By Elliott Nguyen

Connor J. Hughes is a New York Jets beat writer for The Athletic. He has been covering the Jets since 2014, and has also written for the Star-Ledger and NJ.com. In addition to reporting, he also has a podcast.

I spoke with Hughes today about the path he took to get from where he started to where he is now. He recounted his entrance to the field of journalism, listed various jobs he has had, explained the daily grind of being a sports journalist, especially in New York, and shared some of his memorable moments as a beat writer.

Here are some of the highlights/takeaways, in my opinion:

1. It was thought-provoking to hear about his interactions with his readers and fans of the team he writes about. Of course athletes have a relationship with their community, but it is not often that one hears about a reporter interacting with their readers in a similar way; transcending the professional relationship of writer and reader.
2. Hearing a reporter’s perspective on significant events in a sports team’s history was quite interesting.
3. I thought his advice about needing to “do everything” was valuable. The ability to be a renaissance man of sorts increases one’s value to organizations in an era when many news publications do not have the staff size and resources that they used to.