The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Howard set to debut ‘The Sport of Reporting’ project
Mike Howard is a huge sports fan who watches TV sports talk shows religiously.
He has also hosted a TV news talk show from his New Haven Home for the past 15 years and aspires to be “one of the best producers/interviewers of all time.”
Howard appreciates the work of sports journalists covering stories and issues and interviewing athletes, coaches, general managers, etc., but came to a realization a few years ago.
“I was thinking to myself, ‘We hardly ever see (journalists) being interviewed, being on the hot seat,” he noticed.
And so, the idea for “The Sport of Reporting” was born. The three-part series centering on Howard’s interviews with some of the best-known journalists and personalities in the sports world — Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless, Chris Berman,
Chris Broussard — will debut on April 26 at 7 p.m. on Howard’s YouTube channel, “The Sport of Reporting, Part 1.”
Howard has interviewed numerous sports journalists over the past five years for the project, beginning with ESPN’s Molly Qerim back in 2016. The following year, he nabbed Stephen A. Smith, and after that, Chris Berman.
At that point, Howard said to himself: “You know what, I’m gonna see if I can reach out to as many sports figures as I can.”
Through no real connections, just networking through e-mail, social media, publicists, etc., he wound up notching interviews with the likes of Cari Champion, Shelley Smith, Mike Golic, Rob Parker and many others. A total of 21 in all, though only seven of those interviewees will appear in the first part of the series. In fact, there is currently a contest on How
ard’s YouTube channel that allows people to pick the seven personalities they think will be in Part 1. Anyone who picks all seven correctly will win a $500 Visa gift card.
According to Howard, “The Sport of Reporting, Part 1” centers on “how people in the sports world get access into coaches’ office, into the locker room.” It will also feature a faux edition of ESPN’s “First Take,” with sports journalists getting different “awards” instead of athletes.
Parts 2 and 3 are still in the making, but Howard hopes the second installment will be released in 2022.
It’s really a natural for Howard, 34. He was born in Providence but adopted at age 4 1⁄2 by New Haven’s Easter Howard, who would make numerous trips to his foster home for over a year before the adoption became official. He has lived in New Haven ever since and has hosted “The Mike Nice Show” on CTV since graduating from Hyde Leadership School in 2006, landing interviews ranging from governors and mayors to boxer Chad Dawson and poet laureate Maya Angelou.
A self-described “horrible writer,” Howard has always gravitated to the broadcast side of journalism, graduating from Southern Connecticut State University and earning a masters in Broadcast Media Journalism from Sacred Heart. He’s currently a permanent substitute physical education teacher in Branford, but his hope is to someday become a professor and teach communications, public speaking or journalism.
And, of course, become one of the best producers/ interviewers of all time.
“That’s my goal,” Howard added.
He certainly could learn a thing or two from his interview subjects “The Sport of Reporting, Part 1.”