Autograph after an interview?

Stipulation: I would never do it. Not only is it prohibited, but I also don't personally give a shit about autographs.

I do know a journalist who asked a generally beloved athlete who was retiring to sign a piece of retirement memorabilia for them. That's slightly more OK, but I still frowned on it.

 

And to think he was being a smartass when he did that.

 

Well I stand corrected then.
Now is it different if a writer is close to one of the players and asks the player to sign a ball for his or her kid?
I was at a celebrity golf tournament a few years ago and a radio guy had Emmitt Smith sign a football for his kid....then he brought his kid over and had him take a picture with Emmitt.

 

I know him. He's doing a great job on his new beat. Seriously.

 

True story, and if I hadn't seen in myself, I wouldn't believe it. Jordan's first game back in Cleveland after giving up baseball. After the game, we surround him for the post-mortem. Anyway, a suburban daily had sent their Browns guy over to do the Jordan sider. After the 15-minute session, the guy, who had been kneeling in front of Jordan, tosses his notebook in his lap and says, "Can I have your autograph?" It was pathetic. Jordan just shook his head, scribbled his name and threw the notebook back in the writer's lap.

Now, flash forward, it's summertime at The Jake. Same writer goes into the pressbox using his credential and into the dining room and grabs a few hot dogs -- then takes them out to his kids, who are there watching the game with him in the stands. Paper's baseball beat guy raises holy hell back at the office.

The guy is STILL the same paper's Browns beat guy, too.

 

Threadjack of my own thread: I was covering a 1AA football game six years back and during a timeout in the third quarter, I have to go to the can. As I came back, I notice another writer at the buffet table where we had our meal at halftime. He was putting cookies in napkins and stuffing them in his pants pockets. It looked like he took a dozen cookies or so for later. Don't know if his paper ever found out.

 

I guess this would be a case of being not quite good enough to work at the Plain-Dealer?

 

I just got out of the clink on bail after being charged with child molestation!

Obviously asking for an autograph as a pro is utterly unacceptable and without redeeming value.

That said, I have notes and autographs in response to non-work-related letters I sent to James Stewart (in 1996) and Stephen King (in 1986) that I have not a whiff of embarrassment about.

Besides, I sort of think signatures are cool as tiny art pieces.

Back to my twiddling of kids.

 

First World Series I covered was 1991 when Minnesota beat Atlanta. After game 5 in Atlanta, interviews were over and most of the media were standing around when one print guy whips out a baseball and asks for Kirby Puckett's autograph. This set off a flurry of media guys, both print and broadcast, getting autographs on baseballs, programs, anything. I'd been in the biz only a few years and was stunned by this. Talked to a co-worker in the Braves lockerroom and said the same thing happened. These weren't just small-town guys. I saw some of the biggest names in the biz asking for autographs.
I was one of the few guys who didn't take part in the impromptu session. I still use this as an example of how not to act.

 

I kid you not, I saw a small-time reporter get Jim Rome's autograph at one of his tour stops.

I had to cover it, too. Rome does his two-hour speel, then has a press conference afterwards before having an autograph session in the same room for VIP people. The reporter stayed behind and got in line.

 

Did he take a nice big pause after writing "Jim" before going into "Rome"?

 

Rack him. TREMENDOUS TAKE, Martin.

The original question is without debate--it is wrong, wrong, wrong. However, there have been instances with writers I know and respect where they have been interviewing someone important, and they have told the photog (usually from their paper) to make sure they get a picture of him interviewing the subject.