Jeff Pearlman Gives Great Advice To Young Journalists
Jeff Pearlman is an established author in the industry who’s published a number of great books. I also know that he’s smart because he follows Trey. After the news on Sports Illustrated and the LA Times, Pearlman went on social media and gave incredible advice to young journalists out there.
“I was thinking with the layoffs at the LA Times, with the news at Sports Illustrated, I had a bunch of people ask, ‘What do you do if you’re a young journalist? What do you do?’ And this is what pops in my head, and I’ve been talking to other contemporaries about this,” Pearlman began. “The number one thing is, you have to make yourself indispensable; you just do. I told this to someone I know, but if you’re covering a team — let’s say you’re covering Wichita State basketball for some newspaper. Ask your bosses if it’s OK if you start a podcast too — a Wichita State sports podcast. Build up an amazing Instagram following, and start doing TikTok videos about Wichita State sports to the point where you’re known as the guy on TikTok for all things Wichita State. Find a million different ways; build up your Twitter following.
“It’s stupid, it’s annoying, but it’s the same kind of the way you survive as an author of books these days. You make it so that you have this built-in audience of people who are waiting for your book or what you have to say. You just have to become an expert. And you just have to do everything. You have to grind and grind and grind. Start a Substack that directs people ultimately to your work on your newspaper website. Come up with a book proposal, and come up with book ideas. And my advice to, if it’s a first-time book, is don’t make it about your uncle who is diabetic and his battle. Find something that is mainstreamish — the Big East in the 1980s, LeBron and Kobe’s relationship. Something big, something that works, something that would grab a publisher.
“You just have to find a million different ways to stay relevant. Stay on top of things, have a million different tentacles everywhere. I left Sports Illustrated in 2003 and honest to God, one of the reasons I did — besides wanting to write books and being tired of sports — is I just didn’t love the direction of where things were going. You just have to stay a little bit ahead. I know it sucks. It’s hard. It’s brutal. I apologize, but that’s my best advice.”
Incredible advice. Something I’ve been trying to hammer home this week. The only thing I’d add is that Substack is a waste of time. All you have to do instead is create a linktree that features all your work. Other than that, he’s 100% right.
Of course, some loser named Kate Feldman doesn’t understand this industry and Jeff followed up with eve more sound advice.
Here is also a great thread from Pearlman talking about the industry more.
Listen to this man. He knows the truth. Make yourself irreplaceable. It’s the only way to survive. It is what it is. Accept it or cry about it. Regardless, it won’t change how the industry to shaking out.
