Prior to last night's interview with ESPN, Bobby Knight
spent 70 minutes speaking with seven print reporters who
were deemed "fair" in their coverage of Knight, according to
Horne & Ambrogi of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR, who note among
those seven, "at least one considered himself a friend" of
Knight's. The seven reporters were the Bloomington Herald-
Times' Lynn Houser & Mike Leonard, the Washington Post's
William Gildea, The Sporting News' Dave Kindred, the N.Y.
Post's Ursula Reel, the Lexington Herald-Leader's Billy Reed
and the St. Petersburg Times' Hubert Mizell. Horne &
Ambrogi note that "some, like Kindred ... have known Knight
since he began coaching at IU 29 years ago." Other
reporters who tried to attend the event were told that it
was "by invitation only, and that invitees had been promised
an exclusive." Indianapolis Star Exec Editor Timothy
Franklin said that he was "puzzled" by Knight's refusal to
talk to the state's "largest news organization." Franklin:
"Especially since administrators at the highest levels of
the university have told me they thought our news coverage
was fair" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/31). Kindred called the
atmosphere of the session "light and humorous." Kindred, on
suggestions by critics that Knight "took only friendly fire"
from the group: "I think tough questions were asked, but
they weren't asked harshly" (USA TODAY, 5/31).
