I am a relative newcomer to the Galaxy media world. As I begin to forge my own path as a Galaxy journalist, I thought it wise to sit down and pick the brains of some of the field’s biggest figures to help me better understand my own role in this topsy-turvy new media landscape. For my third installment of “Galaxy Media Profiles” I sat down with Adam Serrano, who both serves with the Galaxy as the LA Galaxy Insider and as an analyst at Time Warner Cable SportsNet.
Sean Steffen: Obviously you are the go -to-guy when it comes to Galaxy journalism. How did you get your start in sports journalism and how did you go from there to where you are today?
Adam Serrano: Well, I started when I was attending UC Berkeley. I’ve always been interested in journalism. I had my own private little blog covering Cal men’s soccer and the San Jose Earthquakes, so that was really how I kind of started out. And from there I really just moved on by networking, which I think is pretty seminal in becoming successful in really anything. I met Ives Galarcep at the 2009 MLS Cup, which was the first championship I ever covered. He offered me a job to cover the Galaxy and Chivas USA. Once I graduated from school in 2010, I jumped on that opportunity, and that’s really how it got started. I also worked for MLS soccer and AP, which were connections I was able to gain by working with Ives, so it kind of steam rolled from there. Then in 2012, sometime in March or April, I got the call from the Galaxy that they were interested in having me doing this kind of a position that they have with the LA Kings, and they thought it would be a real hit with the Galaxy, and lucky enough, I was able to earn that position and that’s kind of the long and short of it, how I got to be where I am now.
Sean: You are a master of twitter — A twitter artist even. How important is new media to what you do?
Adam: It’s the most important thing. I joke sometimes– Twitter is how I make my money, and a lot of people kind of say, ‘Oh, tweeting is all just about updating about what you’re doing in the day, what kind of sandwich you’re eating,’ but for me, in all honesty, it’s really how I was able to meet people, was able to network and get to know the right types of people, be it Ives, be it Brian Straus. And I think that it’s very important to me to kind of make sure you have the right set of information when you are going forward with twitter. There is always a race to be the first—you want to be the first on twitter. It’s a big thing, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t something that I thought of, but you want to be correct. You want to be right. You want to make sure that your tweet is going to stand out, your tweet is going to be factual. You want to make sure it’s shareable, and I think it’s very important to what I do, and it’s something that is very important to everyone that wants to get involved in this kind of “new media,” this “new journalism.” I talk to old writers all the time who tell me ‘That’s not something I do. I’m really more about writing the stories,” and they ask me, ‘Why don’t my stories have the same traction as your stories or someone else’s?’ and I’m like ‘This is a central part because having that kind of voice, having that ability to talk to reporters, to talk to fans, is really important,’ and that’s kind of how I got my blog out there when I was covering the earthquakes and that’s how I was able use it and put it in the faces of their fans—communicating on social media and having them know that I was part of the conversation. Twitter, like I said, it’s how I make my money.
Sean: You are the first writer in this series who does this professionally. Why do you think the job market is so small for paid MLS writers, and do you see that changing anytime soon?
Adam: I think it will definitely change. I think it’s certainly something that is evolving and is something that is growing each and every year. I think you’re going to see more people come in and move from, kind of being, I won’t use the word amateur—maybe it’s not appropriate, to the professional ranks. So you’re always going to see people move forward […] I think that it’s certainly something that people are starting to see become important, because we all want MLS and we all want soccer in this country to be successful, and I think this is really one of those steps. We have to have that coverage, and you’ve seen those kind of things happen in all the leagues, basically around the world, and in the United States. You see Major League Baseball take a big interest in having paid writers and having them paid a decent wage, and give them a chance to hone their craft. You see that in the NHL, the NBA and the like, and I think it’s definitely the wave of the future, and I think it’s something that will definitely continue to expand, as interest in MLS continues to grow.
Sean: Since you are employed by the Galaxy, How does that affect your journalism? Do you ever feel pressure by them to tell a story the way they want it to be told?
Adam: When I first took my job, they were very adamant in saying, ‘You tell your story. You tell things the way you want to tell them.’ Yes, it is a little bit different– you know you have that close connection with the Galaxy, with AEG, as well, but what they want is, they want people to tell stories. Sometimes that’s going to be an issue. Sometimes you are going to get pushback, and frankly, it’s just part of it. But you’re going to have the ability to tell these important stories, and I think that’s what they want most of all. They want to have the Galaxy stories out there, and I think this is an avenue for that. Of course, you are going to have questions, you know, ‘Why are you covering this story?’, or they ask you after a loss maybe, ‘Why don’t you make it look a little bit better?’, but you have to tell the story. And I think that’s something I pride myself in 100%, that I’m able to tell those stories, that I’m able to ask the hard questions. I’m able to talk about when a guy’s hurt and how it’s going to affect the team, and also if a guy has a bad game—write about that. I mean, that’s what you see everywhere. That’s what you expect. That’s what you need to have if this is going to grow. Everybody hates saccharin journalism. Nobody wants to see that. I mean, it’s kind of a waste of space, and if you have the ability to tell the real story, people are going to be more interested.
Sean: Obviously as Galaxy journalist, you have to keep a laser like focus on the Galaxy, but do you find that makes it harder to follow the rest of the league?
Adam: I mean, you certainly do have to sort of hone your focus on one team, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t keep track of the rest of the league and if you didn’t keep track of the rest of the world. You want to have that interest in soccer, and I think the most important thing for a writer is you want to have interest in what you are doing, because once you don’t have interest in what you are doing, there is no reason for readers to continue to read, if you can’t really sell what you’re interested in. So I think, while it may be a little more difficult because you’re obviously watching the galaxy all the time, […] you have to keep some idea of what is going on with the league, how other teams are playing, what their results are, even if it’s just watching highlights. Sometimes you kind of just have to go with that, but I try to watch as many games as possible, and you know my MLSLIVE is one of my best friends, I’m sorry to say. It helps you keep tabs and that helps with stories when the Galaxy eventually play these teams. […] It’s difficult, but it’s very important. It’s a necessity if you are going to be a solid writer for the team.
Read More as we discuss aspects of LA Galaxy
You can follow Adam on twitter at @LAGalaxyInsider and read his follow his blog at http://www.lagalaxy.com/blog
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