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.
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.
Alex Swoyer
Alex Swoyer covers national politics through the lens of the law, treating court cases and filings as core political documents rather than a separate legal niche. She reports for the Washington Times on the Supreme Court, federal courts and the justice system’s intersection with campaigns, Congress and the presidency. Her coverage follows political disputes as they move into courtrooms, focusing on cases that affect elections, executive power, immigration, religious liberty and gun rights. She explains opinions, dissents and procedural moves in plain language, grounding stories in briefs, oral arguments, orders and government records, then pairing them with reaction from officials, strategists and advocacy groups. She also reports on election rules, January 6 prosecutions, politically sensitive investigations, Republican Party dynamics and campaign‑trail narratives, using straight news, explainers and roundups to show how law, institutions and political ambition meet.
Alexander Mallin
Alexander Mallin stands out for turning dense Justice Department and federal court actions into clear, step-by-step reporting for ABC News. He covers politics through law enforcement and the courts, with a core beat on special counsel investigations, federal prosecutions, and clashes between the executive branch, Congress, and federal prosecutors. His reporting tracks interview transcripts, subpoena fights, indictments, plea deals, trial outcomes, and other court filings, especially in cases tied to President Joe Biden, the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and other high-profile political conflicts. He also covers transparency fights over investigative records and explains the statutes, rules, and institutional mechanics behind grand juries, redactions, and special counsel appointments. His stories are document-heavy, restrained, and focused on what prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges are doing on the record.
Allie Kelly
Allie Kelly is a politics reporter at Business Insider who treats US politics as a story about personalities, performance, and the internet. She covers the intersection of political figures, online culture, and how power is exercised in public. Her work follows elected officials and rising players across parties, focusing on how they brand themselves, test messages, and respond to scrutiny. She often writes about memes, viral moments, and tools like meme coins as real campaign tactics and communication strategies. Her reporting explains how digital culture shapes electoral politics, party tensions, and governance. She favors short, accessible pieces built around vivid examples, like a lawmaker launching a DOGE-style coin, to explain broader trends. She uses clear, plain language, grounding each story in who holds power, what they are doing, and why their online choices matter.