Katie Hendrick

American Columnist shares details on being involved in Major League Baseball

Journalism

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.-An American baseball columnist with ESPN spoke with students

and instructors at the University of Alabama to enlighten the group on the hard work of

journalism and the time that goes into it.

Jeff Passan has made an impact in the industry through his position as a leading reporter.

He has been working in journalism for a while, covering college baseball at Fresno State in his

early career and many years later, now working for ESPN. Passan has won multiple Associated

Press sports editors’ awards and is the author of, “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of

the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports”.

The students and Passan communicated through a Zoom call late Thursday evening. The

zoom call was for students who are interested in sports journalism or wanted to know more about

Passan’s career.

When mentioning his passion for writing, Passan states that reading the newspaper when

he was younger gave him that spark that he doesn’t believe he would have had in today’s

generation.

“Newspapers use to print every baseball statistic imaginable on Sundays, like they would

have batting averages for every single guy in the big leagues…and I would just sit there and read

it,” said Passan.

Talking about the importance of honesty, Passan states how important the reputation with

your career is.

“It’s your entire professional reputation that’s on the line, every time you go on air, every

time you write something, not just your present but your future as well,” said Passan.
Katie Hendrick

Speaking about the time and effort that goes into journalism as well as the fact checking

and verification, Passan makes it clear that it’s important to be judicious. No story is worth

risking one’s career.

Along with the workload being heavy, Passan states that the time put in can be

consuming. Journalists should take the duty of good quality work very seriously.

Passan discussed the late nights and time he has put into his work stating, “I pulled too

many all-nighters,” when mentioning his start up. Passan had to learn how to balance not just his

work life, but his personal life as well.

His work hasn’t interfered with his family he had mentioned. Passan, his wife, Sara

Rieke, and their two kids live in the Kansas City area.

“My wife hasn't divorced me and my kids like me I think,” said Passan jokingly when

talking about his family. Passan showcases his balance and dedication to not just his career, but

his family as well.

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