Is what we do demeaning?

True. But I got to go to the prom with Bismarck's sister.

 

Pulitzer, yes. I do feel that way sometimes. But if you adopt an attitude of: "Hey asshole. Your career is short, and you make a living with your body. I'm here for the long haul, and I make my living with my brain." And carry yourself that way, I find it helps with the 'demeaning' thing.

 

Lug that used to work. Until one day I looked an athlete's paycheck that was sitting in his sneaker. That shock still hurts to this day.

 

Paychecks notwithstanding, I like this. Good take.

 

I have never liked that way of thinking.

Unless you are doing an investigative piece and need someone to confirm something you know, you never "need" a quote that answers a question you already know the answer to.

That is boring, formula writing. ("I just need to throw these quotes in and I'm done.")

You only get X amount of time for an interview and X amount of questions to ask. So ask questions you don't know the answer to. Chances are if you already know the answer to the question, the reader does, too. And the reader likely wants fresh MATERIAL . . . not a fresh quote to a stale question.

Sure, asking a formula question might cause someone accidentally give you a gem ("PLAYOFFS??? PLAYOFFS???) every once in a while. But most of the time it gives you a boring, formula answer that, speaking as a reader, I don't care to read, even if you, as a writer, feel you "need that quote" in your story.

 

Agreed. A guy who started a lot of the games I covered for the minor league baseball team in my county had a habit of giving me at least one interesting, non-formulaic quote per game. I'd leave the clubhouse and think "that quote's GOT to get in!"

If you've got an observation about the game, don't be afraid to ask the questions no one else thinks of. That might make your piece a little more readable compared to the more formulaic gamer elsewhere.

 

I don't know if what we do is demeaning, but this crap we have to put up with is demeaning for sure.

 

Man, PW, I can't imagine not getting any one-on-one time. That sucks.
I've very new to this business, so I've only covered two colleges -- the one I went to school at and my current stop.
At both, and the one i went to school at is big D-I, I could get one-on-one time with players. Even for football previews, the thing might start as a gang bang, but eventually the other guys would wander off and I could chat with someone.
I also found, later, that even though I was supposed to go through the SID, most coaches were cool if I just stuck my head in their office and asked if they had a few minutes to spare.
I can't imagine trying to cover a beat properly without being able to do these things.
That stinks man.
Can you get a kid's cell number, do a phone interview and kinda chat afterwards? Or a coach's?
Wish I had good advice, but I've never been in that situation. I guess I should consider myself lucky.

 

am,

What wannabe and J_D are describing is more the norm in Top 25 college sports factories. You're dealing with the exception, sadly.

 

i think it's football. too much time between games - not enough games - the hierarchial obsessive structure - the lombardi ethic, etc - crazed violent nutcases - concussions - idiot yahoo boosters

just get away from football - and your attitude will improve

cover baseball for awhile - get to the ballpark early - you'll find plenty of decent conversations

 

I haven't waded through the posts - we're up to four pages - but in terms of the original question, or my thoughts anyway, there are times I think what I do is ridiculous. There are stories I write that I know only 30 people will read. But then I also cover the biggest beat in town, too.

And the team has some good players, in terms of talent and character. The star is nothing short of the nicest guy I've ever met. He's smart, funny, honest. So are most of the other key players. It's a joy to be around the team. That may change when players leave, who knows?

And I know people read my stuff because I receive feedback. Good or bad, any feedback is good because I know I'm doing something people appreciate - or at least use, read, etc.

 

I hope someday I have that moment. And I hope it's before I take the leap out for lack of having that moment.