Adam Schefter and the art of ‘giving’ to sources

Earlier this month, Rick Maese of the Washington Post wrote an in-depth feature on ESPN’s chief NFL analyst, Adam Schefter. Maese discusses how Schefter’s connections, personality and source tactics have enabled him to become the most respected source on the most popular sport for the most credible sports network.

What struck me as impressive was the amount of sources that Maese used in his article. Maese talked to everyone from Schefter’s boss to his former roommate at the University of Michigan. He talked to Schefter’s family members, friends and colleagues, and he tied his sources into the story very well.

Maese also figured out how Schefter gets his sources and increases his credibility, which allows him to break stories before everyone else. Schefter is known as the ‘go-to’ source for NFL news at ESPN, and it is because of the way he maintains relationships with his sources (aka NFL higher-ups).

Schefter says in the article that reporters need to ‘give as much as they take.’ Essentially, he is saying that reporters cannot just ask the question, “What’s new?” to sources in order to find stories.

Instead, Schefter believes that the reporter should communicate with the source as much as the source communicates with the reporter. There should be dialogue between the two, and the reporter should present him or herself as credible. For example, Maese refers to a conversation that Schefter had with a phone Kansas City Chiefs executive, in which Schefter opened up by saying, “I think you may have another suspension coming down the pike.”

Schefter is giving information, not just taking from the source.

Also, it doesn’t hurt to be good at remembering small things about the source, such as family information; “How are the kids doing?”

By doing this, Schefter is creating a trusting relationship between him and the source. This allows the source to become more comfortable talking to Schefter, and therefore Schefter will get more leads.

This skill, among many others, is a reason why Schefter is at the pinnacle of football reporting. Maese displayed the story in a way that highlighted Schefter’s strengths and also discussed Schefter’s critics, which made for a great narrative that was replete with sources. As a future journalist, this was a great read.