.@NFLosophy, AKA Joe Bussell, is one of the more fascinating Twitter characters of the year. He joined Twitter as an anonymous NFL expert who dropped a ton of seemingly-credible knowledge, and it left us wondering whether he was a phony and when or if he would disappear once he found a new job. He recently shed his anonymity and declared himself as a real person. In our chat, we talk about why he started his anonymous Twitter feed in the first place, if shedding the mask will help him for future NFL employment, and what his operations job with the Buccaneers actually entailed. Plus, we discuss why NFL teams who have to play in London suffer through such a massive undertaking and why Bussell, who wasn’t involved in the Buccaneers personnel department, was fired along with the rest of the Raheem Morris-led coaching staff after the 2011 season.
Here is some of what we talked about (and some topics we didn’t) as I took notes during the interview.
Trent is one of my best friends and the perfect guest to begin this podcast. In our chat, we talk about working a baseball beat – and why his day is so damn long – why the Cincinnati Post was a great paper to work for even though we knew it was going to die at the end of 2007, and how he handles anonymous criticism from what could be the very vocal minority. Plus, why would he go from working at a national website to a local newspaper?
I’ve been thinking about this idea for awhile. Maybe six months or so. I’ve turned it over in my head. I’ve talked to trusted friends and colleagues. I’ve had to go through airport security with a phallic-looking Snowball microphone in my luggage. I’ve thought about what kind of podcast I’d want to hear every week.
Hopefully, I’m starting one that you’d like to ingest as well – thus, the mighty Mightier Than the Sword podcast has been born.
I’m a sports writer, but this isn’t necessarily going to be a sports writing podcast. In fact, chop off the first part of the phrase. It will be a podcast about writing. And about writers, about their backgrounds and about the charcoal-to-bark, pen-to-paper, digits-to-keyboard, fingers-to-smartphone-screen world in which I love to live.
I didn’t care about creating another podcast that broke down the latest big game or previewed the next one upcoming.
I’m more interested in the type of podcast that involve conversations about why we love to do what we love to do. In my case, that’s writing and journalism. So, let’s discuss the craft of writing – why we put this paragraph here instead of two grafs lower, why we thought that line was more effective as a lede rather than the kicker, why you ask the questions you do.
Let’s pontificate on the state of journalism and how we can all do it better. Let’s showcase the journey a top writer took to get where she is or daydream with the recent college grad about where he wants to go.
A couple things you can expect out of the Mightier Than the Sword podcast.
1) I’m a journalist. The story isn’t usually about me. That’s why I’ll mostly refrain from monologues before I introduce my weekly guest. We’ll fade out the sweet intro sounds of my favorite Athens, Ga., band, Asa Nisi Masa, and go right into the conversation with the guest.
2) We’re going to be as timeless as possible. I don’t want somebody who discovers this podcast two years from now having to wade through analysis of games that are 750-days old. The goal is to talk about topics that will matter in a month. Or a year. Or five years. That, to me, leaves a weighty imprint on this podcast that won’t ever dissolve.
3) I want listeners involved. I want to hear your questions, and I want to hear about your suggestions for interesting guests. This won’t be a democracy, but I promise to be a benevolent king.
So, that’s that. If you want even more of an introduction or to listen to more details about my background and about my goals for the podcast, take a listen. And, in the months ahead, keep listening and listening and listening to those stories behind the storytellers.
This week’s guest (7-24): C. Trent Rosecrans, Cincinnati Enquirer, Reds beat writer
The other day, I was changing Noah’s pull-up (his third poopy diaper in a 90-minute span! (when, oh when, will he be fully potty-trained?)), Bella asked Jonah what he wants to be when he grows up.
He quickly said, “Superman.” (It should be noted he wore a Superman shirt that day)
Then, I asked Stella what she wanted to be when he grows up, and she said quite simply, “A baby.”
So, that’s that.
Really, really glad we’ve got that settled, and apparently, she won’t have to go to college after all.
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Josh Katzowitz - Sports Writer/Author/Editor 