You won’t find many old sports writers posting on TikTok. Jeff Pearlman, 52, is way outside the platform’s key demographic. However, that hasn’t prevented him from being one of its more fascinating content creators.
Pearlman is a storyteller. TikTok is his latest way to regale us with his observations and anecdotes on sports and other topics. His recent 1-minute videos about people like Stephen A. Smith, Reggie Jackson, and Pete Rose have created a buzz.
“It’s just been a fun challenge, and I like telling stories,” said Pearlman in an interview with Awful Announcing. “When I was at Sports Illustrated, I was very young, like 30 years ago, a writer named Jack McCallum said to me: ‘You’re not going to become the richest doing this job, but at every high school reunion, you’ll have the best stories.’ And that’s true.”
@jeffpearlmanauthor Sammy Sosa was hated by Cubs teammates #mlb #cubs #writersoftiktok
♬ original sound – Jeff Pearlman
Pearlman even has a story behind why he started posting on TikTok, which, according to the New York Times, was the most downloaded app in the world in 2020, 2021, and 2022. It is particularly popular with college-age adults with 76% of its users between 18 and 24 years old. TikTok is no app for old men, and Pearlman avoided it earlier this year.
In January, after mass layoffs at Sports Illustrated and the Los Angeles Times, he posted videos on X/Twitter lamenting the state of journalism. He urged young journalists to “make yourself indispensable.”Pearlman, who worked at Sports Illustrated from 1996-2002, said: “I told this to someone I know, but if you’re covering a team — let’s say you’re covering Wichita State basketball for some newspaper. Ask your bosses if it’s OK if you start a podcast too — a Wichita State sports podcast. Build up an amazing Instagram following, and start doing TikTok videos about Wichita State sports to the point where you’re known as the guy on TikTok for all things Wichita State. Find a million different ways; to build up your Twitter following.”
He added: “Come up with a book proposal and come up with book ideas. And my advice to, if it’s a first-time book, is don’t make it about your uncle who is diabetic and his battle. Find something that is mainstreamish — the Big East in the 1980s, LeBron and Kobe’s relationship. Something big, something that works, something that would grab a publisher.”
However, what was intended as encouragement received some criticism.
Tom Ley of Defector responded with a column headlined: “Jeff Pearlman’s Advice To Young Sportswriters: Simply Write A Book About LeBron James And Kobe Bryant.” He accused the author of nine New York Times bestsellers of being out of touch. He wrote: “A person of Pearlman’s age and pedigree, who came up in a version of the industry that looks nothing like it does now, might be able to tell a young journalist about the craft of journalism, but will necessarily have no novel advice to offer anyone trying to break into the industry today.”
Pearlman, an adjunct journalism professor at Chapman University in California, took that criticism to heart. As a result, he decided to give TikTok a try. The father of two teenagers asked his children about best practices, which included short videos.
“It all feels like a big experiment,” Pearlman said. “Also, I want to make clear, that I have no beef with that guy from Defector at all. He actually inspired me and kind of juiced me up to do it. So, if anything, I should thank him. I wrote him an email letting him know about that. He never responded. And maybe he was right. Maybe he made some good points.”
@jeffpearlmanauthor On Stephen A. Smith, Fox News and knowing whereof you speak #stephenasmith #trump #writersoftiktok #journalism #foxnews
♬ original sound – Jeff Pearlman
Pearlman created rules for himself. He posts different stories from his career regularly. He sticks to 1 minute even though sometimes his videos end while he’s in the middle of speaking. He mostly avoids politics. The closest he has come to being political was his criticism of Smith. ESPN’s highly paid hot-take artist belches out opinions incessantly. Some are more informed than others. No one can be an expert on everything. And when Smith started opining on Donald Trump, that was a bridge too far for Pearlman.
“Stephen A. Smith clearly doesn’t know anything about Donald Trump,” Pearlman told AA. “He just doesn’t. You don’t have to have an opinion on that matter. You don’t see me going on social media and offering hot takes on the Buffalo Bills draft because I don’t know sh** about it. So, I’m not going to talk about it. It’s okay to admit you don’t know about a subject and not talk about it.”
With just under 14,000 flowers, Pearlman doesn’t have a huge audience on TikTok. However, the platform does have a practical use, allowing the author a new way to market himself. His current project has nothing to do with sports. He’s writing a book about Tupac Shakur, which is expected to be released next year.
“The truth of the matter is I’m in the business of selling books, and part of selling books is self-promotion,” Pearlman said.
