Box Score Beat

Beat Reporting FTW or L?

Posted on 07. Jan, 2009 by Collin Orcutt in Sports Journalism

While covering the Villanova vs. Seton Hall game last night, I was talking with New York Times Quad Blogger Jack Styczynski about the pros and cons of being a beat reporter for a team.

The cons: what if your team really sucks?

There is a saying that winning is contagious. There is also a saying that losing is contagious. In either case, it is probably infectious enough to impact not just the team but also those in close contact with it. A miserable locker room would most likely translate to unenthusiastic interviews and unfriendly player-media relations.

Another negative is the problem of thinking up story lines day after day. With journalism shackled by a double team of a web convergence and a faltering economy, more and more outlets are turning to AP content for the game info. That means that, if you are lucky enough to still have a job as a beat reporter, you’ve got to find an angle every game because the recap is taken care of. Eventually, one would think, the well of fresh story lines would run dry.

But then there’s the over-riding pro, which I believe trumps any and all cons and hopefully makes at least some form of beat reporting downsize-proof: the characters.

For the most part, athletes live blessed lives: they are getting paid oh so damn well to do something they love. Those who realize and embrace that fact and let the reporters (and in turn, their fans) in on this joy make for excellent characters. Couple that with good reporting and you’ve got a never-ending supply of quality journalism.

One of the best NBA beat writers is Jason Quick of The Oregonian. Thanks to TrueHoop author Henry Abbot’s love for all things Portland Trailblazers, I was turned onto Quick a couple years ago. He always seems to have some interesting stuff to write about while covering the exciting, young Blazers team. Take, for example, one of his latest entries (via TrueHoop and Ball Don’t Lie):

Remember the movie “Shawshank Redemption”, where Andy Dufresne wrote a letter every week to the state to get books for the prison library? Well, the same concept is underway with the grandmother of Blazers center Joel Przybilla. The octogenarian plans to write NBA commissioner David Stern a series of letters complaining about the $7,500 fine Przybilla received for his part in an altercation with New Orleans center Tyson Chandler on Friday. Chandler was ejected and suspended a game for throwing a punch. Przybilla said he was stunned at the fine, but was handling it better than his grandmother.

“She said she is going to keep writing Stern until she hears back from him,” Przybilla said smiling. “And believe me, she will.”

This is the video of said altercation:

That kind of stuff is what beat reporting in today’s journalism may be all about. Quick hitting, slice of life, behind the scenes info. Every fan wants to know how their favorite players lives. Even more, it’s fun to see the human side of those stars–right down to the crazy grandmas.