If you’re interested in trade deadline and free agency stuff, you’ll enjoy these 40 minutes with Frank – arguably the fastest-rising star in the scoops business. Prior to interviewing Frank, I listened to him on Spittin’ Chiclets and thought he was great, so I prepared to ask him different questions to see if I could get some different takes from him.
Frank surprised me by being even more candid about his reporting process and the aftermath of breaking the news of almost the entire Kraken Expansion Draft. He was also extremely open to sharing details of his process of developing sources and earning their trust. I also appreciated what he said about the early stages of his career, when he left the Columbia School of Journalism after only a few weeks to take over the Flyers beat for the Philadelphia Daily News. As a former Flyers PR intern and student at La Salle University, I had the pleasure of reading that great sports section and getting to work with the incredible lineup of Flyers writers back in the day, including Al Morganti of the Inquirer, the late Jay Greenburg of the Daily News, and a future star baseball journalist named Ken Rosenthal who wrote for the Camden Courier Post.
Islanders fans will be interested in what Frank says about the private approach of Lou Lamoriello. Whatever works, you know? And for Lamoriello and the Islanders, it’s working.
Thanks for listening.
Episode 4 Rundown:
· Frank credits three reporters who have inspired and informed his work.
· His move from TSN to Daily Faceoff and being the underdog against the heavyweight scoop-breakers
· Exclusively breaking the news of the majority of the Expansion Draft of the Seattle Kraken…what he’s proud of, what he may regret in hindsight
· Would Frank knowingly break the news of a trade without a player involved being aware he’s being traded?
· The dilemma of holding news he’s positive is 100% accurate while waiting for team confirmation
· The Islanders’ unique approach to announcing their free agent signings and re-signings weeks after the fact
· From journalism school to the Flyers beat for the Philadelphia Daily News
· Is the quid pro quo for scoops favorable coverage?
· The art of developing sources and building trust with them
· What he expects in the trade market during the 2021-22 NHL season
· The impact of the Dougie Hamilton and Seth Jones contracts
· What it means to Frank to lead the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association