The Bleacher Report Allen Iverson interview
There is entertainment. There is journalism. They are generally not the same.
So I’m gonna confess something, and I hope it doesn’t make me too big of an asshole: I really dislike Bleacher Report.
I’d love to say “Oh, it’s nothing personal”—but, well … eh … ah, it’s personal. For a lengthy stretch a bunch of years ago, B/R was paying me to write long, deep-dive features like this, and this, and this, and this. And I wasn’t alone: The B/R Mag (as it was called) lineup boasted a hefty collection of long-form devotees who were all about taking a subject and applying the old Sports Illustrated standards. There were writers like Lars Anderson and Howard Beck; Mirin Fader and David Gardner; Jonathan Abrams and Tyler Dunne. It was, truly, awesome. Money was not much of an object. Length was fairly unlimited. The goal, we were told, was to create the best sports content in the country. To do what (sadly) ESPN the Magazine and SI were no longer doing.
Then—pfft.
I was one of the early dumps. It was suggested that I was too old for B/R Mag. Never stated precisely, but implied in ways that were impossible to ignore. Before long, writer after writer after writer was given the boot. Then, the whole enterprise was blown up. Bleacher Report’s devotion to quality journalism was replaced by a devotion to clicks, clicks, clicks, clicks, clicks, clicks and (wait for it) clicks. The powers that be realized (and perhaps they’re right) that a 30-second video of Steph Curry shooting threes drew as many eyeballs as a Howard Beck deep dive. Maybe more.
And that was that.
Anyhow, these days Bleacher Report is all about … hmm. What is it all about? Entertainment, I suppose. Hyping up athletes. Hyping up brands. Keeping ahead of trends. Bridging the gap between culture and sports. Putting forth illusionary cool. It’s not journalism by any stretch of the imagination. It’s … fluff.
Yeah, fluff.
Wait. I digress.
The other day, while driving home, I listened to the above chat which featured a B/R entertainer named Taylor Rooks interviewing Allen Iverson and Al Harrington. And, in the name of 100-percent honesty, I sorta wanted to hate it—because (again) I hate what Bleacher Report has become.
As I listened, however, I found myself entertained. The two former NBA players clearly felt comfortable in Taylor’s presence (making your subject feel comfortable is an enormous part of this business). They were relaxed and engaged and told some genuinely interesting stories. That’s a win, and people who enjoyed the chat did so for good reason. It was, factually, enjoyable.
But here’s the thing: It wasn’t journalism.
Being a journalist doesn’t mean kissing up to subjects. It doesn’t mean laughing at their lukewarm jokes, agreeing with their comments, telling them what team you root for. It certainly doesn’t mean turning over the questions to other NBA players—“I was texting with James Harden, and he wants to know …” (that was a low moment for me).
Nope. Being a journalist means researching. It means—knowing you’re about to interview Allen Iverson—buying a copy of Kent Babb’s outstanding A.I. biography and understanding (like, really fucking understanding) the guy’s history. Hell, when Iverson began talking about how badly he wants to work for the Sixers, Kent’s details came to life in my mind (In short, Allen Iverson was a trainwreck, and may well still be a trainwreck. Yeah, he’s forgotten more basketball than most people ever know. But he also (cough, cough) brought the franchise to its knees). So if I’m the interviewer, and A.I. is jabbering on about craving a return, I say to him—point blank—”No disrespect, but I have to ask: Are you sober? How are your finances? Because accoring to …”
This job isn’t always fun. This job isn’t always glamorous. This job isn’t about making friends with the athletes. Fuck, I’ve covered sports since 1994. I have five sorta-friends who played when I was on a beat/penning books: Former Mets catcher Ed Hearn, former Giants catcher Brian Johnson, former Dodger outfielder Shawn Green, former Jets halfback Thomas Jones and former Packers linebacker Ni’al Diggs. The reason for this: I believe in the virtues of objectivity. I believe there’s a dividing line. I think any appearance of sucking up is a credibility killer. Mostly, I don’t want to be friends with the people I’m writing about. I don’t need to be invited to team parties. I don’t have any interest in a red carpet (or yellow, green or purple carpet). I am here for the grind; the dig; the search; the exploration. I sure as fuck am not here for the approval.
•••
One more digression: I am not trying to dump on Taylor Rooks (who clearly knows how to write). She is what she is—a Bleacher Report multimedia entertainer who takes on different roles and (in a sort of Bill Simmons-esque spirit) walks the line of fan/media member. In 2021, there’s clearly nothing wrong with that. I am the dinosaur in this land, not Taylor.
But I still believe journalism matters. I still believe research matters.
And I still believe, if a subject is too happy at the end of a sitdown, perhaps I didn’t do my job as a reporter.
Perhaps I was there to merely entertain.
Jeff, thanks for starting this Substack! As someone who’s been a behind-the-scenes editor for a long time, has moved from print magazines to digital content, and has a journalism degree, I agree with everything you said here. But here’s what I grapple with on a daily basis: What’s the solution? At my job, I see all the metrics that show a 500-word news piece with very little reporting outperforms a detailed story that required significant time and effort by a factor of 10. Media outlets don’t have a “quality” KPI, unfortunately. The Athletic seems to have things figured out with its membership model. NBA writer (and fellow CSUF alumnus) Marc Stein recently ventured out on his own with a subscription Substack—is that the future of sports journalism? I’d like to know how you’d make this kind of quality journalism work in 2021.
The role of journalist is morphing. I think some j-schools are evening transitioning away from calling it Journalism and more multimedia or adding “Multimedia” to Journalism. Well said, Jeff!