This week, we continue our interview series with Henry Abbott, lead blogger of ESPN’s popular TrueHoop blog. Henry is trained as a journalist whose work has appeared in HOOP, Inside Stuff, Men’s Journal, the official NBA Finals program, and on CBS’s national radio network.
How did you get started in blogging?
Henry Abbott: Three years ago this month, I was convinced that blogging was extremely geeky. It was something dorks used to talk to other dorks about their favorite meals and sick pets and stuff.
But then I was at a Christmas party and my friend Alex called me over to the corner of the room, fired up the host’s laptop, and essentially made me read his blog. Then he made me look at the back end, and see how easy it was to do. And he kind of made me start a blog.
I did, and quickly started getting all kinds of comments, and inbound links, and fiery debate. It quickly became clear how lame other kinds of writing were in comparison.
What are the differences between having an independent blog and one owned by a corporation? How did your routine change? Are you more or less concerned with others’ reactions to what you post?
Henry: My daily routine is essentially identical. I sit at the same desk, read the same RSS feeds, and (if you believe the people who read before and after and have emailed me) write the same posts that I would have written. Now I go to meetings sometimes, and I have some resources (travel budget, photos, some video stuff) that were not there before. I have agreed to follow ground rules about porn and hate speech and the like. And I don’t swear anymore.
I can’t say I’m all that worried about people’s reactions. Before ESPN and after, there were always people ready to say I was full of it. That’s just part of being a blogger.
Have you gotten any feedback from players or coaches about your posts? What has been the most interesting comment you’ve received?
Henry: Oh man, not to sound like some old-timer or something, but I have published many thousands of posts, and I have heard a lot of fascinating things. And my email address is right there for the world to see, so I hear from all kinds of people. Frankly, it’s an amazing part of my job.
I’ll give you an example from this morning: One of the most interesting books about basketball ever written is Rick Telander’s "Heaven is a Playground." It’s about the streets of Brooklyn, in 1974, and the central figure is Rodney Parker, who is a bit mysterious. He’s a mentor to young players, a ticket scalper, and someone who delivers a lot of top talent to college campuses.
I wrote about that book in 2006. Sadly, Parker died yesterday. And because she had read some thoughts about her father on my blog, and knew that I cared about him, his daughter contacted me this morning, out of the blue, to talk about his final days. An amazing conversation about an amazing man.
How has the emergence of blogs from NBA players and NBA-specific blogs from major newspapers affected how you blog? Do you position yourself and the blog differently?
Henry: Fair question. My niche is very journalistic. I’m essentially trying to do what I learned in journalism school, but better, thanks to the medium which is super flexible, and lets me interview people, reference the work of others, publish quickly, and talk in a natural human voice. Few of the new blogs are like that: many are more narrowly focused — on one team, for instance — or not so journalistic.
I haven’t really changed my game at all, and frankly even if there were another blog just like it I’m not sure I would. All I’m doing every day is trying my best to tell the smartest and most interesting NBA stories I can get my hands on.
How do you see sports blogging evolving? What’s the next big thing?
Henry: Oh, I think whatever blogging looks like in 2012 will be easier and faster to create and consume, and will probably be a lot more multimedia. Bring on your video files!
I also think there we’ll see a lot more blog software in the hands of professional journalists. (I’m part of an interesting project, beatblogging.org, which is investigating ways that blogging can bring more expertise to beat writing.)
