Just beat it: Tipton edition
In the first of what I hope will be many looks at the behind-the-scenes of Kentucky basketball, Bogans' Heroes takes a closer look at one of the most important people involved in the public image and perception of the UK basketball program: the beat writer. In politics, this is often known as the "process story." In the inaugural edition, we get to know Jerry Tipton, longtime Kentucky sports columnist and reporter from the Lexington Herald-Leader ...
As the daily voice of all things Kentucky basketball, the beat writer has a unique perspective on what is really going on in and around the program. Hoping to get a better sense of what it's like to be a part of the near-constant pressures and workings of a top tier collegiate athletics program, we aimed high and asked Jerry Tipton to sit down with a few questions. Thankfully for you, dear reader, and me, he was more than gracious enough to answer.
Mr. Tipton came to the Herald-Leader -- the now lone traditional newspaper in Lexington -- in August of 1981 from the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch to cover UK football as well as basketball. After roughly six seasons, Tipton made the transition to basketball full-time. An understandable devotion, really, given the white-hot spotlight necessitated by the rabid, passionate UK fan base. After Tipton set down roots in Lexington almost 25 years ago, he seemed to lock himself in, as his wife is a UK graduate and fan and his two kids bleed blue as well.
We asked the Herald-Leader scribe his path to Kentucky, and found the Michigan native, interestingly, was one of those Americans who was mostly unaware of Kentucky basketball until 1966, when Rupp's Runts played in the now widely-known NCAA title game against Texas Western. As it turns out, Tipton -- like many non-Kentuckians -- rooted at the time for Don Haskins' Texas Western squad, but not perhaps for the reasons innumerated by so many national columnists and pundits. Instead, it was because TWU star Bobby Joe Hill was from Highland Park, Mich., the town next to Hamtramck, where a small, young left-hander named Tipton found a kindred spirit in the small, left-handed Hill.
Curious, given the recent renewed interest in that famous game between the all-white Kentucky and the black starting five of Texas Western, I posed the question to Tipton of whether he had any personal memories or experiences with Adolph Rupp, and if so, if they squared with the public perception/depictions of him. Tellingly, Tipton replied simply, "I really had no notions about Rupp regarding race or any other subject."
Originally a math major as a college freshman at Marshall, Tipton decided to switch majors in December of that year, and on the advice of an uncle who had a sportswriter friend, Tipton, an avid sports fan himself, made the switch to journalism. A longtime follower of pro teams -- the Detroit teams and the famed 60s Boston Celtics -- the young would-be journalist decided sportswriting made sense. When asked whether his rooting interests extended to college teams, and it must be remembered that outside of crazed campuses like Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana and Kansas the nascent NCAA was much less well-known then, Tipton admitted that as a Michiganer he was interested in Michigan and Michigan State, but was not as passionately involved in their winning as he was with his local professional clubs. On April 4 of this year in St. Louis during the NCAA Final Four, Tipton was honored with induction into the United States Basketball Writers Association’s Hall of Fame.
Most any journalist or writer considers his or her mentors and favorite writers sacred, so I asked Mr. Tipton if he would give us some insight into his own creative heroes. Among those he mentioned as direct personal influences were Ernie Salvatore, a columnist at the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch and Mike Connell, the former sports editor at the Herald-Dispatch. Among his cherished heroes are included Bob Ryan, the highly respected columnist for the Boston Globe, the immortal Red Smith, a columnist with the New York Times and H.L. Mencken, the legendary columnist and political commentator for the Baltimore Sun and author of scores of award-winning books and pamphlets.
This last influence ties in nicely with another of the questions I asked Mr. Tipton, who was in the middle of the Herald-Leader's Pulitzer-winning, multi-part expose on the ills of the then-Eddie Sutton coached Kentucky program in the last half of the 1980s. It must have been difficult, I gathered, for even a quality journalist to investigate and/or question those that he or she has come to know, as no doubt the beat writer of the Cats would have to do with any coach or player. Tipton responded thusly, and I believe it speaks volumes for his integrity in a tough situation: "Duty was always the first priority. If friendship or contacts came into play, it was to make sure to be fair in reporting the facts."
Fact vs. fiction is a tricky business when it comes to reporting these days, as the explosion of message boards, blogs (ahem!), sports talk radio and 24-hour media outlets has blurred the lines between opinion and fact. Tipton, to his credit, says he tries to keep tabs on the Internet and talk radio, but doesn't "keep as close a tab as I should."
"The drift toward opinion is stronger now than in the past because of [fans'] outlets and the free-flow of information, " he added. "I've seen blogs that make your hair stand on end. I don't do a blog for fear of blurting something out."
As the most prominent print journalist covering the beloved Wildcats, this is understandable, and it led me to wonder whether it's hard to develop thick skin in the face of what must be a steady stream of complaints or comments about his work. Tipton has close access to something that so many folks in Kentucky consider sacred, and he has been at the receiving end of some merciless comments from a vocal minority of the UK fan base over the last few years.
So how does this veteran beat writer deal with the negativity that any fan base, and especially one as passionate as the Big Blue Nation is, inevitably creates?
Spoken like a true newsman.
As the daily voice of all things Kentucky basketball, the beat writer has a unique perspective on what is really going on in and around the program. Hoping to get a better sense of what it's like to be a part of the near-constant pressures and workings of a top tier collegiate athletics program, we aimed high and asked Jerry Tipton to sit down with a few questions. Thankfully for you, dear reader, and me, he was more than gracious enough to answer.
Mr. Tipton came to the Herald-Leader -- the now lone traditional newspaper in Lexington -- in August of 1981 from the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch to cover UK football as well as basketball. After roughly six seasons, Tipton made the transition to basketball full-time. An understandable devotion, really, given the white-hot spotlight necessitated by the rabid, passionate UK fan base. After Tipton set down roots in Lexington almost 25 years ago, he seemed to lock himself in, as his wife is a UK graduate and fan and his two kids bleed blue as well.
We asked the Herald-Leader scribe his path to Kentucky, and found the Michigan native, interestingly, was one of those Americans who was mostly unaware of Kentucky basketball until 1966, when Rupp's Runts played in the now widely-known NCAA title game against Texas Western. As it turns out, Tipton -- like many non-Kentuckians -- rooted at the time for Don Haskins' Texas Western squad, but not perhaps for the reasons innumerated by so many national columnists and pundits. Instead, it was because TWU star Bobby Joe Hill was from Highland Park, Mich., the town next to Hamtramck, where a small, young left-hander named Tipton found a kindred spirit in the small, left-handed Hill.
Curious, given the recent renewed interest in that famous game between the all-white Kentucky and the black starting five of Texas Western, I posed the question to Tipton of whether he had any personal memories or experiences with Adolph Rupp, and if so, if they squared with the public perception/depictions of him. Tellingly, Tipton replied simply, "I really had no notions about Rupp regarding race or any other subject."
Originally a math major as a college freshman at Marshall, Tipton decided to switch majors in December of that year, and on the advice of an uncle who had a sportswriter friend, Tipton, an avid sports fan himself, made the switch to journalism. A longtime follower of pro teams -- the Detroit teams and the famed 60s Boston Celtics -- the young would-be journalist decided sportswriting made sense. When asked whether his rooting interests extended to college teams, and it must be remembered that outside of crazed campuses like Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana and Kansas the nascent NCAA was much less well-known then, Tipton admitted that as a Michiganer he was interested in Michigan and Michigan State, but was not as passionately involved in their winning as he was with his local professional clubs. On April 4 of this year in St. Louis during the NCAA Final Four, Tipton was honored with induction into the United States Basketball Writers Association’s Hall of Fame.
Most any journalist or writer considers his or her mentors and favorite writers sacred, so I asked Mr. Tipton if he would give us some insight into his own creative heroes. Among those he mentioned as direct personal influences were Ernie Salvatore, a columnist at the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch and Mike Connell, the former sports editor at the Herald-Dispatch. Among his cherished heroes are included Bob Ryan, the highly respected columnist for the Boston Globe, the immortal Red Smith, a columnist with the New York Times and H.L. Mencken, the legendary columnist and political commentator for the Baltimore Sun and author of scores of award-winning books and pamphlets.
This last influence ties in nicely with another of the questions I asked Mr. Tipton, who was in the middle of the Herald-Leader's Pulitzer-winning, multi-part expose on the ills of the then-Eddie Sutton coached Kentucky program in the last half of the 1980s. It must have been difficult, I gathered, for even a quality journalist to investigate and/or question those that he or she has come to know, as no doubt the beat writer of the Cats would have to do with any coach or player. Tipton responded thusly, and I believe it speaks volumes for his integrity in a tough situation: "Duty was always the first priority. If friendship or contacts came into play, it was to make sure to be fair in reporting the facts."
Fact vs. fiction is a tricky business when it comes to reporting these days, as the explosion of message boards, blogs (ahem!), sports talk radio and 24-hour media outlets has blurred the lines between opinion and fact. Tipton, to his credit, says he tries to keep tabs on the Internet and talk radio, but doesn't "keep as close a tab as I should."
"The drift toward opinion is stronger now than in the past because of [fans'] outlets and the free-flow of information, " he added. "I've seen blogs that make your hair stand on end. I don't do a blog for fear of blurting something out."
As the most prominent print journalist covering the beloved Wildcats, this is understandable, and it led me to wonder whether it's hard to develop thick skin in the face of what must be a steady stream of complaints or comments about his work. Tipton has close access to something that so many folks in Kentucky consider sacred, and he has been at the receiving end of some merciless comments from a vocal minority of the UK fan base over the last few years.
So how does this veteran beat writer deal with the negativity that any fan base, and especially one as passionate as the Big Blue Nation is, inevitably creates?
"I don't dwell on the negativity. I respond to e-mails that include a name. Polite responses. Never
argumentative. You learn that complaints are part of the business. Every hometown paper is the target of barbs from the people. It goes with the terrority. As long as I'm confident I'm correct, I don't worry about the criticism. On those occasions I'm wrong, I take the criticism seriously and try to do better in the future."
Spoken like a true newsman.
