Episode 85: Get Out Of Your Seat Journalism with Mike Waters

November 21, 2018 Brian Moritz

Mike Waters, who has covered the Syracuse University basketball program since 1989, who is the vice president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and one of the best and most generous beat writers in our business, joins Brian this week.

After the requisite talk about how Syracuse is doing this year (there’s a George Costanza theory involved), Mike traces his career path from the University of North Carolina to Nashville and to a loaded Syracuse team in 1989. How has the job of beat writer changed over the past 30 years, and how has it not?

Mike describes how he builds relationships with sources, why you have to put the notebook away sometimes, and why he doesn’t like to hang out around the media room.

He also answers the big question: What’s Jim Boeheim like to cover?

Mike Waters on Twitter

Mike on Syracuse.com

Nothing on this page is real

This is how the Maui Invitational became an institution

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Episode 84: Director's Cut, plus The Secret Life of Words

November 1, 2018 Brian Moritz

This week, Brian has collected bits and pieces that didn’t make it into previous episodes but are collected here in a kind of deleted scenes collection of The Other 51.

Tanya Marsh of Wake Forest University (1:25) and Jeff Pearlman (4:23) offer their single best pieces of writing advice.

Doug Schneider (7:40) talks about what he writes about when he’s not covering Making a Murderer, and how he learns the skills needed to do those projects.

And, in the debut of a new segment, Jen Moritz (16:30) joins me for The Secret Life of Words. You know where the word “Halloween” comes from, right? Turns you, you probably don’t.

Special music this week from Ellie Moritz & Andrea Peters.

Episode 79: Live and Die with Tanya Marsh

Episode 80: Labor of Love with Jeff Pearlman

Episode 83: For Real — Did Steven Avery Do It? with Doug Schneider

Episode 45: You Podcast? with Jen Moritz

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Episode 83: Did Steven Avery do it? with Doug Schneider

October 25, 2018 Brian Moritz

What’s it like when an actual phenomenon happens in your backyard?

That’s the position Doug Schneider found himself in a few years ago. A projects reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, Doug found himself writing about Making a Murderer, the Netflix documentary that is set a county near his offices in Green Bay.

Doug, who worked with Brian at the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, joins Brian this week to talk about reporting and more. Topics include Why Binghamton was the best news town Doug has ever worked in (6:08); covering Making a Murderer (12:00); what it was like when the documentary became A Thing. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever been a part of.” (18:30); The biggest challenge in writing about a phenomenon like this (23:30); the history of #ScannerSquawk (27:00); the best things Doug and Brian have read lately (33:20).

Doug Schneider

Doug on Twitter

Making a Mania

NY Times on Donald Trump’s wealth

Unintended Consequences

A Place, a people and their team

Football for a Buck

Shots on the Bridge: Police Violence and Cover-up in the Wake of Katrina

Chasing Phil: The Adventures of Two Undercover Agents with the World's Most Charming Con Man

Grant

Teachers in America

All-22: Former UB quarterback Joe Licata breaks down Allen’s biggest flaws and Peterman’s pick-six

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Episode 82: Not Those Kinds of Doctors with Dr. Shannon McCarthy

October 18, 2018 Brian Moritz

Mental Illness Awareness Week was last week (Oct. 7-13, 2018), but in recognition of this, Brian’s good friend Dr. Shannon McCarthy joins him for a special episode. Shannon and Brian talk about their own mental health struggles and how it affects and impacts their writing (2:15). They also talk about knowing when you’re really struggling vs. when you’re just being lazy (9:40), how they deal with imposter syndrome (16:20), some of their strategies to beat back the demons and get stuff done (24:00), how they use humor to help (31:26) and the best thing they’ve read lately (34:26).

National Suicide Prevention Hotline

Call 1-800-273-8255

Shannon McCarthy on Twitter

Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House by Alyssa Mastromonaco

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Episode 81: Write What You See with Bucky Gleason

September 27, 2018 Brian Moritz

Two weeks ago, Brian and Bucky Gleason recorded what might have been the perfect podcast. It was witty, insightful, entertaining, everything you’d want from this medium and more.

And, then Brian went and messed up the recording but good.

But Bucky, a former Buffalo News sports columnist and now the editor of Buffalo Maven, is a mensch. He joins Brian again this week. They talk a lot about the Buffalo Bills and what this team is like to cover. Bucky talks about how he writes columns about the team without having press credentials, and the challenges and opportunities that presents.

Bucky details his career path from the Wellsville bureau of the Olean Times Herald to being a columnist at his hometown Buffalo News. He remembers the influence Jim Kelley had on his career (including the infamous Dominik Hasek incident) and discusses the challenges presented of writing what he calls “grossly unpopular” columns about bad teams for the past 10 years.

Bucky Gleason on Twitter

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Episode 80: Labor of Love with Jeff Pearlman

September 6, 2018 Brian Moritz

Nearly two years ago, Jeff Pearlman joined Brian in the early days of The Other 51. This was just after Jeff’s biography of Brett Favre came out, and Jeff was working on his next book - a history of the USFL.

That book — Football for a Buck — is out this month.

Jeff is back to talk about why he always wanted to write a book about the USFL and what makes that league so interesting to him. He talks about his reporting process — featuring 700 Word docs and his son, Emmett — as well as the challenges of structuring this book compared to his other works. Jeff also discusses the challenges of keeping this book from becoming all about Donald Trump. and how his reporting on the USFL helps him make sense of what’s happening in the world in 2018.

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Episode 79: Live and Die with Tanya Marsh

August 30, 2018 Brian Moritz

Tanya Marsh and Brian have been internet friends for a few years now, but this is the first time they’e actually spoken to each other.

Tanya is a professor of law at the Wake Forest School of Law. She’s is also as much of an Avett Brothers fan as Brian (she’s seen them 53 times in concert, which puts Brian’s concert count to shame).

Tanya and Brian talk a lot about their favorite band, how they discovered the Avett Brothers and what makes their lyrics so powerful and meaningful. Why did this band stick when the Mumford and Sons of the world did not?

They also talk about Tanya’s writing, her career as a law professor and her fascinating research into cemetery law. They discuss the pressures that young academics can feel to study what’s popular instead of what they’re interested in, the importance of grounding yourself in research, and how you know you’re ready to stop research and start writing. Tanya also answers the question of who owns a grave and the body inside of it?

The Law of Human Remains

Cemetery Law: The Common Law of Burying Grounds in the United States

Is the Cemetery Dead?

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Episode 78: The Voice of my Anxiety with Dr. Jenn Billinson

August 16, 2018 Brian Moritz

It’s (yet another) Syracuse University Ph.D. program reunion, and Brian’s good friend and classmate Dr. Jenn Billinson joins the podcast this week.

Jenn, an assistant professor at Christopher Newport University, talks in detail about her research into the use of music and media as a coping mechanism for tragedy. Jen discusses how people used music in tribute videos following the Virginia Tech massacre and her fieldwork in New Orleans post-Katrina. What makes music such a unique media format? Is the way music has become so personal changed the way we collectively experience music?

There’s also some old-school Hamiltalk (including a brutal hypothetical that Brian poses) and some Aretha Franklin memories.

Dr. Jennifer Billinson

Jenn Billinson on Twitter

Hamilton at The Kennedy Center

Aretha Franklin—Musical Genius, Truth Teller, Freedom Fighter

I’ve Never Loved a Man the Way that I Love You

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Episode 77: So You Wanna Write a Book with Dr. Andy Billings

August 9, 2018 Brian Moritz

Dr. Andy Billings had written or edited 18 books. He has two coming out this year. He’s published more than 130 journal articles and book chapters.

The Director of the Alabama Program in Sports Communication and Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media, Andy was also a part of a wonderful panel discussion at the AEJMC conference in Washington this week, where he talked about what it takes to write a book. He joins Brian on the podcast to recap that discussion and talk about the book writing process. How do you go from “hey, I’d like to write a book some day?” to publishing?

Andy talks about the importance of de-limiting your topic, making sure it’s not too big or too small. He discusses why the table of contents is such and important part of the process, why you have to think two years out when you’re writing a book, how he learned what writing schedule worked for him and how his background as a public speech coach informs his writing.

Andrew Billings

Andy on Twitter

Tiger Woods

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Episode 76: Going With My Gut with Kimberley A. Martin

July 26, 2018 Brian Moritz

Kimberley A. Martin began her career working in finance in New York City. Even when she started looking at a career in journalism, she never wanted to work for a newspaper.

Many twists and turns later, she now covers Washington and the NFL for the Washington Post.

Kimberley joins Brian to talk about her convoluted career path, how her study of psychology at Wesleyan University influences her reporting to this day, and how she went from New Jersey to New York to Buffalo and finally to the Post.

Kimberley talks about the balancing act between day-to-day news and longer form features that she must navigate as a beat reporter, what it’s like to jump onto the Washington beat in the middle of the season, and how Syracuse University helped shape her as a writer.

Near the end, she also casually drops in the fact that she knew Lin-Manuel Miranda in college.

Kimberley A. Martin

Kimberley on Twitter

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Grant by Ron Chernow

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Episode 75: A Mental Shower with Dr. Gina Masullo Chen

July 5, 2018 Brian Moritz

Dr. Gina Masullo Chen, a grad-school classmate of Brian’s at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, joins The Other 51 this week to talk about writing for both newspapers and academics.

Gina talks about her 20-plus year career at the Post-Standard in Syracuse and why she decided to leave journalism in 2009 to get a Ph.D. Gina and Brian trade theories on why newspapers were so weird in the mid-to-late 2000s and why they were so bad at adopting new technology.

Gina also talks about her writing process, how she uses deadlines and her own personality to work to her advantage, the difference between disagreement and incivility, and about civility in online discourse. Which means yes, she read the comments.

And yes, Gina tells us that Austin really is that cool.

Gina Masullo Chen

Gina on Twitter

Online Incivility and Public Debate: Nasty Talk

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Does incivility hurt democracy? Here’s what political science can tell us by Emily Sydnor

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Episode 74: Roundtable with Drs. Lauren Smith and Shannon McCarthy

June 28, 2018 Brian Moritz

In the first roundtable discussion on The Other 51, Drs. Lauren Smith and Shannon McCarthy join Brian this week. It’s like the IACS Summit on Communication and Sport, only in podcast form (and without bacon and beer).

Lauren and Shannon talk about the paths they took to their current teaching jobs at Indiana University and the University of Central Missouri. Along with their research agendas, they both discuss how their experiences as college athletes influence their academic and professional work. They talk about what is interesting about social media in sports in 2018 and the challenges they face as women studying sports.

There’s also a discussion about human tacos.

For real. It’s a thing they all talk about.

Lauren Smith on Twitter

Shannon McCarthy on Twitter

The Curious Case of Bryan Colangelo and the Secret Twitter Account

This Man Made Tacos From His Amputated Foot And Then Fed Them To His Friends

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Episode 73: Metro Community News with Richard Deitsch

June 21, 2018 Brian Moritz

Fun fact: Richard Deitsch and Brian Moritz are professionally connected.

No, not just because they both write about sports media — Richard for The Athletic, Brian for whomever will let him. But because Richard’s first job in journalism was covering Buffalo sports for the Metro Community News — a free weekly paper that Brian delivered as his first job in middle school.

Richard joins Brian this week to talk about his time in Buffalo as a college student and as a reporter. They talk about what makes Buffalo such a great sports town, how Richard is still influenced by his time in the city, and what’s happening to The Buffalo News’ sports department.

Beyond Buffalo, Richard discusses his career path and how he ended up covering sports media, first for Sports Illustrated and now for The Athletic. He talks about the process that goes into writing his regular media columns, what his perfect sports media world would look like, and entertains Brian’s theory about The Athletic and Sports Illustrated.

Richard Deitsch

Richard Deitsch at The Athletic

Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Blood Will Tell

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Episode 72: Jack of All Trades with Jeff DiVeronica

June 14, 2018 Brian Moritz

Jeff Di Veronica, who has covered sports in Rochester for nearly two decades, joins Brian this week.

Jeff talks about the challenges that covering high-school sports present reporters. How do you balance accurately reporting what happens in a game with being sensitive to the fact that you’re covering high school kids? How do you critically cover the behavior of some parents when they make up your core audience? How has the job over his nearly two decades in Rochester?

Jeff also discusses how some parents have “email muscles” with both reporters and coaches, and what makes Rochester such a unique sports market.

Jeff DiVeronica

Jeff on Twitter

Angry parents cost this Honeoye coach his job and reputation so he sued them and won $50K

Ruling on Red Creek basketball parent’s appeal against Section V expected June 22

Epsiode 47: Detective Work with Scott Pitoniak

Jamal Lewis Making Most of Post-NFL Life—but Preparing for Darker Days to Come

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Episode 71: Podcast Inception with Dr. Galen Clavio

June 7, 2018 Brian Moritz

It’s a weird flip of the podcast world this week. Normally, Brian co-hosts The Flip Side, a podcast about sports, media and other stuff with Dr. Galen Clavio. But this week, Galen joins Brian to talk about sports media and writing.

Galen, the director of the National Sports Journalism Center and a professor at Indiana University’s media school, discusses his career path from minor-league hockey play-by-play guy to academia. He talks about how writing helped him in his play-by-play and broadcasting career, and how the job is often about figuring out how words go together.

Galen and Brian also talk about the challenges of teaching sports media in an ever-changing marketplace, and their research and writing processes. Galen talks about why the literature review is so important and why he always does the introduction last. He also remembers what it was like covering Bobby Knight’s firing from Indiana as a member of the student media.

There is also news about The Flip Side. And talk about Vlade Divac’s hypothetical burner Twitter accounts.

Galen Clavio on Twitter

National Sports Journalism Center

The Flip Side

Trusting the ESPN Process

Crooked Letters

The Curious Case of Bryan Colangelo and the Secret Twitter Account

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Episode 70: Draft Nerds with Matthew Fairburn

May 24, 2018 Brian Moritz

Matthew Fairburn, who covers the Buffalo Bills for NYUpstate.com (or Syracuse.com, or The Post-Standard, depending on which generation you belong to), joins Brian this week for a deep dive into life on an NFL beat.

Matthew discusses how he got the job as a Bills beat writer on a one-season trial, and what it was like for him to not only start a new beat at a paper, but to be dropped onto an NFL beat fresh out of college. Matthew and Brian talk about what it means to cover an NFL team with a digital-first mentality and also how to balance doing something different with your coverage while also giving readers the news they’re looking for.

Matthew also breaks down Josh Allen and gives Brian reasons to be optimistic about the Bills in the future.

As a bonus, Matthew reveals what he was supposed to be doing the New Year’s Eve when Doug Marrone quit as Bills coach.

Matthew Fairburn at NYUpsate.com

Matthew Fairburn on Twitter

The Power of Media Narratives and the Bills’ Playoff Drought

You Gotta Play Hurt by Dan Jenkins

Matt Millen Fights For His Life: ‘It’s Getting Late. We Need a Big Stop’

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Episode 69: That's Good Thinking There, Cool Breeze

May 17, 2018 Brian Moritz

Tom Wolfe, the iconic American journalist and novelist, died on May 15 at the age of 88.

In lieu of the usual interview, Brian talks to several previous guests of The Other 51 about their memories of Wolfe. Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Baxter Holmes of ESPN (with a quick Twitter appearance from novelist Rebecca Makkai) discuss how they discovered Tom Wolfe and what he meant to them, their careers and journalism.

EPISODE 18: SARAN WRAP OCTOPUS WITH MIKE SIELSKI

Episode 62: The Stream of Time with Rebecca Makkai

Epsiode 57: Untold Stories with Baxter Holmes

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Episode 68: Watergate Baby with Kevin Blackistone

May 10, 2018 Brian Moritz

You probably know Kevin Blackistone best from his regular appearances on ESPN’s “Around the Horn.” But he’s also a professor of practice at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, a longtime sports columnist (at both the Washington Post, the Dallas Morning-News and more), an author, a contributor to NPR and much more. As he said at the Summit on Communication and Sport, he’s like a NASCAR driver — he has a lot of labels.

Kevin joins Brian to talk about his career in journalism, his origin story growing up in Washington, D.C. and who he read growing up that influenced him to become a journalist. Kevin and Brian discuss how all journalism is advocacy in one form or another as well as what is and is not changing in the sports media landscape.

Kevin describes life as a sports columnist in the 1990s, including his story about the night of Mike Tyson bit off Evander Holyfield’s ear.

Special thanks to Dr. Galen Clavio and The Media School at Indiana University for hosting this week’s episode.

Kevin Blackistone on Twitter

Kevin Blackistone at Maryland

IACS 18

Baked of Bloomington

THE STATE OF THE BLACK MANAGER IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL WOULD DISGUST JACKIE ROBINSON

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Episode 67: Neutral Site with Bryan Curtis

May 3, 2018 Brian Moritz

It’s a podcast bowl game, of sorts, and Bryan Curtis from The Ringer joins Brian this week at the IACS 11th Summit on Communication and Sport. Bryan, who is The Ringer’s editor-at-large, compares the conference to the Final Four or the combine and talks about some of the interesting research he saw this past weekend.

Bryan and Brian (it’s not confusing) talk about the state of sports journalism and sports media. What do you do when the villain in the story is just the march of history? Bryan discusses how reading the Dallas Morning News as a kid influenced him, what his perfect sports media world would look like, the value he sees in reading print newspapers every day, and why people seem to care so much about media news.

Brian also tries to defend his love of Jurassic World, much to Bryan’s dismay.

Special thanks to Dr. Galen Clavio and The Media School at Indiana University for hosting this week’s episode.

Bryan Curtis

Bryan Curtis on Twitter

IACS 2018: 11th Summit on Communication and Sport

The Loneliest Beat in the NBA

After Each Attack He Carried the Wounded. Then He Became a Victim

The Brilliant Chaos Behind America’s Best Radio Show

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Episode 66: Curating the curators with Kendall Baker

April 26, 2018 Brian Moritz

Kendall Baker is the curator and creator of Sports Internet, which is one of the best daily sports newsletters available on the internet.

But what makes a daily sports newsletter interesting and worth it?

Kendall joins Brian this week to talk about his daily process in creating the newsletter and breaks down the skills that are needed to create a newsletter. What makes a newsletter good, and why are newsletters so popular in this media age? He discusses how he iterated many different versions of the Sports Internet and how living on the West Coast is the ultimate competitive advantage. He also gives Brian advice on how he could teach newsletters in his online journalism class.

Sports Internet

Kendall Baker

What the Arlee Warriors Were Playing For

Billion-Dollar Blessings

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