Michael Wilbon worked for the Washington Post for 30 years, first as a sports reporter, then as a sports columnist. Later, he added ESPN to his résumé, co-hosting “Pardon the Interruption” with Post colleague Tony Kornheiser. Then he joined “NBA Countdown” as an analyst.
Yet, while touting a new book, he joked last month on Phoenix sports radio station KMVP that he didn’t know what to call himself anymore.
“I used to be a journalist,” Wilbon said. “I don’t know what I am now.”
How about a Northwestern spokesperson?
Wilbon, a South Side native, is an NU alum and a member of the university’s board of trustees. He’s also the only one affiliated with the university willing to talk into a microphone about the hazing scandal that cost beloved football coach Pat Fitzgerald his job Monday.
While school president Michael Schill pens drawn-out statements and athletic director Derrick Gragg keeps himself on mute, Wilbon stands on his purple pulpit, mourning what the university has lost and espousing what it still can be.
“Do I think we can dig our way out? Yes,” Wilbon said Tuesday on “PTI.” “There’s scandals all the time that people dig their way out of. We may lose a ton of kids in the transfer portal. A new dynamic, charismatic coach can pull kids right out of the transfer portal to a school that’s still top 10 academically. I’m ready to turn the page and get started with what’s new.”
“We have to have a young, ambitious, energetic, charismatic coach who can rally this,” Wilbon said Tuesday on ESPN 1000’s “Waddle & Silvy” show. “I’ve gotten the phone calls. I will know, I will make it my business to know who the best candidates are for this in the next few days. That’s what I’m gonna be obsessed with. And we’ll find that person.”
Sounds more like an athletic director than a spokesperson.
Wilbon professed his respect for what Fitzgerald built at the former football wasteland, but even he said Northwestern couldn’t maintain the status quo after the hazing revelations. And Wilbon wasn’t shy about sharing that he has been on calls from the start with alums, trustees, former trustees and Gragg.
But doesn’t all this seem strange? Michael Wilbon, award-winning journalist, essentially is playing the role of a flack for his alma mater. As genuine as he is, the man was trained to be a reporter and to hold authority accountable. He might not consider himself a journalist anymore, but he works for ESPN, parts of which still adhere to journalistic principles.
How can a member of the media sit on a board, watch a major story unfold and not feel the need to report it?
“It’s a totally legitimate question because after X number of years, I just said, ‘That chapter’s over; I’m allowed to do something else now,’ ’’ said Wilbon, who has been on the board for 15 years. “At first, was it difficult? Yes. Did I see it as a conflict of interest? Yeah, I did.
“When [former president Morty Schapiro] asked me to be on the board, I first said, ‘No, I can’t be on a board. That’s not what we do.’ He said, ‘We need this. Medill needs to be represented. So you should do this.’ Now I can separate the two duties. It’s OK not to be a journalist forever.”
Another alum and media member on NU’s board is Christine Brennan, an award-winning journalist for the Washington Post and USA Today. She has broken her share of stories on scandals, and she still writes for USA Today. Brennan said that before she was asked to join the board in 2008, she consulted with her colleagues and editors.
“As journalists, we don’t usually join things like boards. I never had before,” Brennan said. “I thought it was a good opportunity to speak for journalism students, to add to the diversity of the board as a woman. If I needed to recuse myself from covering something, I would do that.
“Over the past week, I’ve wondered if I should leave the board. It’s a difficult spot to find yourself in, but I’m in it and I’m thinking about it and I’m working my way through it. I take all of this very seriously, and I will continue to think about my role.”
To be sure, I have immense respect for both. I just don’t understand how anyone schooled in journalism — at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, no less — can toss aside the press hat they wore for decades while the press covers a story that’s right under their nose.
It’s hard to begrudge them for being on the board of trustees. The position comes with prestige, and they obviously care a great deal about their school. Maybe that’s the issue. Maybe allegiance to one’s college is so great that previously practiced principles are put aside. Or maybe both are just doing what they feel is best at this time.
Either way, it’s a conflict of interest they’d best avoid.
Remote Patrol
The Score beat ESPN 1000 in all day parts in Nielsen’s spring ratings book (March 30 to June 21) in the key demographic of men 25-54. In the prime weekday hours of 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., The Score placed fourth in the market with a 4.3 share, while ESPN ranked 16th at 2.7. The stations held the same spots in the winter book (4.4-2.5).
From 5:30 to 10 a.m., The Score’s “Mully & Haugh” placed fifth at 4.2, and ESPN’s combination of national programming and “Kap & J.Hood” ranked 18th at 2.3. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., The Score’s “Bernstein & Holmes” placed fourth at 4.6, and ESPN’s combination of Mike Greenberg, “Bleck and Abdalla” and “Carmen & Jurko” ranked 13th at 2.6.
The best battle is still from 2 to 6 p.m., where The Score’s “Parkins & Spiegel” tied for sixth at 3.9 and ESPN’s “Waddle & Silvy” ranked 13th at 3.3. In the winter book, The Score led 4.2-2.7 in the time slot.
The Score will honor Cubs radio voice Pat Hughes, who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame’s broadcast wing next weekend, with the show “Pat’s Call to the Hall,” which will air from 6 to 9 p.m. next Friday. Hughes’ radio partners Ron Coomer and Zach Zaidman will host the retrospective, which will include interviews and Hughes’ highlights. The Score also will air Hughes’ induction speech July 22 after the Cubs’ game.
Jason Benetti and Tom Verducci will call the White Sox-Braves game at 6:15 p.m. Saturday for FOX.
