An entertainment and sports journalist, Landon Buford was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Richardson, TX. He received his associate degree in Arts and Science from Bellevue College in Bellevue, Washington, and his BSc in Social Sciences from Washington State University.
After completing his WSU degree, Landon worked with Norris Frederick, a member of the U.S. track and field team, as a marketing intern. Frederick is recognized as the most decorated athlete in the State of Washington.
Over the past five years, Buford had the pleasure of interviewing sports figures such as Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Steph Curry, Dallas Mavericks Governor Mark Cuban, Dirk Nowitzki, and Dwyane Wade.
He also had the opportunity to interview artists such as Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Kenny G, Wyclef Jean, and David Banner.
His work has been mentioned in The Miami Herald, Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports, USA Today Sports, ESPN, International Business Times, Heavy.com, Sports Illustrated, Business Insider, Sporting News, The Ringer, Page Six, and XXL Magazine.
Buford currently operates the LandonBuford.com website and contributes to Sports Illustrated Forty-Eight Minutes.com.
He also is an NBA credential media member covering the Dallas Mavericks.
1. What inspired you to become a Journalist?
I always wanted to help tell stories that the mainstream media lacked or neglected. So, I started telling stories about people who were in my community after I graduated from university. It started with people in my community and then it grew from there.
2. Can you share with us how you were able to obtain your NBA Media credentials?
I was contributing to a company based out of Indianapolis, Indiana, called The Hype Magazine at the time. It was almost a year removed from relocating back to Dallas from Seattle Washington. I reached out to the Mavericks Public Relations rep at the time and the person replied to me that they hadn’t credentialed anyone from the outlet before and my response was no one from the outlet reached out inquiring about credentials either until then. The initial response was they were full to capacity.
However, I wouldn’t take no for an answer and started asking for single-game passes until I was given the opportunity to come in and prove myself. The first game I was credentialed in was the night the Dallas Mavericks retired Derek Harper’s jersey. During the press conference, I made my presence known by asking what caught the attention of the Mavericks’ Publications Rep, and never looked back.
3. If you had to pick one interview that you did, which one was your favorite and why?
A couple of years ago, I conducted an interview with Shira Lazar, who is the CEO & Founder of What’s Trending after she followed me on Twitter. I reached out via Twitter DMs [Direct Messages] and then later via email. The interview was originally supposed to be 15-30 minutes. Instead, it turned into an hour-and-a-half interview. During the interview, we discussed everything from what inspired her to enter the entertainment business, her early obstacles as a reporter, and what she looked for when looking to hire potential interns and employees.
What intrigued me about her story though after she was let go from CBS after a false tweet about Apple Founder Steve Jobs passing at the time was shared on her company page What’s Trending. She took responsibility for the mistake owned up to it and was able to continue building her company and continuing to break industry barriers in the process.
4. What advice would you give to anyone that has a passion?
My advice is that you'll never know if it's for you till you decide to do it. Most missed opportunities are those that we do not choose to seize. I never want to look back and say that I should have done something when I had the chance to pursue this passion at the time.
5. what advice would like to share with aspiring journalists out there?
Start your own blogs and cover the topics that you are interested in as a portfolio because you never know what is going to happen. Every editorial position I had was an opportunity that I thought could have been my big break, and if something would happen I would be let go. In between gigs I have been able to keep my name relevant because I have had my own platform to keep creating a releasing content that my audience likes to read. Having your own platform to fall back on would be my biggest piece of advice for upcoming journalists.
6. What is next for Landon Buford?
To provide a platform for inspiring journalists to intern or work for that will help them not only make an honest living but also give them the opportunity to get their foot indoors as a journalist.
Stay connected with Landon Buford:
Website: https://landonbuford.com/
https://www.instagram.com/landonbuford/
https://twitter.com/LandonBuford
