When it was announced that Allan Houston would join our class, I couldn’t wait. Visits from esteemed journalists are tremendous and invaluable, but this was entirely different.
There were so many things about his career and his journey that I yearned to ask about.
His time in the pressure cooker that is New York and what it was like to take the starting shooting guard spot from fan-favorite John Starks. Facing off against the Dream Team. Dealing with the game being taken away from him prematurely and cruelly and, for many, his career subsequently being boiled down to a contractual term: the Allan Houston Rule.
Funnily enough, my grandiose plans for what I wanted to ask disappeared as soon as Houston started talking.
His decision to answer the first question by initially offering advice to everyone in the room may have been an afterthought, but his suggestion regarding handling athletes as journalists resonated with me.
“Try to establish authentic connections with the athletes you are covering and truly care,” Houston implored. “Do your research. See them as a person, not just an athlete.”
These guidelines for journalism will be covered ad nauseam by any professor worth their salt, and rightly so. To cover an athlete and build a relationship that is conducive to reporting on them thoroughly, you must get to know them as a person first.
It is the least they deserve. Athletes are people, too, after all.
Hearing these words from the other side of the journalistic exchange felt different. From the athlete, who operates in a world where they are perpetually under the microscope, where even their most mundane words are dissected diligently and endlessly.
Perhaps the reason why Houston strives for the existence of a human connection between media members and athletes was uncovered when the topic of playing in New York was broached.
Anyone with a pulse and an interest in basketball knows how the media treats the Knicks and the toll this treatment can take on players.
I fit the above criteria, so I came in privy to this, but again, it felt different to sit there and hear Houston reflect on his experience with the media in the Big Apple.
“I felt that intensity from the media. I became heavily guarded,” Houston said. “They were always looking for one thing to take from a quote and turn it into a headline. We dealt with it every day.”
What a turn of events this was. From hoping to learn something new about Bird or Magic to hearing about the pitfalls of sports media from someone who fell victim to it.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Because Houston is right.
There must be a human connection between a reporter and the athletes they cover.
It makes for good reporting.
It is evident when an article results from a conversation between two people who respect each other rather than just shoddy work that is a reporter’s attempt to generate clicks and interest through questionable means.
Beyond just providing essential news and game results, the whole purpose of a good sports journalist is to bring an athlete’s walls down so they can give the fans a new tidbit about the players they revere. Fans depend on the work of journalists to bridge the gap between themselves and those on their favorite teams.
Too often, journalists lose this focus, depriving their audience of worthwhile coverage of the teams they invest so heavily in.
Not everyone enters the journalism world understanding the need to cultivate a relationship with those you cover.
Luckily, I will not fall into this category, largely thanks to Arizona State’s own Bill Hill and now Allan Houston.
Who would have ever thought those two names would be in a sentence together?
If you ever need a reminder about the reach of the Cronkite school, that might just be it.
The Allan Houston Rule – For Journalists
When it was announced that Allan Houston would join our class, I couldn’t wait. Visits from esteemed journalists are tremendous and invaluable, but this was entirely different.
There were so many things about his career and his journey that I yearned to ask about.
His time in the pressure cooker that is New York and what it was like to take the starting shooting guard spot from fan-favorite John Starks. Facing off against the Dream Team. Dealing with the game being taken away from him prematurely and cruelly and, for many, his career subsequently being boiled down to a contractual term: the Allan Houston Rule.
Funnily enough, my grandiose plans for what I wanted to ask disappeared as soon as Houston started talking.
His decision to answer the first question by initially offering advice to everyone in the room may have been an afterthought, but his suggestion regarding handling athletes as journalists resonated with me.
“Try to establish authentic connections with the athletes you are covering and truly care,” Houston implored. “Do your research. See them as a person, not just an athlete.”
These guidelines for journalism will be covered ad nauseam by any professor worth their salt, and rightly so. To cover an athlete and build a relationship that is conducive to reporting on them thoroughly, you must get to know them as a person first.
It is the least they deserve. Athletes are people, too, after all.
Hearing these words from the other side of the journalistic exchange felt different. From the athlete, who operates in a world where they are perpetually under the microscope, where even their most mundane words are dissected diligently and endlessly.
Perhaps the reason why Houston strives for the existence of a human connection between media members and athletes was uncovered when the topic of playing in New York was broached.
Anyone with a pulse and an interest in basketball knows how the media treats the Knicks and the toll this treatment can take on players.
I fit the above criteria, so I came in privy to this, but again, it felt different to sit there and hear Houston reflect on his experience with the media in the Big Apple.
“I felt that intensity from the media. I became heavily guarded,” Houston said. “They were always looking for one thing to take from a quote and turn it into a headline. We dealt with it every day.”
What a turn of events this was. From hoping to learn something new about Bird or Magic to hearing about the pitfalls of sports media from someone who fell victim to it.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Because Houston is right.
There must be a human connection between a reporter and the athletes they cover.
It makes for good reporting.
It is evident when an article results from a conversation between two people who respect each other rather than just shoddy work that is a reporter’s attempt to generate clicks and interest through questionable means.
Beyond just providing essential news and game results, the whole purpose of a good sports journalist is to bring an athlete’s walls down so they can give the fans a new tidbit about the players they revere. Fans depend on the work of journalists to bridge the gap between themselves and those on their favorite teams.
Too often, journalists lose this focus, depriving their audience of worthwhile coverage of the teams they invest so heavily in.
Not everyone enters the journalism world understanding the need to cultivate a relationship with those you cover.
Luckily, I will not fall into this category, largely thanks to Arizona State’s own Bill Hill and now Allan Houston.
Who would have ever thought those two names would be in a sentence together?
If you ever need a reminder about the reach of the Cronkite school, that might just be it.
Stephen Smith