Three items: I read the Deadspin report before leaving work last night. After missing my train, I was at Union Station waiting for the next one at the bar. Comfortably intoxicated, I looked up at the screen where ESPN2 was airing some college basketball game and saw the ticker where they were citing Deadspin for this story, and I honestly was not sure if I was seeing things.
A few members of the general media (Dan Wetzel in particular, who's someone I respect) seem to have latched onto one sentence in the article: "A friend of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo told us he was '80 percent sure' that Manti Te'o was 'in on it,' and that the two perpetrated Lennay Kekua's death with publicity in mind." They say that they wouldn't have gone to press with that level of confidence. To which I would politely and firmly call bullshit. If that's the only thing you've got doubt on (whether or not Te'o was in on this thing the whole way), every other piece is rock solid, and that's enough to make you hesitate running this story, I don't quite know what you're doing, but it sure as all hell ain't being a journalist. As I wrote online last night, in 2001 the Chicago Tribune wrote an epic story about a single day at O'Hare where an unexpected thunderstorm threw everything into utter chaos. It was a gripping read, and I remember thinking "This has got to win a Pulitzer." Sure enough it did. I've never read something and had that exact thought cross my mind again until last night. If this doesn't win a Pulitzer, I don't know what the hell does. On Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 3:21 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > Anyone with an internet connection functioning today must be aware of the > bomb Deadspin set off yesterday with its story demonstrating that one of the > linchpins in Teo's "inspirational" Notre Dame football season story was a > fraud: > > http://deadspin.com/5976517/manti-teos-dead-girlfriend-the-most-heartbreaking-and-inspirational-story-of-the-college-football-season-is-a-hoax > > The first thing I want to note is what a great job Deadspin (Timothy Burke > and Jack Dickey) appear to have done on this story. It is very complicated > (especially for one, like me, who had not followed the fake version of the > story very closely all season) but they lay it out in an organized and well > supported manner (even if they continue their tradition of burying the lead > in their important stories). > > The second thing is just how embarrassed ESPN (and every other major sports > media outfit) ought to be today. I am home sick with what I hope are only > flu-like symptoms (I did get that flu shot last month) and have had ESPN and > the Deuce and Dan Patrick on my TV since I woke up, and it has been > practically non-stop Manti Teo. Many of the sports authorities have been > rather defensive ("what should I do, ask for his grandmother's birth > certificate too?") - which seems to miss the fundamental problem. > Periodically sports journalists get seduced and hijacked by "feel good" > stories, and they fail to realize that they suddenly have a huge conflict of > interest - the feel-good story drives ratings and viewer/reader interest, > and often the public greets even basic objectivity and critical reporting > with hostility. I doubt that anyone at ESPN knowingly sat on evidence of > this fraud, but they certainly had no self-interest in questioning the party > line story, even when important elements in it just did not add up. We saw > something similar for years in both the baseball and, even more, Lance > Armstrong PED and Doping stories. > > ESPN likes to point to the firewall they set up between their programming > and investigative reporting arms, but this has always been something of a > joke, and the Armstrong and now Teo stories are making that manifest for all > to see. They need to do some serious thinking about how to set up a really > independent reporting division in Bristol. > > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
