Can we please get rid of 'Insiders'

By Jeff

Is anyone else sick of sports reporters who have become known as insiders?

You mostly hear this with national NFL reporters like Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter, but now 93.7 The Fan Pittsburgh is getting in on the action, calling Ed Bouchette their Steelers insider. You can't just call them reporters?

Not the right insider. My bad.

I get it. These guys have sources with teams and inside the organization. But that's what beat reporters are supposed to do. They talk to players, coaches and team executives on a daily basis to get story ideas and break any current news.

When does a reporter graduate to the position of insider? Do you have to report so many rumors that turn out accurate, or do you just put in enough time that you are eventually knighted? I've never seen a job opening for insider when searching for jobs. But then again, I've never actively searched for that job. Maybe it is out there.

While having established reporters is always good for news organizations, labeling them insiders, as if they are something special, brings more scrutiny to every piece of news they report on. When ESPN makes a major effort to emphasize that Schefter is an insider, more people tear him down when he was wrong. I'm sure Steelers fans remember when he and Mortensen were reporting that they heard the Steelers were a good fit for Michael Vick and were strongly considering signing him when he came out of prison.

That backfired, and the Post-Gazette's Steelers beat writer, Bouchette, called them out. Wait. So Bouchette is a beat writer for the Post-Gazette, but an insider for The Fan? I guess The Fan had to upgrade Bouchette's status because they already had a Steelers beat reporter.

The 24/7 news cycle is to blame. Media outlets want listeners/readers/viewers to think they have the most in-depth coverage out there. And how better to do that than to label your reporters as insiders? I won't blame Michael Mann or Russell Crowe, because that was a completely different "Insider".

Kenny Loggins - This Is It (It's really interesting how this song came to be. Check it out here)