A. Sherrod Blakely
- Contributor, Boston Sports Journal
- NBA Contributor, Bleacher Report
- None, NABJ Sports Journalism Task Force
Boston
Award-winning Professor, Boston University. NBA writer; sherrod.substack.com. Co-host, The Big 3 NBA Podcast, Garden Report. Member, NABJ, NAHJ, AAJA
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Agate clerk.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
yes
How is social media changing news?
It has created an unprecedented audience of consumers, as well as a relatively unregulated world of content creators.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
A diseminator of information whose content comes from interviews, gathering info and experience BASED ON FACTS, NOT OPINIONS.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
No answer.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
No matter how you package the pitch, one must indicate why this story matters and why you're equipped to tell it.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Pen. Paper. Notebooks. computer. phone. various Apps.
What's your favorite social network?
Too many to choose from. None stands above the rest.
Who do you wish followed you?
No one. We all need to blaze our own trail and not get so caught up in who is on our heels but focus more on moving forward.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Keep writing. Keep learning. And never get to a point where you feel you know all you need to know.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
None comes to mind right away.
What's your favorite drink?
I don't have one. I have many.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
All over the map. I don't do sitting still well.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Ringer's Marin Fader
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That all you do in sports is watch games.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.