When Allen Iverson returned to Philadelphia for the first time as a member of the Denver Nuggets, Sixers’ beat reporter Phil Sheridan Jasner stood up and gave him a standing ovation from the press section.  He was the only member of the press who did it, and I remember being proud of Philadelphia for his action and jealous that I didn’t have the courage or stature to pull off a similar move.  I bring this up because when Jasner made that stance he did something that was previously unheard of: he admitted to being a fan as well as a reporter.  

Recently, John Gonzalez has been taking a similar stance.  He won’t shout from the press box, but he will write his thoughts and feelings, and report not only from the clubhouse, but also from the bars, and from in front of his TV. 

Earlier today we started a Q&A with the Inquirer’s John Gonzalez looking at his profession, the fan-as-press mindset, and where sports
journalism is headed. You can read the first half HERE, and the second half after the jump. 

Is there a
fundamental disconnect between fan and reporter?  I know you can be both, but can you be both
at the same time, and still avoid being Dave Spadaro?

Here is the difference between me and Spadaro.  He’s a shill. 
He seems like a perfectly nice shill, but he’s drinking the kool-aid,
he’s taking his marching orders.  In this
town there is a difference between being a fan and being a kool-aid drinker. 

I’m independent.  I’m
independent politically and I’m independent minded when it comes to this.  I don’t take my marching orders from anyone
else.

Here in Philly, more than any place in the planet, that
makes you a fan.  Jimmy Rollins was right
when it said it – and I hated hearing it as much as anyone – but when he said
you’re going to hear it when you do well and you’re going to hear it when you’re
not.  That was right.   Maybe in Green Bay you reflect the average fan telling
guys they’re always doing great, but here if you fucked up you’re going to hear
about it. That is the fan’s reaction.

Take what Burrell did, when he got caught off second for
that out, he’s been in the bigs for how long? Eight years? And he doesn’t know
how to run the fucking bases?  When I
write that that’s just a true reaction.

You talk about
rooting for the laundry as opposed to for the players.  Are there players you pull for as
individuals?

That’s where I’m not a true blue fan.  I don’t wear jerseys and I don’t root for
players, or at least that is really rare for me.  There are guys who I like, guys who are easy
to talk to; Lidge is easy to talk to; Charlie, now that I’ve gotten to
interview him he’s a really easy guy to talk to. 
When I was living away from Philly I hated him, I thought he was awful,
but now that I’ve gotten to interview him and know him a little bit he’s a lot
smarter than I thought.  But a lot of
guys you try and talk with, and if it’s like pulling teeth and you realize
they’re dicks.

How has being a
reporter effected your fanhood?  Has it
made it harder to pull for the dbags, or does it really not matter – both ways
- once they put the uniform on?

It absolutely does.  I was talking to AJ Daulerio about this when
he was putting together his Inquirer column.  The question he
was toying around with was: do
we really have to root for Brett Myers?  He’s a pretty bad dude, and
he’s had his run-ins
with the press.  But still, I
tend root for them in spite of who they are. 
Take a kind of “He’s our dickhead, I guess,” mindset.  And I can’t do
that as a reporter.  I try not see the back of the uniform as a
fan, I know I need to report on it as a reporter.

With seemingly every
beat guy having a blog where they’re at least supposed to open up, is what
you’re doing the future of sports reporting?

I don’t fucking know. 
I just hope there is a future of sports reporting.  As far as the future goes I don’t put any
stock in what we’re supposed be doing. 

No one knows more than the beat guys.  No fucking doubt about that.  But knowing what is happening with the team
is something very different from reacting viscerally to the tone and tenor of
the team.  It’s a new thing.  I’m trying to come at this as an honest
broker.  But I’m reacting the same way as
Joe Idiot off the street. Use that emotion and meld it and marry it with my professional
skills. 

All I’m trying to do is offer my honest opinion, who knows
if it works?

–

Here is guessing it does, and hoping it will continue to.

Thanks again to John.  Be sure to check out his work with the Inquirer HERE, even when I tell you to skip it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 11:28 am and is filed under Inside the Press Box, fans, media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.