Right trumps fair

By Isabelle Khurshudyan

I don’t want to be fair. I want to be right.

That was the crux of St Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell’s message to the Sports Journalism Institute this morning. Though I don’t currently have any interest in column writing, Burwell’s words apply to all journalists. We’re in the business of accuracy.

“People can have an opinion all day long,” Burwell said, “but if you don’t know what you’re talking about, what separates you from the guy writing in his basement and living with his mom?”

Covering South Carolina football for the last two years, I learned being right is not always easy. Head coach Steve Spurrier disagreed with a local columnist then refused to answer questions from all reporters when that columnist was present. Ultimately, the columnist stopped attending Spurrier’s interview sessions but covered the team anyway. I don’t know whose decision that was, but it never sat well with me.

I asked Burwell about that instance and he gave an example of when he was covering high schools earlier in his career. A high school coach said he wouldn’t talk to Burwell after he didn’t like something about Burwell’s coverage. Burwell didn’t write about the team for months, but when he eventually went to one of its games, the assistant coach came over to Burwell and said the head coach told him to tell Burwell that the head coach and the team’s players would talk to Burwell again.
Burwell said he didn’t want to talk to the head coach, but he’d talk to the players.
“You can’t be a wuss in this business,” Burwell said.
Whether you’re a columnist, beat reporter or food critic, Burwell said, “Your job is not to pander. Your job is to do your job.” Following that rule, everyone will write something that someone else — probably the subject of the writing — doesn’t like.

If you only write positive things, how do you know when someone is actually doing something good? It won’t stand out among all of the other glowing stories. It’s not about being fair. It’s about being right.