Jan. 25--Congrats, Roger Goodell. The reporter who busts your chops at the annual state-of-the-NFL non-news conference is not planning to attend this year. She has NBA on the brain.
Rachel Nichols has returned to ESPN after a three-year stint with CNN/Turner Sports. The Northwestern alum is preparing for the Feb. 18 launch of a 30-minute show called "The Jump." The 2:30 p.m. Monday-through-Friday offering will feature NBA players and analysts and originate from Los Angeles.
Goodell and other non-NBA types are not exempt, though, from Nichols' work. She also will contribute to "SportsCenter," "Outside the Lines" and "E:60." The Tribune spoke to her Thursday.
You are back with ESPN. Why the move?
It was just an amazing opportunity. I get to be on television every day talking about a sport I genuinely love -- the fun stuff that makes the NBA such a cool ride and the big-picture issues. In addition I get to cross into other (shows) to do some commentary and interviews. It's a win, win, win, win, win, which is fantastic.
What is it about the NBA that compels you so?
The NBA has that up-close feeling. There's a reason why the stars are so marketable; you feel like you know them. We call a lot of them by their first name. The fans can be two feet from them. Sometimes they fall into the stands and the fans are two inches from them.
It seems like you have really good connections with James and Bryant.
What's nice is that I am walking into a day-to-day show on a sport that I've covered now for almost two decades. I feel like I have long-standing work relationships that I can call on for stories and information. When it comes time to talk to them on the show, I can get to the meat, the good stuff, right away. I first interviewed LeBron when he was leaving high school.
You're from the D.C. area but now in L.A. You'll have no excuse to not watch the Clippers, Lakers and Warriors like the East Coast people, right?
Well, anyone who follows my Twitter feed knows that I have a very close, personal relationship with Starbucks. And I expect that to only grow and continue after my 7 a.m. morning call.
During your time at CNN/Turner, is it true you flew halfway around the world to interview Tiger Woods?
I did. We were launching Unguarded and wanted to have Tiger for the first month of the show. And he was available in Istanbul. So, I flew to Istanbul. It was actually really cool because it was a way to get Tiger outside of his regular scene, a golf course. He was doing some promotional stuff. There's a bridge in Istanbul that connects Europe and Asia, so he was actually hitting golf balls between continents. We were able to fly in a helicopter over him at one point to get visuals for the piece. I am now qualified to be a golf interviewer or a traffic reporter.
Will that be your last time being a traffic reporter?
You never know. You never want to shut down any career opportunities before they come.
Has Roger Goodell called to congratulate you?
I have not gotten anything in the mail or any phone calls. I actually recently did an interview with Will Smith before he was promoting the movie "Concussion" and he was saying he was dismayed that his offer of two Super Bowl tickets had not come through this year. And I pointed out to him that I hadn't gotten that, either. I don't think I will be at that particular press conference this year. Does that mean I will never be at a press conference for the NFL or Roger Goodell or the owner's meetings again? It does not.
The Bulls have been all over the map this season. What is your take on this team?
I knew I'd have to talk about the Bulls and thought: If I can explain them, I'm going to get a medal, right? Because I will be the only one. When I heard the comment from Jimmy Butler about needing to be coached harder, it just made me smile. I was thinking of all the times over the years the Bulls players pulled reporters aside and complained about Tom Thibodeau as sort of being 'Coach Carter' in terms of work ethic and discipline. So, damned if you do, damned if you don't. Look, I think the Bulls will find their way. I don't think there's any panic. And they've had some really good games, too.
Have you bonded with Jimmy Butler or Derrick Rose and do you have any feel for that dynamic?
I've done a couple of sit-downs with both of those guys. I certainly wouldn't put myself in that locker room, and I hate it when national media members pretend that they know more than the beat writers because I am a former beat writer (Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Washington Post), and I have a lot of respect for them.
What I can say is that it doesn't have to be a power struggle. There could be one of those natural evolutions. There was a time Derrick Rose was on this team before Jimmy Butler. Then there was the time when Butler was just a young kid and there was a very clear dynamic. Now you've seen Jimmy Butler come into his own. Derrick Rose is going through his own career progression. The dynamic is continually changing, and it's not always going to be a super-smooth process.
Do you sense any concern from ESPN about declining ratings and the so-called cord-cutters, the people who no longer are willing to pay for cable?
It is definitely above my pay grade to solve or manage the cord-cutting issue. I can only say this: I worked at newspapers for a long time. And I understand what it is like to work for and be in the middle of a changing industry. And I think there is a difference between, 'Hey, the model is changing.' And, 'Hey, the house is on fire.' ESPN is still the number one cable network in terms of viewers. It's hard to look at that and say, 'Oh, wow, they're in real trouble.'
What you say is, 'Oh, wow, they have a changing model.' And if those cord-cutters are cutting the cord because they are on their phones more, then how is ESPN doing in mobile? How is that business developing? I have no idea what the numbers are, but I do know that being scared of a changing model is not a very forward way of thinking and that it's exciting when things change. Then there are new opportunities.
Speaking of ... ESPN has a radio show with Sarah Spain, Jane McManus and Kate Fagan. And we hear a lot about Michelle Beadle and Jessica Mendoza. Are you sensing a culture shift and is ESPN a better place for women to work now?
I'm sensing a culture shift overall. And it's exciting to see ESPN as such a leader in that field. I think that as women have gotten increasing opportunities to show what they can do, people have sort of wakened up and say, 'Oh, great.' And in some ways, after what happened with the NFL last year, the crisis with domestic violence, a bunch of networks looked around the table and thought, 'Oh, we have a bunch of guys sitting around on TV talking about this. That doesn't seem very appropriate.' So they sort of raced to go find the women who worked at the network. And this is no network in particular. I don't want people to think I am specifically talking about ESPN because I am not. I am talking about across the board.
Women who hadn't been getting regular reps on TV showed how articulate and smart they were. And to the credit of several networks, they said, 'If they're this articulate and smart on this issue, maybe they can be this articulate and smart on other issues.' I always say that diversity is such a crappy word, but the truth is that we all know in our day-to-day lives, forget work, forget affirmative action or any of that, if you have a bunch of people who are exactly the same sitting around having a conversation, it is not as interesting a conversation as if you have people who are coming from different perspectives. It's a better conversation, and I love that ESPN is one of the places that's recognizing that.
tgreenstein@tribpub.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
