NFL insider gets brutally honest about sources

Being an NFL insider isn’t for the faint of the heart.

Dianna Russini was candid about how the insider game works, acknowledging in a recent interview on the Awful Announcing podcast that there’s competition for sources and that insiders often have similar ones. The Athletic’s senior NFL insider, Russini, told host Brandon Contes that she has a few sources that will be very open with her.

They’ll tell her that they like her work and appreciate working with her but that they’ve known someone like Adam Schefter for 30 years. They don’t know her as well as Schefter but want to work on building up the relationship to a similar degree.

“I have a few of those,” she revealed on The Awful Announcing Podcast . “And I also have the other side of it, where they don’t want to deal with Adam and Ian (Rapoport) anymore — they’re worn out. And a fresh voice, a fresh new perspective, and a new relationship seem to be something that I’ve been able to take advantage of now. There are so many people in this league that want to talk. And there’s so many people in this league that want to talk and build a trusting relationship with reporters.

“I’ve spent the last year really trying to step outside of my comfort zone because we all have sort of a foundation of people we talk to all the time. And, I put so much effort into the combine and the draft and owner’s meetings and other events, to meet more people outside of – I’ll call them my safe space — and really trying to get better making sure every team’s covered from ownership down, all the way to the smallest people on staff to just keep growing the Rolodex.”

Ultimately, the success of an NFL insider appears to hinge on a combination of journalistic skill, interpersonal abilities and an unwavering commitment to expanding one’s professional network.

And it appears Russini embodies all those qualities — and then some. It explains why ESPN sought to retain her, even offering a high-profile radio co-hosting role with Mike Greenberg. However, she opted for a more independent path at The Athletic, where she had to forge her own network of sources without the established platforms of ESPN and Schefter.

She’s doing quite well for herself and now co-hosts Scoop City podcast with ex-NFL quarterback Chase Daniel.

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