May 31st, 2007
A Question From Mark Cuban on Sports Reporting
Here's a question from Mark Cuban that I'll be chewing on for a little while:
I was trying to remember the last time I heard a question from a sports reporter before or after a game or event when i thought to myself "What a great question". Why ?
I'm struggling with this one.
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on Thursday, May 31st, 2007 at 12:12 pm by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey.
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With all due respect Eric, you’re in the room now. Ask away!
Perhaps I should have been clearer. When I posted that question, I was firmly pointing the finger at myself as well.
Because that’s not the job. The job is to get great quotes, not ask great questions. Not the same thing.
BD – Good point. Really good point, actually.
Bouncing off on that point (which may not be where you are going), some of the best questions out there are not the ones the Mark Cubans and the Sidney Crosbys are posed. It’s the ones the fans are posed. The question isn’t what is important when the athlete is asked, it’s the response.
And, going beyond that: If the athlete is going to answer in a lame way, why ask the question? Why do you think Dennis Rodman or Jeremy Roenick are asked such provocative questions? Simple, they will answer. Ask a third line winger his real opinion, and try to get it in print.
Also, if you want to point the finger back at yourself, look at your interview with Donald Brashear. You said yourself that he had heard the question before, and was tired of it. Would asking something new have been any different? I think not. It was when you engaged him in conversation, got a little more than a sound bite from him that it got interesting.
As for Cuban, what does he want out of an interview? Does he want to provide a sound bite? Does he want to actually provide something different? Does he want to promote his team? If Cuban wants to be asked new and interesting questions, send him my way. I have a few.