Adam Schefter

Adam Schefter (born December 21, 1966) is an American sports writer, television analyst, and NFL insider for ESPN.

Education and career

Schefter was born to a Jewish family in Valley Stream, New York, and grew up in Bellmore, New York, where he attended John F. Kennedy High School, graduating in June 1985.^[1] He is a 1989 graduate of the University of Michigan and a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Schefter was an editor at The Michigan Daily, where he began his newspaper career. While at Northwestern, Schefter worked as a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune. After graduating from Northwestern in June 1990, Schefter was an intern for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer before moving to Denver in 1990, when he started writing for the Rocky Mountain News in September 1990 and then The Denver Post in July 1996.^[2]

Journalism career

Schefter joined the NFL Network in 2004 and appeared on NFL Total Access and also wrote for NFL.COM. Before joining the NFL Network, Schefter appeared five times on ESPN's Around the Horn as a substitute for Woody Paige, who was based in Denver at the time. Before Around the Horn, Schefter appeared on ESPN's The Sports Reporters. Schefter appeared on NBC twice in the summer of 2008, working as the sideline reporter for Al Michaels and John Madden during the Redskins-Colts Hall-of-Fame game and then the Redskins-Jaguars preseason finale.

According to a USA Today survey of fans published January 19, 2009, "NFL Network's Adam Schefter edged ESPN's Chris Mortensen (34%-32%) for best [NFL] insider despite the NFL Network being in less than half as many U.S. households." Schefter was again selected as the best (NFL) insider in a November 2010 USA Today fan poll.^[3] Schefter was voted USA Today's best "insider" for a third straight year in November 2011.

In 2009, Schefter became a football analyst with ESPN.^[4] He began appearing on-air on August 17, 2009. In October 2010, Sports Illustrated writers included Schefter in its "Power 40," a listing of the NFL's best officials, executives, coaches, players and media members.^[5]

In 2014, Schefter was the recipient of multiple awards, including being named the "Most Influential Tweeter in New York" by New York magazine in February,^[6] "Best Newsbreaker" by the sports media website Awful Announcing in its second annual People's Sports TV Award Winners in May, and SI.com's “Media Person of the Year.”^[7]

In November 2015, Schefter was named The Cynopsis Sports Media Personality of the Year, which is presented annually to a VIP whose work in the sports industry has transcended how sports connect with fans. In the same year, he was named honorable mention for Sports Illustrated Now's 2015 Media Person of the Year,^[8] and 2015 Sports Media Personality of the Year by the Tampa Bay Times ^[9]

Controversy

On July 9, 2015, Schefter tweeted a medical chart photo indicating that Jason Pierre-Paul had his right index finger amputated. One unrelated patient's medical condition was also exposed in the photo. This led to a widespread anger amongst players, journalists and fans.^[10][11][12] On February 5, 2016, it was reported that two individuals were fired from Jackson Memorial Hospital after a lengthy investigation for violating HIPAA laws.^[13] Pierre-Paul is suing Shefter and ESPN for breach of privacy in September 2016.^[14]

Personal life

Schefter is married to Sharri Maio. His wife had previously been married to Joseph Maio, who was one of many Cantor Fitzgerald employees who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, and she gave birth to a son named Devon before her husband was killed. The two met on a blind date in 2006 and were married a year later. ^[15] In addition to the aforementioned Devon, Schefter and his wife are parents to daughter Dylan.

Movie appearances

Schefter had a cameo appearance in the 2005 movie The Longest Yard.

Radio career

Schefter is a regular guest on numerous radio programs, including 104.3 KKFN in Denver, Colorado,^[16] ESPN 980 in Washington D.C., ESPN 1000 in Chicago, Illinois, and 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has also appeared on Wednesday Night Lights.^[17]

Publications

• Romo: My Life on the Edge: Living Dreams and Slaying Dragons', ISBN 0-06-075863-5, with Bill Romanowski, 2005
• Think Like A Champion: Building Success One Victory at a Time, ISBN 0-06-662039-2, with Mike Shanahan, 9/1999
• TD: Dreams in Motion: The Memoirs of the Denver Broncos' Terrell Davis, ISBN 0-06-019282-8, with Terrell Davis, 9/1998
• The Class of Football: Words of Hard-Earned Wisdom from Legends of the Gridiron
• "Real Sports Reporting" Edited by Abraham Aamidor, 2003 (Chapter on Football)

Footnotes

Further reading

• Greg Garno, "Catching Up With Daily Alum Adam Schefter," Michigan Daily, July 12, 2013.
• Rick Maese, "Adam Schefter is NFL Reporting Machine," Washington Post, Sept. 2, 2014.
• Ryan Baillargeon and Nick Gallagher, "Still No Cheering in the Press Box, Adam Schefter...in his own words," Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, June 3, 2015.
• Mark Lelinwalla, "Interview: Breaking NFL News Isn't Only ESPN Insider Adam Schefter's Job...It's His Obsession," Tech Times, July 22, 2015.
• Max Cohen, "Schefter's career began with Daily experience," The Michigan Daily, Sept. 28, 2015.
• Brian Flood, "How ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter Got His First Big Break: It all started with a note his mom left on his bed," AdWeek, Dec. 10, 2015.

External links

• Adam Schefter's ESPN Bio
• Adam Schefter as a Guest on SI's Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch
• Adam Schefter on Twitter