or, at the very least, a more humane approach to work.

Also, more money. That helps, a lot, even if, there's not a better work/life balance. In that case, at least the compensation makes up for it more.

 

[Col. Nathan R. Jessup]

2. Getting even the most basic of details/interviews for some stories requires so much more effort than 10 years ago that it makes the job so much more mentally draining.

I think this problem — and don’t get me wrong, it is definitely a problem — is exclusive to pro and major college sports.

On the preps beat, it’s easier than ever to get in touch with sources for information on the fly.

This sort of access is exactly why I tell young sports writers to keep an open mind about starting at a small community paper.

 

[Patchen]

It remains a good gig. Sure, there is stress. There is more satisfaction and fun for a job done well and one that is important to people, from preps to pros.

 

[AD]

as long as there have been sportswriters, there have been civilians who pop up to ask: Is it fun? Is (pick your superstar) nice? The use of "fun" was a play off the outsiders' forever wrong perception that the gig isn't work; if you're stuck on that headline you're missing the point. the piece is about how the "work" is changing to the point where the journalism, the telling of stories, has become secondary. we've known this is true for a while now. the important part is the back-scratching among agents, "talent" and sources, and the self-congratuation that ensues when it pays off with a youTube clip.

that smarmy, oft-vicious circle -- and the acceptance of it as an acceptable way of doing our business now -- hasn't been picked apart enough. this was a good start.

 

[SoloFlyer]

Also, more money. That helps, a lot, even if, there's not a better work/life balance. In that case, at least the compensation makes up for it more.

Money doesn't solve everything but it can definitely reduce some stress to make up for a still tilted work/life balance.