Field Guide to Covering Sports. Joe Gisondi
don’t have to report every foul-mouthed comment made by frustrated coaches or players after a game. Allow athletes who’ve just spent hours competing to have their cathartic moments. Usually these don’t have real news value anyway. In time, if you show judgment and discretion, coaches will trust you more, knowing they can speak more candidly about more important issues.
▸ Talk with people in person. Kate Harman, who writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer’s @RallyPhilly high school sports section, prefers to sit and talk with people featured in longer pieces for at least 20 to 30 minutes. She doesn’t like to interview through text messaging.
▸ Balance the usual with the unusual. Every team has go-to sources, players, or coaches who are usually ready with a lively quote or colorful sound bite. When you’re pressed for time and desperate for info, it’s important to know who these people are. But look, too, for the quiet types, the ones who analyze intelligently but need more encouragement to speak. The best players are not always the best talkers.
Sports Insider: On Citing Information
Our policy is clear. We strive not to use any material from a source unless it is critical to the story and there is no other way to get it. We do not use any information other than the facts. So a quote like, “This deal will help reshape his image,” would not be used because it’s opinion. But “the deal is worth $150 million over five years” would be fact.
I had one case where to use source material for a story would endanger a particular source. This was a person I rely on heavily, and I determined the value of the story did not outweigh value of the source. So I sat on that one. I cannot think under any circumstances, or hardly any, that you would do anything to jeopardize a source—because if you are willing to jeopardize a source, you must not think much of him or her to begin with. And if that’s the case, there would seem to be some trust missing. And if trust is missing, how reliable is the source in the first place? Sacred ground we’re talking about here.
Doug Ferguson,golf writer, Associated Press
Sack the Clichéd Responses
Athletes don’t practice speaking in clichés any more than sports writers practice writing them. Yet you’d be hard-pressed to prove that statement by watching postgame interviews. Players frequently state the obvious: “Everyone is working hard to help the team win. You want to do well because you want your team to do well.” Gee, really? Press for details. How hard are these players willing to work? Get some information on their training. Show; don’t just tell. Then offer these details to readers so they can decide for themselves whether the players are really working hard.
When people use clichés, ask them to explain. Quotes should answer questions, not create them. That means asking the all-important follow-up questions if an athlete or coach offers a statement that is vague or unclear, such as the following:
▸ “We are extremely eager to get back at them, to avenge our first loss of the season.” What specifically about the loss has upset this person? Teams lose all the time, so why does a loss need to be “avenged”?
▸ “We have a lot of chemistry,” she said. “One would think it would have been difficult to develop with more new players than returning players on the team. But I actually think it’s turned out better. We all get along great and are definitely ready to start the season. We have a lot of confidence.” Ask for examples that reveal this chemistry. In what ways are the players getting along? Ask for a story or two about specific players or plays.
▸ “My bat isn’t as hot as it was a couple weeks ago, but I’m just focusing on staying consistent day in and day out. If I keep bringing energy every day, I think it will only [help] continue my success.” How is this baseball player trying to stay focused? Is he doing yoga or reading hitting tips from Yogi Berra? Is this player taking an extra 30 minutes or 100 pitches each day? Ask for the details.
▸ “I think it’s going to give us some good momentum going into conference.” This is as clichéd as it gets; the person is saying nothing. How does a victory or good performance help a team in its next game? Is this team now confident it can rally from behind in the fourth quarter? Did a point guard start making some tough passes inside? Ask for particular details so people can understand how this one game might assist the team in the future.
Dealing with Losing Teams
Interviewing the losing team is always a challenge. The kicker who missed the field goal in the final minute, the pitcher who allowed the game-winning hit, the volleyball player who served the final point out of bounds—none of them is excited to be interviewed. They’re angry, sad, and frustrated, and going into the locker room can get you feeling the same way.
Manny Navarro, who covers the NBA for the Miami Herald, says the difference between walking into a losing locker room is significantly different. When he goes into the Miami Heat locker room after a loss, the players’ responses usually aren’t very good. In fact, they are almost clichéd. “Answers to questions from players following a loss are usually straight out of the unofficial losing player’s handbook,” he says. In these instances, he’ll chat with veteran players who might not be playing many minutes to ask about their perspectives on the game. Says Navarro: “You ask them for their expert veteran opinion on the lessons the younger players and team overall will learn from the loss and why those lessons are important moving forward in the grand scheme of the season.” All-Stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh have always usually been very good after a win or a loss, says Navarro. “So, you count your blessings with that.”
Two factors affect how players react after losses.
First, the way you ask a question. It’s fine to empathize with the athletes, and—especially in the case of student athletes—to lead up to the tough questions slowly. But do ask for their unique insights into the loss. Can you describe some of the challenges on the eighth hole? What do you think happened in those last few minutes? Frequently, the tone of your voice is as important as the words you use—especially when dealing with high school and college athletes.
Don’t use this approach with professional athletes who may believe they’re being coddled or pampered. If you have a question, ask it. “Instead of something like, ‘Jack, we know you’re the greatest major champion of all time, and nothing you do at the Masters will ever change that, but do you wonder if you can still compete at your age?’” says Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press, “I went with this one, ‘Is part of you worried you won’t break 80?’ Jack [Nicklaus] knew what we and everyone else was thinking, and he appreciated the honesty of the question.”
Second, how well you’ve developed a relationship with the players and coaches, which is cultivated during preseason, at practices, and through your work during the season. “It’s really about earning their trust,” Navarro says. “Part of earning that trust is talking not only about the games and the season (and knowing your stuff) but about life in general (families, fashion, entertainment, trends). The more time you invest in players, the more they are willing to invest in you with one-on-one time—that’s hard enough to get—and insight. So, if you want to ask ‘good questions’ be a good beat reporter first.”
Chapter 4 Developing and Writing Features
Residents of a small Texas town are feeling uneasy about the high school girls basketball coach, a woman who turned a marginal program into one of the best teams in the state. She was named coach of the year several times and teacher of the year once. But the school board fired her. You’re a journalist, and you wonder why. People in town had praised her time and again. But you learn, all that happened before the coach moved in with another woman.
A young girl wants to be a boxer, but her dad fears for her safety. In a dirty,