How does the relationship between an athlete and a journalist affect coverage?

Hi,

I'm in a communication research class and I chose to research how the relationship between an athlete and a journalist affects the media coverage.

Example: Writer is friends with an athlete, so they take it easy on that athlete when they have a bad game.

Here's my anonymous survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DJYQY6D

If you can, I would love to hear some personal stories about this -- from you or about a colleague -- to add to my research paper. You don't have to identify yourself by name, just say something like "I worked for a paper in..." or whatever.

Thanks for your help!

EDIT: Oh, please, no aspiring journalists like myself. Only current or former writers. Thanks!

 

Thanks to the 9 who have responded so far.

To the person who said "This poll will tell you nothing," tell me how you would have done it differently.

 

They won't. This board is half full of jaded people who take a lot of joy in bringing down people who still have some enthusiasm or even a minor interest in the field. The other half's all right, though.

 

My nephew is the captain of the local men's lacrosse team. His father, my brother, is the president of the team. It's a high-profile team in our hometown - four provincial championships in a row, two consecutive national titles - and so there have been many times when I've had to interview them about something to do with lacrosse. When I do that, it's as if they're just two guys I happen to know through lacrosse. When I'm done my work, we go back to being family. If I've ever been unfair in my reporting, whether too tough or too easygoing, no one has ever said so to me.

 

WEEI.com's Rob Bradford is getting taking apart for his defense of off-field fishing partner Josh Beckett.

 

Ask journalists in your area what they think.

 

Not to be a grumpy old man, but I think if you had actually *asked* people to take part in your survey rather than just throwing it up there -- using the magic word "please" in your request and not just in the P.S. codicil -- you might have gotten a few more responses.

Politeness will open lots of doors for you once you leave the cocoon of college.

 

Stitch-I will be, but I'm trying to get a wide variety. Thanks for the input.

reformedhack-You're right. I was in a rush to put it up and it slipped my mind. I promise that I'm a very polite person.

 

Glad to help NipNap. This is a very interesting topic for aspiring journalists and I think it'll make for a fun paper if you get some good and honest responses.

 

Can't tell if you're actually serious with this post.

 

I'm 100 percent dead-on serious. Saying "please" and "thank you" not only are polite, but they usually get what you want. It's a skill many people lack today.

 

Good to know. Carry on.