Who, if anyone, has influenced you?

Mrs. Davey, Sister Justine and Father Chris.

Dr. Roberts, my friend, mentor and father figure, and the smartest mofo I've ever known.

Alexander Hamilton.

my old man.

 

Kurt Vonnegut, David Sedaris, to name two.

 

The guys who made me want to be a sports writer were...

Jim Murray
Rick Reilly
S.L. Price
Mike Downey
Doug Looney
TJ Simers
Frank DeFord
Dave Kindred

Granted, that was almost 20 years ago...

 

For leadership style, I'll tip my hat to the late Paul C. Smith, who taught by example about being a good person and a thoughtful journalist during the 14 years we worked together. They're lessons I've never forgotten (well, not for long, anyway) and I still apply them to this day with my own staff. You might not win any industry awards just for being a nice guy, but I'd rather be known as a decent person anyway. (And you can still win industry awards for turning out a decent product along the way.) http://tampabay.devilrays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050227&content_id=951842&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb

Writing style? I don't know ... perhaps equal parts Dave Barry (humor), George Orwell (imagery) and any wire service scribe who can put something together quickly and competently without the need for a writethru every 10 minutes (clarity).

 

I can think of two bosses who helped inspire me and make me a better worker, regardless of the medium. Brian Young (TV) and Mark Tomasik (print). Both knew how to inspire, give constructive criticism to make you better and when they praised you, you knew they meant it and it made you feel good and want to get that praise again.

 

Peter North.