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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


What Reporters Really Want

by: Richard Scott
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I have a soft spot for football coaches. I respect them. I admire them. I still look at my favorite coaches with true appreciation for their time, commitment, energy, intensity and passion for the game, and the life lessons that came with being part of it. I empathize with the challenges they face, the hours they work, the fragile nature of their job security and the expectations they face from outsiders who understand very little about what they do. And I am a member of the media.

Sounds strange, huh? How can somebody respect you, yet still be out to get you? How can someone be your friend, and still be your enemy?

Maybe we're not out to get you. Maybe we're not the enemy. Maybe you were wrong about us all along.

OK, before everyone gets mad and turns the page, give me a few minutes of your time. Improving your working relationship with the media might be one of the smartest moves you ever make in your coaching career.

Obviously, some of the reporters you're dealing with are like a hemorrhoids - real pains in the you-know-what and hard to get rid of. Some of them are snakes in the grass, hiding and waiting for the moment to strike. Some of them are like vultures waiting for a chance to feed on someone else's misfortune. Some of them are simply misguided missiles who start out with good intentions but get thrown off-course because of their lack of experience, maturity or direction.

I don't blame some of you for disliking the media. Too many TV reporters and radio talk-show hosts are self-serving bags of hot air and arrogance, and too many newspaper and magazine writers are convinced they already have all their answers before they ask the questions.

But some of us aren't half-bad. Some of us are actually human, and some of us even see coaches as real human beings.

That's why I write for American Football Monthly. Believe me, guys, it's not just the money. I also write for AFM because I love football, and I appreciate and respect those who teach the sport at every level (except those overbearing fathers living out their fantasies by yelling at 9-year-olds).

Football is the ultimate team sport, and offers young men (and some women) many valuable lessons about life.

Not that most coaches would know this is what drives me. That's because they never give me a chance. They see a notepad, a pen and a tape recorder, and they immediately run for cover, take a defensive stance, pull out their list of meaningless cliches or simply refuse to return phone calls.

Just as good, honest coaches hate being judged by the standards set by the cheaters, liars and thieves in the business, the same is true for writers.

Having seen this issue from two sides - as a newspaper writer, and as someone who writes for an audience of coaches - I have a unique perspective. I know why reporters get mad at coaches and understand why coaches often feel reporters are out to get them. I also believe it would be better for both sides if we all just tried to get along.

Here's a few ideas that have come to me during my two-decade-long reporting career about how to make it so. Read them for what they are - a peace offering, yes, but more importantly tips that could help your career.

Ignorance isn't bliss

The biggest problem in the relationship between coaches and reporters is a lack of knowledge and understanding. Both sides are generally uneducated about and therefore ignorant of the other's concerns and expectations.

Maybe you don't see our side because you've never spent any time trying to learn about what we do and why we do it. Maybe you don't care to know anything about our jobs. That's understandable, but it's also the attitude of the guy who doesn't care how his car works until he's stranded alongside the road.

On the other hand, maybe reporters are ignorant about your job because we're foolish and unwilling to learn, or possibly because no one is willing to teach us about the game. In many cases, it's a combination of both.

Why is it that coaches see themselves as teachers, but so few of them are willing to take a minute or two to teach the media? My favorite coaches took the time to teach me about the game, and it made a huge difference in my work. I always read the "Clinic" section of this magazine to learn more about the game so I can better understand what coaches are trying to accomplish. I'm not foolish enough to think that qualifies me to be a coach (you can watch surgery on TV, but it doesn't make you a surgeon), but it certainly increases my knowledge and understanding of the game.

When Missouri switched from a pro attack to the flex bone in 1986, former Tiger offensive coordinator Wright Anderson took me through the basics of the triple option and even invited me to Missouri's coaching clinic. Current Texas defensive coordinator Carl Reese was Missouri's DC back then, and he also took time to show me the basics of different defensive schemes.

When I covered Auburn from 1989 to 1997, former defensive coordinator Wayne Hall would turn on the film to show me why something worked and why it didn't work, so I could more accurately critique his defense. Other coaches would occasionally go off the record to explain why a certain player was struggling, and it would help me develop a deeper understanding of the player. Current Clemson coach Tommy Bowden was another coach who helped me better understand the game. When he was offensive coordinator at Auburn, he opened up his playbook and taught me about offensive formations, passing routes, the timing of the passing game, the reads involved and the different way defenses tried to stop it.

My favorite teacher was current Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. I was young beat writer assigned to cover the World League's Birmingham Fire when Gailey took me under his wing and decided to teach me something about the game. I rarely missed a practice, and I eventually learned enough that a certain former NFL coach and ABC commentator used to request time with me during practice so we could talk about the team as he prepared for his TV broadcasts.

If you want to learn more about running the ball from the spread offense, you seek information from a coaching staff that knows what it's doing, right? The next time you go to visit another program in the off season, don't just watch film and practice and sit in on meetings. Ask them how they deal with the media. Learn from the successes and failure of other coaches.

Keep secrets, but still tell the truth

Ask any beat writer what single quality they expect most in a coach, and they'll say "honesty." If your personality is dry, you're dry. If you don't want to comment on something, don't comment. If you don't want to reveal team or family secrets, that's your right. Just be as honest as you can, even if that means saying, "Sorry, but I'm not going to talk about that. It's not in the best interests of our team to discuss that."

I'll never forget the coach who lied to me every week about injuries and then laughed about it on Sundays. Ultimately, the joke was on him.

Despite a winning record he got run out of town by the people who got him the job and his lack of honesty had a lot to do with his demise. Part of me liked him because he was always available and always had a lot to say, but I lost respect for him when I discovered his word meant nothing to him.

Other coaches have lied to me and even tried to use me to further their careers or causes. It got to the point where I never went to them anymore, because I never knew what to believe. One assistant I covered asked me for a "scouting report" on a new reporter, and when I gave him my honest opinion, he went behind my back and told the reporter what I said. That coach is a head coach now, but he's been caught breaking NCAA rules twice at two different schools, and his reputation in the business is soiled. I had nothing to do with it. The man soiled himself.

Beware of the homers

Obviously, the dishonest person in a coach-reporter relationship could just as easily be the reporter, and coaches are wise to be careful about what they say and who they say it to. There's nothing wrong with making a reporter prove himself over time. That's what Pat Dye did to me when I started covering Auburn. He made me earn his respect over time, but once I did, we could butt heads and then move on, without grudges, trying our best to understand each other.

Even if a reporter appears to be honest and forthright, never make assumptions about his or her integrity. Do you assume your players are going to class and lifting weights, or do you keep tabs on them? Do the same with reporters.

Read what they write, listen to what they say on TV and radio, or have someone do it for you. If you don't know a particular reporter by name or face, meet them. If the reporter isn't honest, fair or accurate with you or your players, let him know it in a face-to-face conversation, using a firm, even tone that shows you're in control of your emotions and your expectations. If you need to, invite your sports information director to sit in and arbitrate.

An outward expression of public anger might make you feel better, and the reporter might deserve it, but - right or wrong - it could do more harm than good. If it becomes public, it may only be construed as paranoia or arrogance, and those traits won't do you any good with the public.

Once you get those tags, they are hard to remove - fair or not. I've seen unscrupulous reporters try to bury coaches who ranted and raved in public about the media. Remember what your father or high school coach used to tell you about never getting in a spraying contest with a skunk? It's true, so heed his advice.

If a one-on-one meeting doesn't help, call the reporter's boss, or have your SID do it for you. Don't be afraid question the boss about what he or she expects from the reporter. Sometimes the boss is the problem, and the reporter is under intense pressure to appease a boss who is completely out of touch with you, your players and your program. (Sounds like some of the boosters at your school, doesn't it?)

If that doesn't help, move on, but don't waste time holding grudges or carrying out vindictive plans. Just be more careful in the future. Believe me, it will all come back to haunt the reporter some day, especially when he gets beat on a major story because no one trusts him or wants to talk to him.

While we're at, here's some advice you thought you'd never hear: Be very, very cautious about "homers," those reporters who tend to be fans and act like your best friend. Sure, they'll help you for a while, especially when things are going well. They'll bury that story about the quarterback's DUI or put a positive spin on recruiting even when things didn't go well. But the truth is, those reporters will be the first to turn on you when the going gets tough.

Remember, "homers" are fans, and fans get angry when you lose. They have a personal stake in the program, and when you fail, you're not living up to their expectations. The more objective reporters might irritate you at times, especially if they think they know more than you do, but at least you know where they stand.

Objective reporters are just like you - they're competitive, and they're playing to win and improve their careers. Ultimately, they are more trustworthy than the tail-kissers who want to be program insiders, and then go around town telling everyone all the dirty little secrets of your program. How do you think these all those rumors get started?

Coaches talk to homers, homers talk to fans, fans call radio stations and contribute to those Internet chat rooms. Then, they become newspaper stories, and the homer is the first to break them. It's an ugly cycle, and it starts with a coach not knowing what to say or who to say it to.

Meet the press

The NCAA says you can only practice 20 hours a week, and most coaches would agree that's not enough. If you spent the same number of hours with the media, coaches would definitely say that's too much.

But what about all those TV stations, radio shows and newspapers that want one-on-one interviews, especially the week of the big game? You can't please everyone, so the best thing you can do is be fair, even if it means structuring your schedule to do press conferences that serve as many people at one time as possible.

After that, pick your spots to best serve you and your team. When Jimmy Johnson coached the Dallas Cowboys, he used to schedule an hour a week for a sit-down chat with the newspaper beat writers covering the team. Those neat little sound bites at the press conferences help the TV and radio talking heads, but beat writers often need more because the very nature of their medium requires more depth and understanding.

At the same time, don't give your beat writers complete access to the programs. When I covered Missouri from 1985-88, I had complete run of the entire football facility, including the locker room. I knew every player personally, every secretary, every student manager, every phone number, every rumor, every problem. A less scrupulous reporter would have had a field day, and that's dangerous.

Somewhere in between the extremes of total control and the absence of control, you must try to be consistent with your access. One very prominent and successful college head coach put a gag on his quarterback for several games after the quarterback ran his mouth. He prevented the local media from even getting near the player for most of the season. But when his team won a huge game on national television, the coach allowed a Sports Illustrated writer to conduct a one-on-one interview with the player after all the other reporters left. That player fell out of the Heisman race that day because reporters held a grudge against the coach. Obviously, you can't control the ethics of the media, but you can control your own standard of fair access and be consistent with it.

While you're at it, be honest about your accessibility. Allow specific blocks of time for interviews, stick to your schedule and end the interview when the time is up. If you don't have time for a scheduled interview, tell your SID or administrative assistant. Whatever you do, don't leave someone hanging.

As I sit writing this story, I am waiting for a coach who was supposed to call me last week In essence, he's holding me hostage. It's safe to say most coaches would admit that's not fair, but it happens. If you can't return a call, just tell your SID or administrative assistant to contact the writer and apologize. While it's not a phone call a reporter likes to get, it's better than waiting for something that will never happen.

What's really amazing is the twisted way in which coaches respond to an interview request. If you're breaking a story about the quarterback getting arrested for a DUI, you can usually get a coach's comment by telephone within five minutes. If you're calling to request an interview for a really positive story about the program, even for this magazine, it might take more than a week or, even worse, it might never happen. That's pretty sad.

Believe it or not, we do understand that you're busy, you're under a lot of pressure, and beyond all the meetings, film, practices and calls to recruits, you're swamped with demands from the media, boosters, fans and the administration. Most of us understand that sometimes we're more of a nuisance than an advantage, but like you, we're just trying to do our jobs and someone is always on our case to do it better and do it right now.

If you invest a little time in improving your working relationship with the media, maybe you'll see we're not out to get you. Maybe we're not the enemy. Maybe you were wrong about us all along. Or maybe we were just wrong about you. Or both. Either way, you've got more at stake in this than the media. Some reporters come and go faster than coaches and they'll never make as much money as you do, but they don't get fired when you do. They just stick around to pester the next group of coaches.

Richard Scott is a member of the Football Writers Association of America and has been a regular contributor to American Football Monthly since its inception.






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