http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3249345&postcount=24
I got into sports journalism because I loved sports and writing; it seemed a marriage made in Heaven to me.
From a young age I loved to read and from seventh grade loved the craft of writing. I began to write poetry, short stories, and made the obligatory attempt at a novel. I also wrote with heart. I liked and always searched for the human element of sports. When I became a sports columnist my editors thought this to be quaint and even endearing, but ultimately wouldn't publish articles with heart, or edit them heavily if they did. I would open the magazine to read an article with my name on it that was unrecognizable compared with my submission. They would almost literally pat me on the head affectionately, saying I wasn't jaded enough yet, and then smile amongst themselves.
When I became the sports editor, and an associate editor of the magazine, I had more say. But the managing editors, and editor-in-chief, still kiboshed many of my articles or ones I'd helped develop with other fledgling sportswriters.
Behind-the-scenes they openly requested articles that attacked players or coaches. They didn't follow sports, so only knew the headlines, and would make wild assumptions based on the little they'd heard, and direct me to exploit an angle I knew to be spurious. My protestations would fall on deaf ears, so I'd write the article but attempt to find a way to make it balanced, which was next to impossible without being completely contradictory. Inevitably, they'd edit out anything that didn't fit with their angle, and the result would be a hack piece... not so much written by me, but edited by them. It was often an embarrassment.
I asked for a meeting with the managing editors, and chief-of-staff, and stated my position, and said I wasn't willing to compromise it. They felt it was cute, the guy with the heart was standing up for himself. I mention this to let you know the culture, how showing heart in the industry is often seen as weakness, and diminishes your credibility. Cynicism is the modern day art form amongst many in publishing.
The end of the story is predictable. They said I made good points and would allow me to write with more freedom. It lasted for one or two issues and then returned to normal whereupon I submitted my resignation and went back to school for Sports Psychology.
The players themselves responded to heart because it's as elemental to competition as good grammar is to writing. But then we'd all read the sports columns, and shake our heads at the disconnect, the skewed perception of the writers (or editors). Somewhere along the way heart disappeared from print but it will never disappear from the playing field.
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