Jack Dickey was one of the writers for the dead spin who helped debunk Manti Te’o’s infamous story about his “dead girlfriend” who never existed. He and his team did extensive research and published the paper less than five days after he got hold of the exclusive information.
Let’s hear his story along with information about his dating life or marriage. So keep scrolling down to start with!
Netflix’s The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist: Meet Deadspin Reporter Jack Dickey
Jack Dickey was a college student with a passion for sports and working a part-time job while studying and “behind the times” on his senior thesis. He was busy breaking one of the biggest, weirdest stories to ever happen in the world of sports. He co-wrote the Manti Te’o scam story for dead spin with Timothy Burke.
As the story goes, it all started with a tip. Manti received widespread media attention in the fall of 2012 when he said that his grandmother and his girlfriend had died within hours of each other. But the girlfriend never existed.
“I was home in Guilford when we got this information as an employee,” Dickey said. Register New Haven. “I said to myself, ‘This is cool, I’m going to look into it.’” The more he and Timothy investigated, the more they realized this was a significant scoop. However, Jack didn’t understand the true scope of their revelation until dead spinThe entire staff worked to complete everything in just five days.
“[Deadspin editor-in-chief] Tommy Craggs and Burke helped me with the research on Friday afternoon, then Tim and I spent the weekend, all of Monday and most of Tuesday trying to figure out the mystery of this story. [Writers] Dom Cosentino and Tom Ley also made a series of calls after that. Then Craggs and [managing editor] Tom Scocca edited the content Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, and then we were basically ready to go.”
Speaking more about his working relationship with Timothy, he said Post“Burke and I divided and conquered both the reporting and writing sides. For the reporting, Burke used social media while I focused on the press coverage of Kekua—both broadcast and print. Then, as we began to get a fuller picture of the characters involved—around Monday morning—Burke tracked down the woman in Lennay’s photo, and some people accused Ronaiah Tuiasosopo of being behind the hoax.”
“I was trying to piece together Ronaiah Tuiasosopo’s life story, and trying to find people who knew him,” Jack added. “Burke had more opportunities than I did in this process. He had a handful of people who spoke to him; I probably made 20 phone calls and left more Facebook messages and only got one person to answer the phone. (I really wanted to talk to Ronaiah, but he didn’t respond to me or Craggs.)”
They published the article on January 16, 2013. The story became international news.
“It was a surprise,” Dickey said. “We thought it was going to be a big college football story that would have a big impact on sports media. It had a much bigger impact than we expected.” By February 2013, the story had been viewed 4 million times. As co-writer, he had gained worldwide recognition after countless interviews and even a few TV appearances.
“I did all the trashy tabloid shows like Inside Edition, Extra, and Access Hollywood,” Jack said. “Tim was on, like Anderson Cooper and MSNBC.” He realized it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
At the time, Jack explained, “I will never get over this. I don’t think it can happen. This is the biggest story in the history of this site. … For us to have an exclusive like this again, I can’t foresee that happening again. Of course, I would love it if it did.”
Jack Dickey’s Age
Jack Dickey was born in 1990, as of August 2022, he is 31 years old. He celebrates his birthday on September 25.
Jack Dickey’s Career
Jack Dickey moved to New York City to attend Columbia University. As an editor for Deadspin, TIME, and now Sports Illustrated, Jack has written about everything from sports to politics and everything in between. He was at Gawker Media (Deadspin) from January 2011 to July 2013.
He worked for Time Magazine from 2013 to 2016. During his time there, he won the 2015 Nellie Bly Cub Reporting Award from the New York Press Club. Jack wrote cover stories about Taylor Swift and the disappearing American holiday. He also wrote profiles of Jason Chaffetz, Nate Silver, Alton Brown, and David Zaslav for the magazine.
Jack’s other awards include his appearance in Best American Sports Writing of 2014.
Among the many articles that Jack wrote, some of his favorites were: How Charley Pride Went From Negro League Baseball Player to Country Music’s Jackie Robinson, Millennials and More, Welcome to the Baker Mayfield Show, Grimes Against Humanity, Can Garry Kasparov Keep Staying One Step Ahead of Vladimir Putin?, And “The Power of Taylor Swift among other things.
He belongs to the Communications Workers of America and the New York NewsGuild. Interestingly, Jack won Jeopardy twice in 2018, taking home a prize of $46,802. A longtime Mets fan, Jack often expresses his frustration when his favorite baseball team doesn’t do well.
Talk to News AssociationJack has shared that if he hadn’t pursued journalism, he would have been the general manager of the Mets or a federal prosecutor. Meanwhile, his list of favorite writers includes Tom Wolfe and Edith Wharton.
Does Jack Dickey use Instagram and Twitter?
Yes, Jack Dickey is on Instagram (@dickeyjack), Facebook (@jackdickeySI) and Twitter (@jackdickey).
Jack Dickey’s Wife
Jack Dickey may not be married but it seems like he is currently in a relationship. His girlfriend is named Jessica K Roy. They have been in a relationship since at least 2015. Jessica is currently working as the Digital Director at Elle Magazine. She joined Elle Magazine as an Associate Editor.
Jessica has also worked at New York University as a Visiting Professor, New York Magazine as a News Editor, Time Magazine as a News Feed Editor, and Betabeat as a Staff Writer, among others. She holds a BA in New Media and Journalism from New York University.
While their current relationship status remains unclear, they were reportedly together in March 2021.
Related FAQs
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Where did Jack Dickey come from?
According to his blog, Jack Dickey was born in Guilford, Connecticut. He currently lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York.
Jack was born to Dr. Andrea Silber and Dr. Phillip Dickey. He has an older sister named Olivia Dickey.
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Where did Jack Dickey receive his education?
Jack Dickey completed his high school education at Phillips Academy. He then attended Columbia University in New York City, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 2013.