Pub Discussion: NFL Writers

[LongTimeListener]

Glazer gets a lot more than that. He was out in front of the StarCaps drug case the whole way, and that's something the league wouldn't have been crazy about. I think he got the Spygate tape.

His methods offend the old way of doing journalism because he is financially in bed with his sources, but he gets stuff. A lot of it. I have never seen him actually write anything that I would put above average/common, but I make sure to flip over to his segment every week even when I'm not watching Fox's pregame.

 

[michael_badley]

Isn't "revealing what will inevitably be true" precisely what the definition is of reporting news?

I'm not a big Glazer fan, given his practices, but if his job is to collect and distribute information, he's nails at it.

 

[Versatile]

I don't think Alma cares much for that type of journalism.

 

[RonClements]

John McClain is known as "The Godfather" in NFL circles.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I think football has a relatively large number of beat reporters who combine top-level ability with considerable experience such as McClain, Ed Bouchette, etc. because the NFL beat doesn't chew you up and spit you out the way baseball or the NBA and NHL do. You may not sleep much, but you sleep in your own bed most nights, and that makes a big difference. Baseball beats destroy any semblance of a normal life if done conscientiously.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I think football has a relatively large number of beat reporters who combine top-level ability with considerable experience such as McClain, Ed Bouchette, etc. because the NFL beat doesn't chew you up and spit you out the way baseball or the NBA and NHL do. You may not sleep much, but you sleep in your own bed most nights, and that makes a big difference. Baseball beats destroy any semblance of a normal life if done conscientiously.

I was usually on the road about 60-70 nights a year on the NFL beat, which was about 20-30 fewer than I was when I was covering colleges, but it feels like less. How a married person can cover baseball is beyond me.

With the NFL it's basically every other weekend from August through January and then a few longer trips (owner's meetings, combine, Super Bowl, Senior Bowl...) and these days there are a lot of papers skipping some of those...

 

[Mizzougrad96]

John McClain is known as "The Godfather" in NFL circles.

Great guy. His situation is pretty different than most, because there isn't much competition in Houston and he still covered the NFL even when Houston didn't have a team.

He does an amazing job.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Alan Schwarz.

 

[playthrough]

I'll throw out Mike Chappell at the Indy Star, who has covered the team since the Mayflower vans drove in.

 

[GRUDGE]

McGinn, Gosselin and Birkett from the Free Press are the best. Really enjoy Glazer, but he isn't a writer.

 

[SportsScribe5]

From the APSE beat reporting award winners this year (below), how many are NFL folks?

I recognize Battista (National), Chappell (Colts), Ganguli (Texans), Wiederer (Vikings), Wyatt (Titans).

Any others?

What to make of that group?

BEAT WRITING, Over 175,000
Top 5
1. Pat Forde, Yahoo! Sports
2. Scott M. Reid, The Orange County Register
3. Judy Battista, The New York Times
4. Steve Hummer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
5. Dan Wiederer, The Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Honorable mention
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
Jesse Temple, FoxSports.com
Tania Ganguli, Houston Chronicle
Joey Knight, Tampa Bay Times
Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports

BEAT WRITING 75,001-175,000
Top 5
1. Don Coble, The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville)
2. David Briggs, The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)
3. Mike Chappell, Indianapolis Star
4. Todd Jones, Columbus Dispatch
5. Justin Barney, The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville)
Honorable mention
Brendan F. Quinn, Knoxville News Sentinel
Kyle Tucker, Louisville (Ky.) Courier Journal
Sam McKewon, Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald
Jim Wyatt, The Tennessean (Nashville)
Amanda Comak, The Washington Times

BEAT WRITING 30,000-75,000
Top 5
1. Leighton Ginn, The Desert Sun (Palm Spring, Calif.)
2. Gary Meenaghan, Abu Dhabi National, U.A.E.
3. Kellis Robinett, The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle
4. Tom Musick, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, Ill.)
5. Seth Emerson, The Telegraph (Macon, Ga.)
Honorable mention
Chad Cripe, Idaho Statesman (Boise)
Norm Wood, Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
Dan DeLuca, The News-Press (Fort Myers, Fla.)
Scott Bair, North County (Calif.) Times
Chris Murray, Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal

BEAT WRITING Under 30,000
Top 5
1. Marc Weiszer, Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald
2. Dustin Dopirak, The Herald-Times (Indiana)
3. Ryan Wood, Opelika-Auburn (Ala.) News
4. Chase Goodbread, The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News
5. Robert Gagliardi, Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Honorable mention
Ben Frederickson, Casper (Wyo.) Star Tribune
Kenny Ryan, Kerrville (Texas) Daily Times
Alex Byington, Killeen (Texas) Daily Herald
Kevin Posival, Killeen (Texas) Daily Herald
John Bednarowski, Marietta (Ga.) Daily Journal

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Battista, Ganguli, Wiederer and Chappell are NFL beat writers.

I'm sure there are more in there, but those are the names that jumped out at me.