Monthly Archives: May 2008
What They’re Saying, May 30, 2008
Some of the sports media columnists are out with new pieces today. Here’s what they are writing about…
Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes about NBC’s upcoming coverage of the French Open.
On to New York where Neil Best at Newsday has the story of CBS delving into the world of Mixed Martial Arts
Richard Sandomir at the NY Times has a similar report, as well as numbers from the NHL Finals
Bob Raissman at the NY Daily News has more on the latest in terms of coverage of the Willie Randolph Managerial mess.
Phil Mushnick at the NY Post has his pointed take on the firing of Pittsburgh talker Mark Madden.
David Barron at the Houston Chronicle writes about the new VP at FSN Houston.
Tom Hoffarth at the LA Daily News has more on the MMA on CBS.
John Scheibe at the LA Times previews Joe Torre’s return to the Big Apple with ESPN’s Joe Morgan.
Michael Hiestand at USA Today also writes about NBC and the French Open…talking to Mary Carillo.
More MMA talk with Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald .
Doug Nye at The State has the story of a lack of TV options for U. of South Carolina baseball fans in the upcoming post season.
Guess what Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star is writing about? MMA on CBS!
And so is John Maffei at the North County Star.
Add Dave Darling at the Orlando Sentinel to the mix.
Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has the story of sports radio leader KFAN acquiring the rights to Minnesota Timberwolves games.
Ray Frager at the Baltimore Sun has his weekly local media notebook.
Teddy Greenstein at the Chicago Tribune has an update on the debut soon at ESPN of Rick Reilly.
Jay Posner at the San Diego Union Tribune writes that ratings for the Padres mirror the team’s poor start.
You Can’t Say That on the Radio
You gotta love sports radio hosts who think they can use their bully pulpit to spew whatever they want. Well, they can’t.
Here is a story out of Pittsburgh where 1250 ESPN Radio host Mark Madden was fired this week for comments he made during last Wednesday’s show. Apparently Madden opened his show with a reaction to the news that Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor;
“I’m very disappointed to hear that Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumor. I always hoped Senator Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated.”
Classy.
When will these sports radio shock jocks learn that we tune in to listen to you talk about the game? We don’t want to hear your personal jabs on politics, entertainment, or anything else. There are other outlets for that.
Madden is just another example of a host who thinks he is bigger than the sports he talks about. He learned the hard way that he is not.
While I’m Away
I enjoy writing for this blog and I wish I could contribute more. But I hope you all understand that I do not get paid for this endeavor and my work and family life take precedence.
These priorities will keep me away for about a week or so as my family and I take a well deserved vacation. Don’t worry…I’ll be back around Memorial Day. Please come back.
What They’re Saying, May 16, 2008
The sports media columnists are at it again. Here are some of what they are writing today…
Le Anne Schreiber has her latest Ombudsman report on the workings at ESPN…
Plenty of local media notes today. David Barron at the Houston Chronicle has some local sports radio fodder.
Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the story of the Brewers making an appearance on Fox’ national baseball coverage tomorrow.
Mel Bracht at the Oklahoman has the latest news coming out of Bristol, CT this week concerning the revamped SportsCenter.
George Thomas at the Akron Beacon Journal adds his thoughts on the ESPN move.
Neil Best at Newsday reports on the Mets’ radio voice calling a game from the cheap seats.
Elsewhere in Gotham, Richard Sandomir at the NY Times writes that more women are playing prominent roles behind the mic.
Bob Raissman at the NY Daily News reports Fox has softened its practice of televising as many Yankees-Nets match-ups as possible.
AT the NY Post Phil Mushnick looks at how youth is being served in big-stakes poker.
Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald writes about how the NBA likes to keep the inner workings of the NBA Draft lottery behind closed doors.
John Schiebe at the LA Times discusses how NBC will ultimately handle the tragedy of Eight Belles in this weekend’s coverage of the Preakness.
Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star also has a piece on NBC’s Preakness coverage
Over at the LA Daily News, Tom Hoffarth has his take on the ESPN news. Here’s more from his blog.
More ESPN notes from John Maffei at the North County Times.
In Boston, the Herald reports that NESN contributor Jim Rice will soon be making a new pitch.
At the Boston Globe, Nancy Marrapese-Burrell tells us a former Red Sox bench player is making strides in the media.
Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has some Minnesota sports radio news..
From Baltimore Ray Frager of the Baltimore Sun has a local take on the coverage of The Preakness.
You can get some Windy City media news from Teddy Greenstein at the Chicago Tribune.
Jay Posner at the San Diego Union Tribune takes on the local Padres’ announcing team for blaming the poor play by the team on others outside the clubhouse.
Dave Darling at the Orlando Sentinel has a talk with ESPN’s Steve Phillips.
The Herald’s John Tomase Responds
Another chapter in the erroneous report that the Patriots videotaped the Rams walkthrough at Super Bowl XXXVI came about today from the Boston Herald beat writer who penned the story, John Tomase.
In my post earlier this week I questioned the reality that some reporters rush to judgement on stories in this 24/7 news cycle we all live in. Tomase revealed as much when he wrote:
The confirmed presence of a member of the team’s video staff at the walkthrough reinforced my belief that it was filmed. Secondhand sourcing took on added weight. When I got word that other reporters had picked up the scent, it only steeled my resolve not to get beat.
In the piece Tomase gave readers a general overview of how the story developed. He then admitted where, in hindsight, the story all went awry:
I already had been able to verify that a member of the team’s video staff had been setting up a camera at the walkthrough, but on the final, crucial point of whether the camera was actually rolling, I made a devastating leap of logic and assumed that’s what I was being told rather than confirming it explicitly. I considered the fact that it was taped unassailable.
And this is the exact point at which the story broke down.
Despite other media reports, Tomase said he did not rely on only one source for the story. Outside this blog, I have wanted Tomase to revel his sources, especially if they had deliberately misled him in any way. This guy’s reputation is on the line if if I had been purposely misled, my internal defense mechanism would have kicked in. But it appears these sources did not intentionally mislead Tomase. You can sense this in his tone:
There has been a clamoring for me to identify the sources used in my story. This I cannot do. When a reporter promises anonymity, he can’t break that promise simply because he comes under fire. I gave my word, and the day I break that word is the day sources stop talking to me.
I accept that explanation. I would have liked to have seen more details as to the specific evidence Tomase amassed in developing the story. Those did not come.
Although he did sound contrite, I am sure some will not be forgiving after reading Tomase’s piece. New England fans are really steamed over the media coverage of this story, this one included.
Let’s hope all of us in the sports media have learned something from this episode. Although I doubt we did.
