By Jillian Gutstein C’16 and Sarah Hampton C’17
On February 13, 2015, Adam Schefter delivered the keynote speech for the Penn Law Sports Law Symposium, which focused on the intersection of sports and entertainment in relation to business and law.
Schefter currently works as an ESPN football analyst and, according to New York Magazine, is “The Most Influential Tweeter in New York.”
Schefter claimed he didn’t set out to be where he is now. Before working for ESPN, he was as a student newspaper editor at the University of Michigan and then later, a reporter covering the Denver Broncos.
As a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, Schefter emphasized that newspapers, where he spent 16 years of his career, are his “roots.” “I never had the mindset to want to be on TV,” he said.
“It used to be to me that newspapers were sacred ground,” he added.
News today is a news cycle on steroids, Schefter explained. With the Internet and social media news isn’t reported every 24 hours; it’s reported 24 seconds.
“Twitter has changed the way that we cover sports and we look at sports,” he said. People post news by the minute, but once something is posted, it’s out there forever and can’t be gotten back.
“I’d rather be second, third, last on the story, than be wrong on the story,” he said.
The conference, titled “The Intersection of Sports and Entertainment,” included panels on topics such as broadcasting and media rights, challenges of managing facilities with a cross appeal between sports and entertainment, and the emergence of conglomerate sports.
“This is our second annual sports law symposium,” said Max Goodman, a second year Penn Law student and a board member of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society. “No one else is really doing anything like this by bringing together the biggest names in sports and entertainment law and putting them in one room to cover interesting topics.”
Tweets from this event:
At the Penn Law Sports Law Symposium! #PLSLS15 pic.twitter.com/uBx3lsn1wx
— Antonio Russo (@antoniorussof) February 13, 2015
@AdamSchefter will be speaking at UPenn today. Awesome stuff. #PLSLS15
— Zack Moore (@ZackMooreNFL) February 13, 2015
We’re off to panel one, featuring Ed Weiss, Lee Goldsmith, Wendy Bass, and Peter Zern. The panel is moderated by Dr. Karen Weaver. #PLSLS15
— Penn Law ESLS (@pennlawesls) February 13, 2015
@collegeathlete moderating Broadcast and Media Rights Panel at the #PLSLS15 pic.twitter.com/OQjHceKakd
— Antonio Russo (@antoniorussof) February 13, 2015
Gr8 panel this am on broadcasting media rights moderated by @collegeathlete at the @pennlawesls #PLSLS15! @DrexelSMT pic.twitter.com/g2520F6HOp
— Jennifer Valore (@jvalore) February 13, 2015
Excited for @AdamSchefter to speak @pennlawesls #PLSLS15 pic.twitter.com/X5FRlUgXNc
— Alexa Font (@Lexa_Font4) February 13, 2015
It’s a packed house listening to Adam Schefter, ESPN at #pennlaw! #PLSLS15 pic.twitter.com/2TW9VY3srq
— Jillian Gutstein (@JillianGutstei1) February 13, 2015
“It used to be that newspapers were a sacred ground.Now it seems to me that people prefer to go into television”Adam Schefter, ESPN #PLSLS15
— Jillian Gutstein (@JillianGutstei1) February 13, 2015
“Somehow, the people who report on news have become newsmakers themselves.It’s a strange world we live in” -Schefter, ESPN #pennlaw #PLSLS15
— Jillian Gutstein (@JillianGutstei1) February 13, 2015
“Twitter is incredible and it’s miserable. I love it and I hate it.” -Adam Schefter #PLSLS15 #SMT604
— What’s Up in Sports? (@SMThappenings) February 13, 2015
“I’d rather be 2nd, 3rd, last on the story, than be wrong on the story”-Adam Schefter, ESPN #pennlaw #PLSLS15
— Jillian Gutstein (@JillianGutstei1) February 13, 2015
There’s no recipe to follow when trying to get info on a story. — Adam Schefter on establishing reliable sources #PLSLS15 #SMT604
— What’s Up in Sports? (@SMThappenings) February 13, 2015
“My job doesn’t change whether its a big national story or small local story” - Adam Schefter, ESPN #PLSLS15 #SMT604
— What’s Up in Sports? (@SMThappenings) February 13, 2015
The moderator of panel two is Penn Law’s own Mitchell Berman #PLSLS15
— Penn Law ESLS (@pennlawesls) February 13, 2015