Longform

Jackie MacMullan is an NBA journalist who has written for The Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated and ESPN. She hosts the podcast Icons Club for The Ringer. “[Athletes] think they don't need journalists—and they're wrong. And I tell them all this. I'm like, ‘I know you think you've got your own production company, but we can tell your story better than you can.' That's just the truth. No one tells their own story the best. It's the people around them that tell the story the best. And nobody wants a whitewashed version of you. They want warts and all. That's what makes you lovable. That's what makes you interesting. ... There are great journalists out there that can tell your story—and it might not be exactly the way you want it to be told, but it'll have weight and it'll have legacy to it.” Show notes: MacMullan's Sports Illustrated archive MacMullan's ESPN archive Jackie MacMullan says goodbye to Around the Horn 01:00 "Journalism Pioneer Jackie MacMullan, Former Globe Columnist, to Retire From ESPN" (Chad F