In both the media and sports worlds there is no shortage of egos. To be successful the ego probably needs to be in play but not destructive. Max was asked how he keeps his under control.
“I think that’s a battle,” he said. “I think the worst thing that can happen to you sometimes is you get complimented by people. I think in Minnesota we really live in the (type of) society that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. …But you don’t see all the people that don’t say anything to you that think you stink.
“I will tell you the one thing that has kept me humble over the years is I’ve seen people that I didn’t think were very good, and I’ve seen people go up to them and tell them how great they are. They may be don’t think I am any good either.
“But you’re constantly battling that (ego) because this is an intoxicating profession in some respects that you’ve got to be very leery of I think, and really guard against. It’s easy to get sucked up if something goes well.”
There’s another challenge that Max is well aware of and that’s the cultural change in how the news is reported. The delivery systems including TV, radio and web have become more diverse leaving those in the news business trying to figure out how they can both most effectively and profitably report the news to consumers. Max isn’t sure what the rapidly changing landscape will look like in the future but he’s sure there will be a need for successful reporters.
“If you do your job well, if you become a great reporter, then there’ll be a need for you and it won’t matter what the media mix is,” he said. “But I think the more interesting question is what’s the media going to be.”
Mike Max, though, is too busy week-to-week to worry a lot about the future.