Media Savvy
Friend or Foe?
By Andrew Stockey

Thanks to the Pittsburgh Sports Report for allowing me, once again, the opportunity to share the media point-of-view and express my own feelings in this column. I look at this as an opportunity to take you inside my world, rather than just voice my opinion about a local team. I've decided to share with you the most interesting - and in my opinion, maybe the most difficult part of sports journalism - the relationship with the people you cover. In short, can you be both friend - and foe.

What kid doesn't dream of being on a first-name basis with guys like Ken Griffey, Jr., Michael Jordan or Mario Lemieux? Talking sports with your favorite athlete and knowing he knows you on more than just a casual basis. Wouldn't it be cool to tell your buds that you and that super-star athlete are friends?

In my world, that dream is reality. Some of the players that I cover in this area are more than just working relationships. Some I know personally and have shared moments with them away from the locker room and built lasting friendships.

No, I'm not going to name drop, but let's just say those athletes are well-known on not just a local level, but a national stage as well.

I've built these relationships over time thanks to spending the course of entire seasons with these men - and women. Let's face it: when you spend a whole season asking questions of the same athletes every day, you either form a friendship or just a working relationship. For myself and some of the pro athletes in this town, I've formed friendships that have allowed me to get to know their families and, in turn, they have gotten to know mine. It's allowed me to build a comfort zone, which allows them to express freely their thoughts, and often leads to getting the inside track on a situation. You know it as "breaking a story."

Now comes the hard part. We live in an age in sports where the media and the modern athlete have an antagonistic relationship. How often do players claim their words are misconstrued and they can do nothing right in the eyes of the all-knowing media?

How about the press, which privately sees the average athlete as nothing more than a rich crybaby? The athletes often will shun the media and those of us in the press will vilify the star.

So how can it be? How is it possible for members of the media to become friends with the athletes they cover, yet remain objective and unbiased in their opinions and viewpoints? Let me tell you, it's not easy. It's a fine line, but if the sports figure is of strong enough character to be your friend, it can be done.

In my travels, I have found that athletes, friends and not, appreciate honesty - positive and negative. If the athlete has a bad game, he knows it. If you're honest in your evaluation of his performance, he won't turn on you.

At the same time, he's a human being. Yes, he's a human being making millions, but that doesn't mean I need to sit there and make fun of his family or his genetic background in the course of analyzing his recent efforts on the field of play.

Professionalism, sincerity and honesty on both sides makes the relationship work. I'll give you an example - and I will drop a name. From the first day I met Pitt football coach Walt Harris, I admired his honesty and personable approach. The last three seasons, I have hosted his segment Thursday night on channel 4 during the football season.

Working with him closely over that time, we've developed a close relationship. We could talk about more than just the business of football when in the same room - plus, he's much more tolerant of my nasty slice off the golf tee than anyone I have ever met.

Last winter, you heard the stories of his interview with Alabama and the courting of the coach by Ohio State. It was the rumors regarding the second school that led to an interview and a line of questioning in a television interview that was more direct than any he had seen from me before. I asked him directly and, at times, confrontationally, about his future at Pittsburgh. It was not a hostile interview, but it was much more serious than the usual post-game give-and-take.

Afterwards, Walt said he admired my approach and appreciated the honest and fair line of questioning. We still are very friendly with one another to this day.

Bottom line here: You can be both friend and foe as a sports journalist as long as both sides understand where the working relationship ends and the friendship begins. That's one of the cool things about being a sportscaster - and one of the things you must lose out on if you try and walk the straight line as a serious journalist only.

Hey folks, it's only sports. Enjoy it!

Andrew Stockey is a sportscaster with WTAE-TV, Channel 4, Pittsburgh.