Friday afternoon I got a call from John Quinn - one of the editors at the Inquirer. He asked me if I was available Saturday to interview Pete Rose who was appearing at a sports memorabilia show in King of Prussia. Naturally, I was elated at the possibility to interview one of the greatest baseball players of all tme.
I called the show's PR rep to confirm everything. She didn't guarentee that Rose would be available to the media, but she said she'd set me up with his PR rep the next day.
Saturday rolled around and I called the show's PR rep again. She informed me that she had been in touch with Rose's representative, and that he "probably wouldn't talk." A little disappointed, I traveled to King of Prussia anyways to try my luck. Upon getting there, I found Rose's representative who immediately told me off.
Of course, Rose's career has been laced in controversy. After betting on baseball, he was banned from the sport and not admitted to the Hall of Fame. Since then, he's been trying to get reinstated so he can be admitted to the hall. Needless to say, his relationship with the media hasn't been all that friendly. The questions I had prepared that my editor had given me involved Tim Donaghy - the NBA ref who had bet on games, Michael Vick - who was reinstated into the NFL after serving jail time, and Bud Selig - the comissioner of Major League Baseball who has refused to reinstate Rose.
The PR rep's suspicions were right when she assumed it would be just another interview involving his tarnished past. She inherintly disliked me and immediately told me it wasn't worth me coming and that I should leave.
Disappointed, I called my editor and informed him that there would be no story. He wasn't surprised and told me that they thought that might be the case.
A hard-hitting interview with one of baseball's greats would have made a great story to tell - and probably would have resulted in a great clip, so it was disappointing that it didn't work out. I was happy that the editors had enough confidence in me to assign it to me, though.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Penn Wood waiting
So now I know what it's like to be a real reporter - a lot of waiting.
I'm working on a story about the Penn Wood boys basketball team - last year's PA state champions for Class AAAA. My task was simply to call the coach and get the lowdown on this year's team, then write up a 500-600 word preview on the season.
I called before I left for the office, hoping I'd have the interview done before I even came in. That way I could just write it up and leave early. The coach didn't answer, so I left a voice mail.
When I arrived in the office, I spent time doing research on the team, waiting for the coach to call m back. Three hours passed and still no call. It was time to call him again.
This time he answered, but I could barely hear him speak. It was clear he was in the midst of practice. He said practice would be over at 7 o'clock and he would call me then.
Now all I can do is wait.
I began working on the story at about 2 pm. It's been over four hours and there hasn't been one interview question or word written for the story. The story will get done - but I will be in Philadelphia late. Sometimes being a reporter isn't as fast-paced as journalists would like to think.
I'm working on a story about the Penn Wood boys basketball team - last year's PA state champions for Class AAAA. My task was simply to call the coach and get the lowdown on this year's team, then write up a 500-600 word preview on the season.
I called before I left for the office, hoping I'd have the interview done before I even came in. That way I could just write it up and leave early. The coach didn't answer, so I left a voice mail.
When I arrived in the office, I spent time doing research on the team, waiting for the coach to call m back. Three hours passed and still no call. It was time to call him again.
This time he answered, but I could barely hear him speak. It was clear he was in the midst of practice. He said practice would be over at 7 o'clock and he would call me then.
Now all I can do is wait.
I began working on the story at about 2 pm. It's been over four hours and there hasn't been one interview question or word written for the story. The story will get done - but I will be in Philadelphia late. Sometimes being a reporter isn't as fast-paced as journalists would like to think.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Busy day - Busy week ahead
When I entered the newsroom today I was met with the prospect of breaking news. Mouphtou Yarou, a freshman center from Africa for the Villanova basketball team was diagnosed with hepatitis B. John Quinn, the college editor, needed someone on the story and sent me to Villanova to meet with Yarou and the coach, Jay Wright.
After making my way to Villanova, I sat down with a Daily News reporter, coach Wright and Yarou around a small table after practice. We talked for about an hour about Yarou's disease and I got details about the complicated nature of his diagnosis and what the results would be.
I returned to the newsroom and worked with another intern, who did research on hepetitis, to put together a story. The result was a well written, well reported and well researchd story that will probably get some attention in tomorrow's paper.
Over the next few days, I have a season preview to write for a high school basketball team, and the possibility of college basketball games to cover. It should be a busy end of the semester, but I'm happy that the editors have enough confidence in me to give me such important stories.
After making my way to Villanova, I sat down with a Daily News reporter, coach Wright and Yarou around a small table after practice. We talked for about an hour about Yarou's disease and I got details about the complicated nature of his diagnosis and what the results would be.
I returned to the newsroom and worked with another intern, who did research on hepetitis, to put together a story. The result was a well written, well reported and well researchd story that will probably get some attention in tomorrow's paper.
Over the next few days, I have a season preview to write for a high school basketball team, and the possibility of college basketball games to cover. It should be a busy end of the semester, but I'm happy that the editors have enough confidence in me to give me such important stories.
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