Dan Murphy
Dan Murphy covers the collision of college sports, law and politics, treating the NCAA and its member schools as institutions of power rather than just backdrops for games. At ESPN he reports on how legislation, court rulings and regulatory fights reshape the business model of college athletics and the lives of athletes.
College sports as a political beat
Murphy approaches college athletics as a public policy story, following how lawmakers and regulators attempt to redefine the rules of the industry. His coverage of bipartisan college sports bills, including proposals that would cap athlete compensation and restrict transfers, focuses on what is written into the legislation, who is behind it, and how it would shift leverage between athletes, schools and the NCAA. He consistently treats congressional hearings, draft bills and statehouse debates as central documents in the future of college sports rather than as sideshows. Stories in this lane walk through key provisions in plain language, explain timelines for votes or implementation, and lay out how national politics and conference politics intersect.
He gives significant attention to the cast of political actors around college sports: senators and representatives who sponsor bills, lobbyists and advocacy groups aligned with the NCAA or with athlete-rights campaigns, and state officials experimenting with their own college sports laws. His reporting tracks how these power centers coordinate or clash, and he makes clear when proposals are symbolic and when they carry real enforcement teeth. Across this work, he treats college sports as a regulated industry subject to the same scrutiny as any other powerful business.
NIL, athlete pay and the business model of the NCAA
A major thread in Murphy’s work is the economics of college athletics, especially name, image and likeness (NIL) and direct athlete compensation.
He covers NIL collectives, school policies and proposed national standards with a focus on how money actually moves, who controls it and where the gray areas are. His stories spell out caps, revenue-sharing formulas and incentive structures that sit inside bills or NCAA proposals, translating dense regulatory language into clear terms. He pays close attention to the unintended consequences of new rules, including how they affect competitive balance, recruiting and the traditional claims of amateurism.
Murphy frequently situates NIL and compensation stories within the broader financial structure of the NCAA and major conferences, including media-rights deals, booster influence and institutional budgets. He brings in the voices of athletes, athletic directors, conference officials, lawyers and economists to test competing claims about fairness and sustainability. When settlements or new rules emerge, he focuses on who gains, who loses and what precedent has been set for the next round of negotiations or lawsuits.
The through-line is an insistence on treating athlete compensation as a serious labor and business issue rather than a novelty.
Legal fights, labor status and athlete rights
Murphy also follows the legal and labor battles that challenge the NCAA’s authority, from antitrust lawsuits to efforts to classify college athletes as employees. His reporting on cases in federal court or before labor regulators emphasizes the specific legal arguments, drawing out how judges and agencies interpret amateurism, employment status and antitrust law. He explains what each ruling or settlement means for day-to-day realities such as practice schedules, health coverage, scholarship security and the ability to unionize.
Within this thread he covers unionization drives, administrative complaints and other organizing efforts that test the boundary between student and employee.
He shows how these efforts connect to broader labor politics while staying rooted in the details of particular teams and campuses. Murphy also reports on athlete welfare and rights beyond pay, including health and safety standards, long-term care, and the mechanisms athletes have to hold institutions accountable. Across these stories, he tracks how power is redistributed when athletes, courts and regulators push back against the traditional NCAA model.
Institutional accountability and long-running stories
Alongside policy pieces and day-of developments, Murphy sustains coverage of institutional failures and accountability in college sports. He reports on investigations into misconduct and abuse, focusing on how schools, conferences and the NCAA respond once wrongdoing is exposed. His stories detail internal reviews, sanctions, policy changes and the limits of existing oversight systems. He returns to complex stories over time, documenting not just the initial scandal but the reforms, reversals and lingering gaps that follow.
Murphy’s work often combines document-driven reporting with extensive interviews, giving space both to institutional decision-makers and to those most affected by their decisions, such as athletes and former athletes. He tends to structure these pieces so that individual experiences illuminate systemic problems in governance, compliance or culture. Whether he is explaining a new college sports bill, unpacking a court decision or tracing the fallout from an institutional scandal, his reporting is defined by attention to power, process and the practical consequences for people inside the college sports system.
4 more politics journalists.
A.D. Quig
A.D. Quig follows money and power through Chicago and Cook County government, showing how political decisions, taxes and public spending affect residents and businesses. At the Chicago Tribune, she covers city and county politics, municipal finance, tax policy, budgets and the structures shaping mayoral and council authority. She joined the Tribune in 2022 after covering politics for Crain’s Chicago Business and The Daily Line. Her work examines council power, ethics rules, police leadership, tax incentives, public agencies and pandemic aid. She has reported on data center tax breaks, property tax errors, federal relief spending and the fiscal effects of major development proposals. Quig combines insider government reporting with public accountability journalism. She uses public records, data and budget documents, follows committees and staff negotiations, and explains complex decisions in plain language with precise numbers and a direct link to everyday consequences.
Adam Daly
Adam Daly covers politics for amNewYork with a focus on the inner workings of city and state government and the low-profile forums where power is exercised and negotiated. He reports on commissions and panels that shape how New York is governed, treating charter reform and government efficiency as central political terrain. His coverage of moves to replace an Adams-era charter commission with a new government efficiency panel foregrounds mandate, authority, and what “efficiency” means in practice for agencies and services. He tracks who gains and loses influence when one commission supplants another and which constituencies are being answered to. Daly explains dense procedural questions in clear, reader-facing terms, using specific institutional details and occasional wordplay to connect jargon-heavy reforms to public spending, service delivery, and mayoral power.
Adam Pack
Adam Pack covers Capitol Hill through power struggles, investigations and ideological fights, focusing on how Congress intersects with Donald Trump’s agenda. He is a politics writer on Fox News Digital’s Capitol Hill team, covering Congress, federal elections, legislative battles, election rules, war powers, primaries and intraparty fights. He previously wrote for the Daily Caller News Foundation. His reporting examines deadlines, vote counts, bill language, campaign spending, court rulings, oversight reports, culture clashes and emerging issues such as AI-backed political groups. He has covered FISA reauthorization, defense spending, the SAVE America Act, housing policy, redistricting, candidate absences, primary spending and disputes over sex, gender, religion and race-based caucuses. He reports primarily through news features and investigative-style pieces built around documents, committee reports, court records, unearthed video and specific legislative details. He often co-writes complex Capitol Hill stories and publishes “FIRST ON FOX” exclusives.
Adam Sullivan
Adam Sullivan is a veteran politics reporter for WCAX who connects elections and party disputes to everyday life. He covers statewide races, party primaries, federal representation, political rhetoric, extremism, and accountability across the Upper Valley and neighboring states. His reporting includes Becca Balint’s victory over Molly Gray in the Democratic U.S. House primary to replace Congressman Peter Welch. He also reports when political controversies affect public safety, political culture, towns, and institutions, including a New Hampshire Libertarian Party post endorsing violence against elected Democrats. Sullivan follows cultural stories with civic consequences, such as Noah Kahan’s appeal to fans to stop stealing a Strafford road sign linked to his music. He writes straight news centered on concrete events, official reactions, political context, community impact, and what comes next.