Do You Want To Be Like Jason?

fair enough. but i contend staffs as a whole can do a better job if everyone doesn't look/sound/think alike.

 

I have learned through six years of media experience that you must learn to deal with criticism, haters, and only pay attention to the constructive advice that helps you improve.

I appreciate when someone with more experience will tell me what I can do to make the work better.

You should learn to deal with whatever is thrown your way by the time your 26 no matter what field you are in.

Chris

 

Nail on head.

This kid acts like Stuart Scott pulling Ray Lewis aside and telling him, "Man, efff those guys."
Scott was referring, of course, to all the reporters that had to be journalists and ask tough questions of Lewis.

Diversity is good for our business because it will help us reach a broader audience.

It's just grating for some kid, no matter what color, to come along and act like he's got all the answers because he thinks he'll be good at buddying up to some famous players.

 

I just read the column. I wish I hadn't.

When one of my reporters would jokingly sound like he was getting a big head, I'd find a way to jokingly say something that would bring him back to earth. I've even been known to go, "what'd you say?" and he'd distance himself from the comment.

Of course, in his case, it was all in good fun. More often, my now-former reporter had a tendency to put his head down and just do his job when I'd rather he'd say something.

With this guy, I think I'd have a serious conversation with him about it not being all about him. I don't care if you exhumed Shirley Povich from the grave and put him on my staff: No one's bigger than the rest of the staff. Period. He seems like the kind of person who would think of himself as being bigger than the rest of his pub. That isn't behavior I would want to encourage.

 

Sadly, f_t, if he wrote this, he probably would stare blankly at you, because he has no inkling that's what he sounded like.

 

and even worse, he'll have people like Whitlock tell him not to listen to those offering constructive criticism.

 

Damn. I almost posted that column here more than 24 hours ago, but couldn't pull the trigger. Guess I shouldn't have been so wishy-washy about it.

Bottom line: It just wasn't well written and seemed a bit amateurish, no matter who wrote it or what color he happened to have been. It read, to me at least, like a column he wrote very quickly and never went back to review and revise.

An example: The part about TO seldom granting one-on-one interviews because sportswriters never take the time to get to know the real TO. Well, in my experience, it's always easier to get to the heart of an interview subject by being part of one of those locker-room scrums.

Hello, McFly!??

How can a reporter get to know the real TO if TO doesn't grant one-on-one interviews? How is a reporter supposed to take the time to get to know the real TO if TO doesn't take the time to grant a one-on-one?

And that's just one tiny part of the story. Sheesh. I don't think anyone (the author included) read that piece.

 

I'm reluctant to post this response because 1) I don't want to be falsely accused of bigotry; and 2) I don't want this thread to disintegrate into an off-topic pissing match over affirmative action type issues. But I can't resist.

Bruhman, while your points undoubtedly have truth in a broader historical context, they do not apply to the current sportswriting industry. The alleged scarcity of black sportswriters referenced in this and the Spike Lee thread certainly did not result from a demand shortage. Because you and I both know that media outlets across this country are thirsting to hire new talented black writers and will give them the nod over another equally qualified applicant in the majority of cases.

When young writers like Mr. Landrum here do not advance as rapidly as they hoped, it is usually because of their work, but it's human nature to wanna believe it's something else. But for genuinely talented black sportswriters (like Whitlock), nobody in this field is in greater demand. The Spike Lee endowment is a good thing, if nothing else because it is designed to meet an unsatisfied market demand for skilled black sportswriters, but not for reasons having anything to do with absence of opportunity in the field.

However, there admittedly is an undercurrent of pettiness and bitterness on this site when these issues come up, and I imagine that's probably what Whitlock was incorrectly inferring bigotry from. I suspect that undercurrent comes from the fact that many here have had the experience of being bypassed on the career ladder by a less-experienced, less-productive, and seemingly less-skilled writer for reasons related to the other guy's race or perceived cultural background. That's a tough pill to swallow. And that's why Landrum was doing himself no favors with this crowd by implying that he SHOULD advance ahead of more experienced writers because of his race (and, oh yeah, also because he once played some college football).

 

He's working for AP. And has been for three years ... at 26.

Again, if he wants to be a sports writer or columnist, he should leave the AP and get a gig at a daily. His AP experience would certainly allow him to land a pretty good gig. If he really, really wants to be a sports writer, that's what he should be doing. Not waiting for an AP opening.

 

I didn't play college football, but I once stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

 

That's such bullshit. Generally? What do you think being white gets you a rebate somewhere? An 18-year-old black kid, fresh out of high school, with working-class parents, faces the same financial obstacles as the 18-year-old white kid, with the same social class status, living next door. This "dominant, decision-making group" nonsense is a cop-out. The "dominant, decision-making group" in this country is the AARP. It's not 18-year-old, middle-to-lower-class white kids.