Deadspin editor and senior writer Carron J. Phillips is known for his spicey columns and sharp takes on Twitter. But too little is known about how he came up as a journalist, including his days as a prep sports writer, as an editorial columnist, and ground-breaking role with the New York Daily News.

Carron discusses his struggles to land his first job, why he’s been so hard on Deion Sanders, and some of the lingering questions he still has about the Deadspin and the New York Times coverage of Rachel Nichols. On the latter, he breaks some news about a deal he had to talk exclusively with Maria Taylor about the situation, which fell apart. He explains why.

This is an exceptionally long episode because it was so good. So we’ve put in some chapter markers so you can skip to what you like.

0:00 Introduction

1:48 Carron’s journalism journey

20:32 How Carron got into opinion journalism

33:15 Shout out to Susan D. Leath

40:36 How Carron came to join the New York Daily News, plus a shout out to Leon Carter

51:35 Transitioning to Deadspin

1:02:02 Why Carron has been so hard on Deion Sanders

1:19:04 Shout out to Steve J. Gaither

1:20:40 Untangling the Rachel Nichols story

1:56:50 Advice for journalists

1:59:24 Shout outs to Vincent Goodwill and Shauntel Lowe

We also referenced a bunch of stories. Here are the links for your reading and listening pleasure.

SWAC Media Day was a peepshow, and it wasn’t just Deion’s hissy fit: https://deadspin.com/swac-media-day-was-a-poopshow-and-it-wasn-t-just-deion-1847335579

The Coach Prime Predicament: Why Deion Sanders’ success at Jackson State is a slippery slope for HBCUs: https://deadspin.com/the-coach-prime-predicament-why-deion-sanders-success-1848244987

The initial Deadspin story on Rachel Nichols: https://deadspin.com/espn-creep-used-the-jump-video-feed-to-secretly-record-1844398846

The NYT report on the Nichols video one year later: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/04/sports/basketball/espn-rachel-nichols-maria-taylor.html

Carron's column after the New York Times story dropped: https://deadspin.com/rachel-nichols-comments-about-maria-taylor-are-latest-1847231057

Carron joins Deadspin's Ladies' Room podcast to talk about it: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ladies-room/id1543625034?i=1000528064846

Follow Carron on Twitter @carronJphillips.

Interested in being on the show? Email blackjournalists@zmcpodcasts.com.

More about Donnell Suggs: Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Donnell Suggs is the Editor in Chief of The Atlanta Voice, the city's longest-running Black-owned newspaper. A father and husband, Donnell has wasted years of his life supporting the New York Mets and Jets. Follow Donnell on Twitter @suggswriter.

More about Zuri Berry: Zuri is the owner and principal producer of ZMC Podcasts. He has been a journalist for two decades, working as a reporter, producer, and editor, with stops in California, Boston, Charlotte, and Washington, D.C. He’s originally from San Francisco. Find Zuri online at https://zuriberry.com.

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