Sports journalists: Three tips to improve your ability to sidle

For sports journalists, building a rapport with athletes is a great way to get scoops. As an undergraduate student with an interest in sports journalism, I found two articles that discuss how reporters "sidle" next to NBA players for one-on-one interviews.

The Art of the Sidle: The Slickest Move in NBA Media; Bryan Curtis; The Ringer

This article includes several interviews with NBA reporters on how they approach players for interviews. The reporters talk about the challenges of getting players alone and how to build relationships with them. It also mentions how reporters get annoyed when their colleagues intrude on their one-on-one time with players.

Golub: Controlling the NBA media; Jack Golub; The Stanford Daily

This article explains how reporters are controlled by NBA players. The author uses the example of Jimmy Butler's situation in Minnesota to support his argument. He also responds to the first article and offers a different point of view.

Based on these two articles and my experience at Northwestern, I have developed three action items you should consider the next time you’re thinking about approaching an athlete for an interview.

• Build Unique Relationships - Don’t risk becoming a mouthpiece for an athlete when talking to him or her one-on-one.

• Ask Bold Questions - If you’re trying to get a scoop, don’t be afraid to approach an athlete with hard questions.

• Don’t Disturb Colleagues - When a fellow journalist is getting one-on-one time with an athlete, respect them and don’t join the conversation.

The next time you’re thinking about approaching athletes, use these three action items to improve your ability to sidle.

Chris Grismer is an undergraduate student at Northwestern University. He studies journalism and integrated marketing communications. You can follow him on Twitter @Chris_Grismer.