By Dennis Brown
Sports fanatics and journalism students packed a crowded Camp Room last Tuesday where professional sports journalists formed a panel to give advice and answer questions regarding sports coverage.
Tom Puleo, adjunct journalism professor, served as moderator to the Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) sponsored panel. The panel included Joe Palladino of the Waterbury Republican, Jeff Dooley, the head of PR with the New Britain Rock Cats and John Hassan, the editor of ESPN.com.
The discussion began with Puleo leaving the floor open, asking everyone what they wanted to talk about. With no response, a heated talk about March Madness and more specifically, the NCAA started to take place.
“What we are seeing now is a total lack of loyalty,” Palladino said about the Big East Conference split-up that has UConn along with other schools leaving and new ones arriving. “We are supposed to be playing sports for playing sake.”
“College is like a company,” agreed Hassan. “The Big East used to be one of the model conferences. Now, we could end up with five super conferences.”
Palladino said that if it weren’t his job then he wouldn’t even be watching sporting events such as the Final Four on TV, let alone covering them in person while sometimes traveling thousands of miles away.
“I’m not a sports fan in general, I truly love the people I cover,” he said. “You have to pay me to watch sports.”
The conversation shifted to Jim Calhoun and Gino Auriemma and whether the panel roots for the teams they cover. All three panelists said that they understand where to draw the line between being a reporter and a fan. At the same time, they agree that it is important to be truthful in their work while not getting too close to their subjects and also not burning bridges that could potentially blow up in a journalist’s face.
“It’s tougher on a national scale,” said Dooley. “I’m in the clubhouse after the games with the guys. I take long bus trips with the guys…you really need to believe what you say and be fair.”
Although the Rock Cats do get a lot of publicity, including interviews and media requests, Dooley said that they are two steps away from the Major Leagues and tells the team that they have to get out their nerves around microphones and cameras before they move up. Dooley is close to the team and as a “beat” type of guy, he said that winning helps his job while going forward.
UConn continued to be a reoccurring topic that the panel insisted on speaking about. But in the end, all three panelists shared their background stories as well as great advice for student-journalists to hold on to.
Hasson said that making and maintaining contacts is the key to being successful in the business. He also stressed that old friends giving advice as well as beginning at start-up jobs for experience and not for money are big too. Dooley had a different perspective and said that being aggressive and going after what you want as well as internships, are most important.
“The panel gave great advice about what to expect from this career, and just how to do well as a sports journalist,” said Skyler Magnoli, president of the SPJ. “They were great guys because they offered every student there an opportunity to talk to them and network. This is what the SPJ is trying to give to students. We are here to help journalism students reach out in the professional world and make connections, by bringing in professionals to speak with students.”
Palladino, a college dropout, kept his advice simple and said, “No matter what anyone says, there is no right or wrong way to get where you want to get.”
