Website: Dallas Morning News Mavericks Blog

Interview with: Tim MacMahon

I read that you were on the beat at the University of North Texas.  Tell us your story starting how you got the job at UNT and how you landed at Dallas Morning News.

I was going to school and working for the UNT campus paper when Denton Record-Chronicle sports editor Richard Durrett offered me a part-time job that paid a whopping $7 per hour. Part-time ended up being 39 hours a week, and that job turned out to be a great start to my career. Durrett let me be the No. 2 guy on UNT while I was a part-timer, and I took over the beat when he got promoted to The Dallas Morning News. Since the DRC and DMN is owned by the same company, I covered the UNT beat for the DMN for a few years and got to know several editors downtown. They brought me downtown to be the lead high schools writer. After doing that for a few years, I covered Texas Tech and Baylor last year and got the blogger gig when Matt Mosley left for ESPN.com.

How do you like blogging vs. beat writing?  Is there a big difference?

I love the blogging gig. Sports are supposed to be fun, and my editors let me have a ton of fun on the blogs. I kind of treat the blogs like an Internet sports bar, and I’m there to generate and direct the discussion, some of which is goofy and some of which is serious sports talk. Some of the stuff I write for the blogs is similar to traditional beat coverage, but the jobs are totally different. Breaking news is a bonus for me, while that’s the top priority for a beat writer. More often than not, I react to news that our beat writers break.

What is the biggest difference between you and the writer from Mavsmoneyball.com besides the fact you are paid a full time income?

A decade of journalism experience, the accountability of representing the largest newspaper in the state and the commitment to dedicate a full work week and then some to the blog.

Do you like Mark Cuban?

I’d much rather cover a team that has an owner as passionate and accessible as Cuban than one with a boring guy who just considers his team an investment. Cuban is an interesting character, and that’s good for the blog.

Did your blog’s traffic heavily increase when you originally banned from the Mav’s locker room?

No, but we were coming off a record month with the Jason Kidd trade.

What is your dream job?

DMN columnist who still blogs a bunch.

What advice do you have for young writers who are looking to become professional writers?

Get as much experience as possible while in college. Clips and contacts are more important than anything you’ll learn in a classroom.

Any bold predictions for the future of sports, blogging, and professional journalism on the internet?

No bold predictions, but I’d strongly advise budding journalists to familiarize themselves with the blogosphere.