If your email subject line screams “delete me,” journalists aren’t even opening it—no matter how...
Irving Mejia-Hilario is the Agencies/Labor and General Assignment Reporter at Sports Business Journal.
In this episode of Coffee with a Journalist, we chat with Irving Mejia-Hilario, labor and general assignment reporter at Sports Business Journal. Live from Dallas, Irving shares his journey covering the sports business world, the importance of relationships in journalism, and key pitching insights. We also dive into Texas gambling laws and their impact on sports. Grab your coffee and tune in!
Follow Irving on his socials below:
LinkedIn: Irving Mejia-Hilario
X: Irving Mejia-Hilario (@Irving_Mejia_)
Author Page: Irving Mejia-Hilario
Click below to listen to the full conversation and read below for highlights from the interview:
[0:01:41] BB: First off, I think this is important in the context for here, but I also ask it pretty much of all the outlets I now speak to. How would you describe the coverage of Sports Business Journal? Not too many people see that.
[0:01:55] IMH: Yeah. That was pretty, pretty easy, right? We are a B2B publication at the end of the day, a trade publication, trade magazine. We specialize in exactly what the first words of our publication name are, sports business. What I tell people pretty much, if I ever go talk to them is like we care about the real minutia of how sports business works, whether it's like the technology side, whether it's like the facility side, you name it, right? If it involves sports and it involves money, that's where we want to be. That's the SPJ in a big nutshell.
[0:02:21] BB: That's like the tagline that involves sports and it involves money. That's us. All right. Like it. Now, specifically to your beat, which I haven't seen like this level of specification before agencies and labor. What is that encompass? Is it like the labor of the sports stadiums or is it the labor of the sports talent or all of the above?
[0:02:40] IMH: The labor portion relates specifically to like the players associations. So, like the NBA players union, NFL players union, right, and connecting with all of these guys and talking about the issues that they're all going through. Mind you, I still just arrived at this beat three months ago, so like that part of the beat, we're very much still forming out. But I think the hope of it is that in the future, I'll be connected with a bunch of the people, the agencies that is within that space that can help talk to all the players who can speak on any number of issues that they're dealing with within the union that will hopefully advance like their positioning and their narrative. Again, they try to get more rights from the NFL or the NBA, their respective leagues.
[0:03:11] BB: Yeah. Ooh, this must be a fascinating beat. What have you learned so far since it's been only a few months?
[0:03:19] IMH: Oh, man.
[0:03:19] BB: That surprised to you.
[0:03:20] IMH: I guess the one thing that has really jumped out of me, whether it's on the agencies or the labor side is just how, and this is, I guess more of an SPJ related thing, is just how much we are like a – we care about how much the sausage gets made, right, like very, very often I will bump into like PR or like sources where I go and interview them and then they're talking and then they go, oh, that's really boring and you wouldn't want to know about that. Then I'm like, “No, no, no, I'm trying. That's exactly where I'm at.” So many times, I have to like real people back and be like, “No, like tell me.” The most boring thing in the world, because that's what I care about. Even if it doesn't make it to a story, I can at least keep this in mind for the future. That's been funny to learn about.
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[0:12:43] BB: What's the most exciting story in the last year you've done? The reason I asked that is we're filming this in December and I'm kind of in the reflective mode. So, yeah, or maybe surprising.
[0:12:55] IMH: Being here in Texas, the thing that I never thought I would get so attached to, but I have found so fascinating is the legalization of gambling down here, because it directly impacts all the sports teams down here. The Mavericks are one of those teams that have like for a while now be looking to connect in the arena with a casino and that would make them like the first-ever team to do so. It would be huge. They specifically brought in people from Las Vegas, Sans to help them with this.
Then imagine what that does for the Cowboys, an international like conglomerate business, right? That like now has the capacity to who knows, right? Maybe they can put slot machines in the AT&T stadium, maybe they can air commercials like on that giant Jumbo Tron for the casinos next door, because like maybe on the surface, it's like well, gambling in Texas, what does that have to do with sports? But like everything. It is everything to do with it. I'm so fascinated by that stuff.
[0:13:48] BB: Fascinating.
[0:13:50] IMH: I can't wait to see how the legislation moves forward with it.
[0:13:52] BB: Yeah. Do you think it's going to trickle up at all to the federal level? Probably not. This seems very state-by-state.
[0:13:58] IMH: Probably not. No, I don't think so. I think we've been saying right now that like we're leaving it up to the states to figure out how they want to handle it. To be fair, a lot of states have already moved forward with legalization. People are just more arguing whether or not it's a matter of time for Texas.
[0:17:33] BB: I love it. Well, Irving, I have a hot list of questions, rapid fire questions to get into. Are you ready for these?
[0:17:40] IMH: I love it. I'm ready.
[0:17:41] BB: Okay. How about video or phone interview?
[0:17:44] IMH: You know, I'm good with either, but if I can have a preference video, just because I can see you, we can communicate and also less likely that we cut each other off, because I can't see when you're going to finish this and you're set.
[0:17:55] BB: Yes. Okay. Bullet points or paragraphs?
[0:17:59] IMH: Generally speaking, paragraphs, but I also don't mind some good bullet points. Generally speaking.
[0:18:04] BB: Short or long pitches?
[0:18:05] IMH: Please keep them short. I'm begging you. Please.
[0:18:07] BB: I'm begging you. Images attached or a drop box zip file?
[0:18:11] IMH: Please attach them. Not that the zip box is bad or anything, but just like sometimes they can be a bit of a key.
[0:18:16] BB: Yeah. I know. Then you got another link you got to go to.
[0:18:19] IMH: Put them in email.
[0:18:20] BB: Okay. Email or a DM of some sort.
[0:18:22] IMH: Oh, please email me. I have people DM me and I think that's the – I don't think it's strange or anything, but just like my email is right there. You can just –
[0:18:30] BB: Right there. Yeah.
[0:18:32] IMH: I suppose I respect the personal a little bit to some extent and you'll certainly get a response from me, but just email me.
[0:18:37] BB: Yeah. It's always fascinating to me when people are like, well, let me hit them up on. I don't know. Okay. One follow-up or multiple?
[0:18:44] IMH: Oh, just one. Oh, I think like listen, listen, if you want to send me multiple, that's fine, but like it's the same way that like you wouldn't like triple text, like somebody that you're trying to like date, you know, like they show that they're not interested. They're not interested. If I wanted to respond, I would respond. But one follow-up definitely please, because maybe I forget it or something.
[0:19:03] BB: Yeah. Yeah, it happens. Okay. What about subject lines? Direct or creative?
[0:19:09] IMH: Ooh. We didn't really talk about that. Yeah.
[0:19:10] IMH: I would prefer direct. I would prefer just be just direct, because it's the same thing with that New Orleans headline of like, they were trying to be a bit creative of like, we've hosted all these things, but like if you want to just set at the start of it, that like we can put you in contact with somebody that can talk to why this city is so important or something. If you would have just been more direct about it, it would have had a better chance.
[0:19:27] BB: Yes. Yes. Exactly. Exactly. Okay. Okay. Almost done with our list. Press release or media kit?
[0:19:34] IMH: Media kits. Just because they're more comprehensive, but if all you have is a press release, don't even worry about it.
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