Fans who get press passes

Went to an event today and overhead a guy doing a one-on-one interview. He started by telling the subject that he was a "big fan" and ended it by telling him what an inspiration he was and how "it's an honor just to stand next to you." I swear. I really, really hope he was a fanboy and not an actual journalist.

 

"I'm a big fan" Was that Stuttering John?

 

Well of course I have a beef with the several guys I've worked with, seven to be exact. All fanboys, all a disgrace to journalism. I don't deal much with visiting guys from those websites and I don't know the others when I travel. If they're all professional and hard working, good for them. I've just never met or worked with any.

As for Virginia Tech, maybe they've lightened up some. But that was their policy last time I was there.

As far as the print media person cheering at the game you were working, there are fanboys in every media. That doesn't make it right, though. And in general, you're damn right there are more fanboys working for the recruiting websites than in newspapers. That's the whole fucking problem with sports journalism these days, no matter what the medium. Too many jocksniffing fanboys and not enough real journalists.

 

I appreciate where you're coming from with this, and that last bit sounds over the top, but not every interview is or has to be Mike Wallace busting shady used car dealers.
Reporters are human beings, too. I've had the opportunity to interview several people over the years that I admired growing up. If you're writing a one-off fluff piece about someone you're not likely to interview ever again, there's some wiggle room for fanboyishness. Might even help break the ice and show you know their work. Just keep it reasonable.
If you're working a beat, though, there's no place for that. You can be friendly and respectful without being a swooning teenage girl.

 

Was at Tech for basketball early this year, and the Rivals writer that I referenced was absolutely there. My recollection is that access there has diminished pretty much across the board (fans now occupying courtside seats that once were for the press, etc), but he is still credentialed for everything.

And though I somewhat defended that group of writers as a whole, there's definitely a lot of terrible all over the place right now. We can agree on that, for sure.

 

I get the feeling some people think being friendly or even human crosses the line into fanboi behavior. When I was in college I crossed paths with a former player from the school who had also played in the NBA for a while and later became an NBA GM.

I was a big fan of his growing up and we had what I felt like was a normal, not gushing conversation. But I did tell him that I had attended his basketball camp when I was a younger and I appreciated that he was there working with the kids the whole time and that he probably didn't remember, but he took us into the locker room and that was really cool.

He appreciated that I appreciated it and took the time to tell him and gave me his contact info. He wound up being a pretty solid source on a couple of things.

 

Yeah. That's normal. There's nothing wrong with acting like a human being.

It seems to me that Doc longs for reporters with the sensibilities of a robot.

 

There's a big difference between how you handled that -- which sounds professional and courteous -- and gushing about how much of an honor it is to just be standing beside someone, blah blah.

I think I've just fanboied once that I can remember, and that's when I asked an author I was interviewing to sign the book -- that I had bought and brought with me -- he had written. It was just the two of us in the den of his house, and he had been LBJ's pilot on Air Force One.

 

Indeed, there's nothing wrong with being human and showing that you have an interest in your subject, that they have your respect, and even saying so. I've done that on more than one occasion and it's helped break the ice and put the person being interviewed at ease. No argument here.

But that's different than being a "big fan" and gushing, or asking the person to take a selfie with you. It gives the person you're interviewing a false sense that you're there for something other than to report information, and creates that ambiguity we are talking about among actual members of the media and credentialed fanboys.

 

One-hundred perfect agree with you, as well. I've done that on more than one occasion when it comes to reporting outside my beat, an example being a big-name coach coming to town as a keynote speaker. "Great to meet you, coach -- hope you enjoy your time here. I've been watching Podunk U since my high school years. Good luck this season." (Though some here would even argue that interaction is inappropriate.)

Which brings me to this: Is it really that rampant? It's an honest question, because I'm sure many have encountered more "non-old-media" reporters in your travels than I have. Some of you have these fanbois acting like they're Guillermo, of Jimmy Kimmel Live, when he interviews celebrities on the red carpet lol.

 

I think it varies greatly according to circumstance. I used to cover some boxing, and would cringe when the four or five of us from traditional outlets (with traditional journalism values) had to deal with the fanboys who would address every boxer as "champ," bring photos to be autographed, or pose for photos with the fighters. Major-sports teams in major markets? Not so much.

 

Fanboy is an overrated term. Am I a fanboy if I'm excited my alma mater won a game I'm covering? As long as it doesn't affect your work or the work of others around you, I don't worry too much about it.