Throughout the NFL season, fans will get their updates from the Twitter fingers of Ian Rapoport (and his NFL Network appearances and NFL.com articles). But how did he get this gig as the NFL Network/NFL.com Insider? And how does he feel about reporting on injuries, firings, cuts and other forms of negative news? Rapoport gave some perspective during an NFL Media preview event -- on the set of "Good Morning Football" -- before Week 1.

ThePostGame: When did you know you were going down the breaking news route?
IAN RAPOPORT: I think for me, I've always enjoyed breaking news. I've always enjoyed the telling people something they don't know part of it. So when I was covering the Patriots, there was a heavy focus on news, small, big, and I liked it. When NFL Network hired me, it was like, we're gonna put you on TV, you're gonna be one of our regional reporters in Dallas, but what would you think if you were our insider? I was like, I would love it, but I don't know if I could do it yet. So they were like, all right, be regional for a year and we'll readdress. And then that November, they were like, we want you to be our insider. Come to LA for Black Monday when all the coaches get hired and fired. We haven't broken one for three years. We'd love for you to break one. So I dedicated myself to that and I broke Lovie Smith getting fired, big surprise. And it's annoying that it was such a big moment for me and it was the end for him. Obviously, such a weird business. But that was kind of when I and the network were like, "OK, this guy can do this." So that was basically my job from then on. I lived a couple of years in Dallas, then moved to New York and I have been our insider for the last six to seven years.

TPG: You're breaking injuries and your breaking cuts sometimes. People just see the reporting. How is there a human side to all this?
RAPAPORT: I have to constantly remind myself that these are human beings. Not that you forget, but you see a guy go down on the field or last year...I love Deshaun Watson. He's a great player, he's a great guy. I know a lot of the same people he does. And I got a tip that he tore his ACL during practice. That's a big story that I ended up breaking, but you're going after it so hard, but you also have to be like the people you're talking to, it's the worst moment of their lives. And that balance is really difficult. There are times that I've missed big stories because you end up talking to people like humans or they say, "Look, it's terrible, yes, but give it a little bit before you put it out." And then someone else breaks it because you have to be human. But that's OK. That's life.

TPG: Do you think players and coaches get it? Or do you think people are mad at you even though you're just reporting the facts?
RAPOPORT: I would say there are always gonna be people mad at me. I'm so used to it by now that I'm just numb because you're always gonna put out something that someone doesn't like. It's always gonna be in some way that's not perfect for everyone. If it's a contract, it's not gonna look good for the team or the agent. An injury, someone's not gonna be happy with the timeline. For me, basically the way it is, if it's true, I'm fine. People will get angry, I always listen, I always call back, I always let everybody yell. But if it's true, it's fine. I will take that blowback.

TPG: Is there anything new this year? Any new tactics we should be ready for?
RAPOPORT: There is one new thing in the hopper that we're working on. It's not quite ready to be unveiled yet. I'll be in the same place, I'll be on all the same shows. We'll probably have a little more fun this year, which I'm looking forward to.

-- Follow Jeff Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband. Like Jeff Eisenband on Facebook.