Mark Fainaru-Wada and T.J. Quinn visit UMass

Two of the most prominent investigative sports journalists of our time, Mark Fainaru-Wada (author of Game of Shadows) and T.J. Quinn (ESPN investigative reporter) came to visit the UMass Amherst sports journalism concentration students this past Thursday. Both guys broke major stories during the Barry Bonds and BALCO era and continue to do so today. Students got invaluable insight and advice from Mark and T.J. as they covered a wide range of topics, told stories and shared several memorable moments with the aspiring journalists in attendance. Here is some of the best stuff from the inspiring visit.

"Any reporting should be investigative reporting." - T.J. Quinn
In other words, always do your homework. With any project you're working on you should have some background on what you're getting into and should be looking to acquire as much information as you possibly can. Fainaru-Wada told a story of his colleague Lance Williams getting very important information on Greg Anderson for Game of Shadows by calling his grandmother. "Do more work than you need to," Quinn said.

"Being informed is a really key piece in getting people to talk to you." - Mark Fainaru-Wada
Both special guests talked about constantly talking to people and gathering information. According to the guys, a good beat writer or reporter is always talking to someone in uniform. And not usually the big name guys. The "little guys" always know what's going on and are more willing to talk. Once you get a tip from one of them, that's when you can build on that. Quinn says he still hates cold calling people and talking to people who don't want to talk to him, but says you just have to "Make the phone call. Knock on the door. Do it."

Both Quinn and Fainaru-Wada stressed several times about the importance of knowing as much as possible about someone before talking to them, specifically for a profile. The more you can present to them that you already know, the more likely they will confirm it and continue to talk.

"Documents are gold." - T.J. Quinn
When talking about acquiring information and the processes that come with it, Quinn was very adamant about how important documents are in the process. He mentioned having to tell several reporters that the way to get your hands on documents is to simply go to the courthouse and ask for them. They had no idea that was the case. Quinn also told a story about names that were crossed off the Mitchell Report. If you look at the list online the names aren't view-able. But when you have the actual document on your hand, you could flip it over and see a name like Gary Sheffield right there. "There is no electronic substitute," Quinn said.

"Writing is overrated. Reporting is everything." - Mark Fainaru-Wada
Fainaru-Wada told the class about how much pride he has in his writing when he first started his career, and then realized that worse writers who were better reporters were far more valuable. People are reading for your information, not your vocabulary. Fainaru-Wada values a great reporter who is an average writer over a great writer who is an average reporter.

Create your own opportunities
The guys suggested always looking at every possible angle regardless of your position and what your current assignments are. When Quinn spoke about being a beat writer for the Mets he mentioned how he needed to be doing game recaps and multiple feature and other columns simultaneously. So having story ideas is always a good thing, even if it hasn't been assigned by an editor. "If you want to do a good story nobody will say they don't want it," Fainaru-Wada said.

They're real people
Quinn and Fainaru-Wada may seem like information gaining robots, but their personalities could be seen instantly when sitting down in a relaxed classroom setting. Quinn frequently cracked deadpan jokes and Fainaru-Wada seemed to find it difficult to refrain from profanity. Way more laughs filled that Bartlett Hall room than one would have expected at the beginning of the night and some tears almost joined it as well.

When recalling the experience of almost receiving jail time for not revealing his sources to a federal grand jury, Fainaru-Wada was very emotional, especially when reminiscing about the start of he and Quinn's friendship. When Fainaru-Wada was going through that tough process, Quinn and his colleagues started a website to support their current journalistic rivals, and that kindness started what turned into a friendship.

There was no question in Fainaru-Wada's mind during that time that he would not reveal his sources, and his sympathy for one man, Troy Ellerman, who did end up serving jail time for his involvement in the story was a show of humane compassion.

Fainaru-Wada had to stop himself mid-sentence multiple times as he was overcome by the moment of sharing his touching story with the class. Quinn's actions and Fainaru-Wada's reaction to this moment show that these guys are actual people and not the cold-hearted cut-throat information hounds that their critics on Twitter may think they are.