Inspired by a trip to Baltimore

For all you mass communication majors on campus with dreams of doing something big in life, here’s a word of advice: Join The DIGEST.
As a freshman two years ago, I never dreamed writing for the DIGEST would take me so far, until last week when I found myself in Baltimore chilling with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Jay Harris and William C. Rhoden.
I even got to meet the man who brought them to ESPN, Fred Brown. Brown is ESPN’s recruiting director, and it is his job to travel the country acquiring talent, like the men afore- mentioned.
The trio of reporters are good at what they do, but each come from different backgrounds.
Harris, a man with a passion for reporting news never dreamed of working for ESPN and had initially turned down an offer to work for the company until his wife made him reconsider. Smith, a reporter in Philadelphia long before his days at ESPN got his start breaking stories before NBA insiders could, and he shined in front of the camera using his “be real, tell it like it is attitude.” Rhoden, an old school guy who started out in Maryland working for small newspapers such as “The Afro” moved up the ladder and is now a columnist for the New York Times and ESPN.
Interestingly enough, all three attended HBCUs. Smith graduated from Winston- Salem State and was there the same time Southern coach Pete Richardson coached at the school and Southern’s Sports Information Director Kevin Manns was the SID there. Harris graduated from Old Dominion but attended classes at Norfolk State, and Rhoden graduated from Morgan State, the school that hosted this year’s 10th Annual HBCU Conference.
So, if anything, these three men gave hope to all black journalists attending HBCUs across the nation.
If they can do it, then you can do it as well, if you simply work hard at perfecting your craft.
Smith said it best.
“People say I’m cocky, people say I’m arrogant and people say I think I’m the man, and that’s true,” Smith said. “I think I’m all of those things. But one thing people can’t say about me is that I’m lazy. I always want to work. I got my start in this industry by working.”
“My first job with a newspaper, I covered soccer. Do I look like I know anything about soccer?”
Smith may have started his career doing something he did not have an interest for, but his hard work paid off. Just look at what he’s doing now. The former collegiate basketball player now covers the NBA for ESPN and is one of the most respected reporters in the field because he always speaks his mind and has facts to back him up.
Harris and Rhoden are the same way, but they just handle business differently. Harris, a man with a quiet confidence about himself knows that he is good; Rhoden, a man out to prove himself everyday, always gets the job done. In actuality, they may not be as loud and boisterous as Smith, but they are also two of the most respected reporters at ESPN as well.
Hopefully someone from Southern will work hard to become successful in the journalism field as well. Only time will tell.