There’s a who, what, when, where … and then there’s a why.
That latter one’s never been harder to uncover than now, but we’re still trying.
As our longtime readers can attest, we’ve never been about the final score, the standard play-by-play, the same quotes that everyone else gets. We’ve always sought more on every beat, every event, large or small. And to help achieve that, we’ve always been everywhere our teams go, home or road, game or practice, you name it.
That’s a challenge these days, thanks to coronavirus and the degree to which the various professional sports leagues have tried to accommodate access. Major League Baseball and the NFL have been spectacular, though it’s not simple on either front: All interviews are done in groups, all via Zoom calls, all with team-selected participants. If a player’s slumping, we’ll seldom see them. If there’s a controversy of some sort, we’ll never see them. If there’s a hard question to ask, it’s dependent on having someone to ask. And then there’s the NHL, which fled the country to conduct its tournament, then threw away the key for reporters trying to cross the border. (All except, of course, for writers and social media people paid by the league and the member teams.)
The standard here doesn’t change, at the risk of sounding like Mike Tomlin.
We’re still digging behind the scenes for information to populate the Point Park University Friday Insider and beyond, most of which is produced through the phone and texts, anyway. That’s how Dale Lolley got good stuff for Steelers fans this week on Devin Bush’s signal-calling. We’re still emphasizing overview over outcome, which is how Dave Molinari took the proper big-scope view to the Penguins’ elimination yesterday, capitalizing on his Hall of Fame experience with such observations. And we’re still aiming for analysis over the scoreboard, which is how Alex Stumpf … well, that’s how this kid lives his life. He doesn’t see at-bats so much as he sees spin rates and launch angles. And given the state of the Pirates, I’d say that’s just the right lens.
Now, when nationally acclaimed features writer Tom Reed joins us Aug. 17, that’ll represent yet another level of depth. Trust me, based on the communications we’ve had this week — most of them just him pumping ideas in my direction — we’ll have more who and why to our coverage than ever. And he won’t be held back in learning what he wants to learn. Too many avenues at work with that guy.
With the new app out soon — see below — and a couple new faces on the staff, including another we’ll welcome Monday, some things will look or feel a little different. But nothing will be new at the core. Same as it was July 23, 2014, we’ll be about original reporting and writing, first and foremost and always.
Everything else we do is exactly that: It’s everything else.
Just thought I’d share.