What's the point of Adam Schefter?

A few days ago ESPN superstar, and humongous egotist, Adam Schefter tweeted the following information:

Sounds like first Sunday night regular-season game is shaping up to be Giants at Cowboys. Just like two years ago.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 21, 2015

This is classic Schefter. Here is ESPN's NFL Insider doing what he does best, telling us some unimportant piece of NFL information and managing to garner over 1,400 retweets and 1,100 favorites from it. The tweet is predictably unremarkable but it does illuminate two distinct points. The first is the general level of craziness that surrounds the NFL schedule and the public's thirst for any NFL related news in the middle of April. Secondly, it is a perfect encapsulation of everything that Schefter and his role as NFL insider represent.

Schefter's skill, expertise and mastery of schmoozing up to people with information about the NFL is on display for all to see. Behold ladies and gentlemen, a person has provided us some information about events happening in five months time that we were going to hear about in a few hours anyway. Schefter trades in providing his 3.72 million followers with mildly interesting bits of information repackaged as 'insider information'. He has capitalised on the public's desire for a constant stream of NFL related news, even if it is just to let us know that Johnny Manziel has been released from rehab.

Johnny Manziel has been released from a drug and alcohol treatment facility, multiple sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 11, 2015

As a society we seem to have put a premium on timing over quality or insight when it comes to reporting. There was a time not so long ago when people actually argued against the spread of 24 news channels. They were seen as cheapening and trivialising actual, important news events. That argument today would seem antiquated at best and shortsighted and ignorant at worst. The news never stops, and news about football players and the infrastructure that surrounds them needs to be reported on and disseminated 24/7, 365 days a year.

But it doesn't really. It's just that Schefter and his employer make a lot of money by convincing you that it does. In fact, ESPN doesn't even need to work very hard at perpetuating this idea, their rival the NFL network has even more broadcast hours to fill by convincing you there is important NFL news that requires your attention.

The idea that the NFL news cycle never stops is crucial for Schefter. He knows that people question how important his job is and how much skill is involved in essentially relying information without comment or opinion. He's in that dangerous place where the general public like to think 'I could do his job'.

He counteracts this by conducting another Jedi mind trick. He convinces you that he works hard. I mean really hard. I mean hard in a way that you could not even understand. And he needs you to know this is what sets him apart. This is a man that let his wife tweet a sleeping picture of him to reinforce the idea of him 'never sleeping.' This is a man who celebrate's the idea of someone tweeting about stocks at 4.30am on the morning of his wedding and calls him 'my kind of guy.' Which is code for 'this guy never stops working, just like me.'

So when you watch him pontificate about the NFL on one of ESPN's shows and find yourself resenting his job and his profile, Schefter wants you to know that you couldn't possible put in as much time and effort as he does and that ultimately, you are destined for a life swilling beer, lying on the couch and resenting successful people like him.

I might have editorialised that last bit but Schefter is one of those people who uses the 'pull out the iPhone in a public place to make yourself look busy' routine. Except that when Schefter does it, he's on live TV. He doesn't need his wife to tweet supposed stolen pictures to confirm how busy he is, he provides us with visual confirmation on TV. Schefter is like one of those annoying friends who, every time you try to meet up with them they preface their answer with a 'been sooooo busy lately', before telling you that they might be able to squeeze you in next week. Fuck that guy.

Schefter's job seems to revolve around him acquiring as many friends and acquaintances as possible. His key skill is making sure people trust him enough to leak information to him and, according to this Washington Post profile, making sure he has something for them in return. He tells GM's that a certain player might be manoeuvring for a move so long as that GM can then provide him with information about what that team might be planning in the coming weeks.

And people love him for it. That's the biggest mystery behind all this. Schefter (Schefty to his pals) is a big deal at ESPN and sports media in general. His word is considered tantamount to the truth and when he talks, the sports world seems to listen. So who can blame him for feeding his ego alongside his wallet? People seem to value what he does and lap up his inane tweets about contract extensions for Eagles DB's 

Schefter doesn't offer any interesting analysis or insight and he comes across as rather pompous and arrogant during his spots on TV. I'm willing to wager a cool $5 that he was on corner duties for #TeamBritt during that PR disaster earlier this month. But Schefter's personality is not the problem here, it's his job title and profile in the sports media world that are troubling. The position of NFL insider promotes the idea of alliances and contacts over inquisitive and truth seeking reporting. It tells you that to make it to a position of prominence like Schefter you need to cosy up to as many important people as possible and be willing to engage in what is essentially just a more modern version of Chinese whispers. When it comes to achieving top billing at the World Wide Leader, ESPN would prefer you have as many friends as possible inside the NFL rather than dare to distance yourself from them, with a view to offering objective criticism.