The True Story Of The J-School Grad Who Landed A Brooklyn Bar Sit-Down With Mikhail Prokhorov

The Mikhail Prokhorov media train passed through the New York area this week. It was a fairly routine junket — a press conference and an interview with Mike Francesa — with one exception: a one-on-one with Vinnie Rotondaro. Wait, who?

Exactly. Vinnie Rotondaro, a "this-week"-recent graduate of Columbia Journalism School and sometime blogger for Brooklyn Ink and HuffPo, was the lucky recipient of a sit-down interview — over English Breakfast tea, no less — with the international man of mystery that is the new Nets owner.

Prokhorov — who is quickly proving to be some sort of genius — decided it would be great PR to have a Brooklyn blogger interview him about the borough and his plans to become part of the community. So he had one of his handlers look into the matter and Rotondaro was chosen, and the two met in a Carroll Gardens tavern, of all places.

The New York Observer has the story of how the interview came about, and unsurprisingly it involves mysterious emails and strange phone numbers. Brooklyn Ink has the full interview. Both deserve a look.

Tea Time with Mikhail Prokhorov [Brooklyn Ink] Meet Vinnie Rotondaro, The J-School Grad Who Scored a Prokhorov Exclusive [New York Observer]