Mark Pope doesn’t work in the media, but he has a front-row seat to how they work every day.
The head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball program is constantly navigating his relationship with the media. And like most college coaches in the national spotlight, he’s seen all kinds of stories and how the industry has changed while covering him.
So when he was asked at a recent press conference if he could offer any advice to several aspiring journalists in the audience, he had plenty to say.
What advice does Mark Pope have for young, aspiring journalists?
I’m teaching an upper‑level journalism course at #UK this semester, and on Thursday, I took my class to Pope’s press conference. I asked him what guidance he’d give the next generation of journalists. His answer… pic.twitter.com/E6O4u30XWE
— Lee K. Howard ☀️ (@HowardWKYT) February 20, 2026
“I would tell you guys that you’re in a really complicated space, from my position, where, unfortunately, you’re just going to be graded on clicks. Like that’s just what you’re graded on,” Pope started.
“And so, that makes your job hard. It makes this job really hard because you can get cheap clicks, or you can get clicks for being great at what you do. And it’s probably like everything in life, and that’s the challenge. You have experienced media crew in here, but that’s probably the question you’re going to ask yourself. ‘Am I going to go down the road of just getting the cheap clicks, or am I gonna get the clicks by being the most real, authentic, truth-telling, hardcore journalist?’
A lot of people would say that that can’t exist anymore. That longform is gone, and real truth-telling is gone, and you just have to put out the headline as inauthentic or manufactured as it might be. You just have to put it out because you’ve got to get clicks, you got to earn a reputation, you got to do it that way. I don’t know if that’s advice, but from my perspective, that’s the biggest question you’re gonna have to answer as a journalist.
“And, for my money, if you’re great, if you want to be great, you’re gonna probably do the impossible, and that’s gonna be like you’re gonna stay away from the cheap click, manufactured, artificial, skewed headline, and you’re gonna become like the world’s greatest storyteller.
“Because I will tell you this, I talked to our media about this, too. Storytellers have the power in the world right now. I think in this space, where facts can get skewed all kinds of ways, it’s storytellers that actually have the power, but it comes with an immense responsibility. And I think if you can become a great, great, authentic, hard-hitting storyteller that is really searching for the truth, the greatness of stories is actually in the truth rather than just searching for the clicks. I think it’ll serve you well.
“That’s my two cents. I’m not in the media, but that’s my thought.”
One has to wonder whether Pope was talking to the veteran media members in the room as much as he was to the students.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.