Spring Break
The Daily OrangeClayton: Hack struggles to escape shadow of ESPN senior writer
By John Clayton
Posted: 12/4/08, 2:38 AM EST Section: Sports
Back then I had no inkling that I would go into sports writing. Kinesiology or sports management, maybe. In any of those normal careers, I would have escaped the incessant ribbing about my semi-famous name. Or at least brushed them aside.
Naturally, I chose to become a sports writer.
I did so, knowing I'd be interviewing and writing for an audience of people for whom John Clayton was already a household name.
I can't count the number of times I've interviewed somebody and been greeted with, "Wait, John Clayton? Like the ESPN guy?"
At both my summer internships, I would get e-mails from people asking, "Are you the real John Clayton? And if so, why have you stopped writing for ESPN?"
Not that sharing a name with a Hall of Fame writer is all bad. On one hand, it helps the people I interview remember me. It's an icebreaker. No better way to form a rapport with an athlete than to banter for a minute or two about my name or the person I share it with.
I've embraced the jokes about my namesake. Just look at my tagline. Although, I should admit that was forced on me by my colleagues here. (I would have preferred "ESPN.com Senior Writer.")
But having a journalistically famous name does pose a fundamental issue. As writers, our name is all we have. A reporter is a faceless entity. The only thing distinguishing my story from the one next to it is my name at the top.
So how do I differentiate myself? (Well, besides the fact I'm the John Clayton NOT writing for ESPN.com.) I could change my pen name. J.S. Clayton sounds rather stately. But that would feel weird. "Hi, my name's J.S." No thanks. John S. Clayton? That sounds a bit better.
Really, it doesn't matter. The references will always follow me. All I can do is try to carve my own niche as a sports writer.
Maybe even make a name for myself, even if that name's already been made by somebody else.
My time at The Daily Orange gave me a start in that department. Working at this newspaper has taught me so much - things I could have never learned in any communications school. The D.O. made me work harder than I ever have at anything in my life. It pushed me to become a better journalist.
Who knows, maybe one day I'll cover an event alongside the real John Clayton. Maybe I'll ask him why, on his Wikipedia page, it says his given name is Johan, not John.
I probably won't. After all, it's just a name, right?
John S. Clayton is a former sports editor and assistant sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns used to appear. You can reach him at jsclayto@gmail.com.
Naturally, I chose to become a sports writer.
I did so, knowing I'd be interviewing and writing for an audience of people for whom John Clayton was already a household name.
I can't count the number of times I've interviewed somebody and been greeted with, "Wait, John Clayton? Like the ESPN guy?"
At both my summer internships, I would get e-mails from people asking, "Are you the real John Clayton? And if so, why have you stopped writing for ESPN?"
Not that sharing a name with a Hall of Fame writer is all bad. On one hand, it helps the people I interview remember me. It's an icebreaker. No better way to form a rapport with an athlete than to banter for a minute or two about my name or the person I share it with.
I've embraced the jokes about my namesake. Just look at my tagline. Although, I should admit that was forced on me by my colleagues here. (I would have preferred "ESPN.com Senior Writer.")
But having a journalistically famous name does pose a fundamental issue. As writers, our name is all we have. A reporter is a faceless entity. The only thing distinguishing my story from the one next to it is my name at the top.
So how do I differentiate myself? (Well, besides the fact I'm the John Clayton NOT writing for ESPN.com.) I could change my pen name. J.S. Clayton sounds rather stately. But that would feel weird. "Hi, my name's J.S." No thanks. John S. Clayton? That sounds a bit better.
Really, it doesn't matter. The references will always follow me. All I can do is try to carve my own niche as a sports writer.
Maybe even make a name for myself, even if that name's already been made by somebody else.
My time at The Daily Orange gave me a start in that department. Working at this newspaper has taught me so much - things I could have never learned in any communications school. The D.O. made me work harder than I ever have at anything in my life. It pushed me to become a better journalist.
Who knows, maybe one day I'll cover an event alongside the real John Clayton. Maybe I'll ask him why, on his Wikipedia page, it says his given name is Johan, not John.
I probably won't. After all, it's just a name, right?
John S. Clayton is a former sports editor and assistant sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns used to appear. You can reach him at jsclayto@gmail.com.
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