Tom Loewy wrote sports for the Register-Mail when he first came to Galesburg. I didn’t know what to think of him, he was from Peoria. But I realized maybe he could become the opposite of Jane Miller- someone who started in Peoria and finished in Galesburg.
From perspective, Tom is good at what he does because he is a great listener. Some writers have in mind what the story is supposed to be- so they keep asking forms of the same question over and over until they succeed in getting the exact sound bite they want. Often with both players and with coaches after a game, Tom would start by saying one of two things,
A- “What do you think happened tonight?”
B- “I don’t know a lot about basketball, but it seems like _______ happened, is that accurate?”
And as a coach, you always had a sense that he just wanted to listen. And after he listened to your answer, there would be a pause, and he would then ask a question that probed your answer. It was obvious he really wanted to make sure he understood the game from your perspective. It didn’t mean when he was done that he agreed with my analysis, but he understood. In all of the year’s Tom covered girls basketball, he never once misquoted me. Sometimes he might clean up the grammar, and actually made me sound more intelligent- but the bottom line was that I always felt he quoted me accurately.
