BSPN: The Incompetent Sports Media
by Anthony21 on Jun 10, 2009 2:07 PM CDT
in Favregeddon
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Print***Updated: 6/11***
The sports media has never been perfect -- any regular reader of sports blogs has undoubtedly come across a blogger slamming a personality on ESPN, taking apart an opinion piece by a commentator for one of the major sports websites, or questioning the credibility of a certain reporter.
But I've never seen so much incompetent journalism, such disregard for industry ethics, and so much false information being produced by media outlets as I have during the Brett Favre saga.
Rich Schwartz of Yahoo! Sports reported in May that Favre would stay retired -- a report that was fishy at the time and has now been revealed as downright wrong. Shooter reported about a month ago that Favre was preparing to undergo surgery -- that report was directly contradicted less than 24 hours later by Ed Werder, and we still don't really know who was right. In early May, Zulgad and Scoggins reported that Childress had hopped on a flight to Hattiesburg to meet with Favre -- but that never happened. Peter King told us on Memorial Day that the Vikings wanted a decision from Favre before June 1st -- whoops, wrong again. And finally, Werder and Chris Mortensen reported on Monday that a deadline of this week had been imposed on Favre by Childress -- a report Chilly called "not even close."
How the hell is the media getting away with this? More after the jump...
Of all the downright irresponsible reporting that has characterized the media's coverage of Favregeddon, the latest reports by Werder and Mortensen take the cake. Folks, there was never any deadline imposed on Favre, and I'm thrilled Pat Kirwan called out ESPN as having 'made up' that report. Werder and Mortensen were 100% wrong, and the way they tried to cover-up their irresponsible journalism is downright shameless.
I'm talking about their latest report of the Vikings "temporarily suspending" the pursuit of Favre because the quarterback didn't show up at the OTAs. People with a good bullsh*t detector undoubtedly raised their eyebrows at this news, which is little more than a sorry attempt to avoid embarrassment for the irresponsible deadline report.
Simply put, there's no good reason for the Vikings to ask Favre to attend the OTAs WHEN HE ISN'T EVEN UNDER CONTRACT YET. Not to mention the irrationality of imposing a deadline on him WHEN HE'S RECOVERING FROM SURGERY. Ultimately, then, I'm left to conclude that Werder and Mortensen are simply attempting to cover their asses. They will avoid embarrassment when Favre isn't in purple by the end of the week, but they'll still look correct if he signs later in the month or in July. Frankly, they're two of the most shameless sports reporters I've ever seen.
ESPN looks absolutely terrible now, because thankfully, people are seeing right through this sorry attempt by Werder and Mortensen to avoid humiliation. Those two are the victims of an ultra-competitive sports media industry in which you've gotta do what it takes to break the story, to be the first to the punch.
But really, does it matter who's first to the punch? Do you remember who broke the news of the Jared Allen trade, the Randy Moss trade, the firing of Mike Tice, the hiring of Brad Childress? I sure as hell don't. Would we really prefer a do-whatever-it-takes media climate in which reporters relentlessly push to be the first to break stories, or would we prefer a responsible sports media that values getting it right and building trust with its readers?
No, the Vikings never imposed a deadline on Brett Favre, and no, they probably haven't "suspended" any pursuit of him, either. I don't trust a word coming out of ESPN, SI, or anyone else. In fact, I doubt anything's changed recently in Favregeddon aside from the surgery Favre apparently underwent in May. That seems to be one of the few aspects of this saga that hasn't been contradicted in the media, so it's safe to assume he had the operation.
And that makes me wonder: What exactly did we accomplish in the last two days? Well, nothing really -- we were led on a wild goose chase. That's certainly made me a more critical consumer of sports media -- I knew full well about all the false Favre reports that had been run in the media prior to this week, but to change attitudes about how we deal with the media, it takes truly incompetent reporting . Werder and Mortensen provided just that.
Update:
Sports talk radio host 'The Groz' of 950 KJR in Seattle referenced this post in a great rant:
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We exhausted the fans from chasing around news reports
And probably caused a general decline in work efficiency.
Other than that, nothing.
Oh, and my grade on the media is a D minus. In their rush to “get the news first” they published false report after false report, but it eventually got Childress to interview with KFAN this morning and set the record straight. If it wasn’t for that, it would be a F in the bottom of a barrel that’s been submerged into a rank sewer.
When you go to somebody's house, you don't crap on their floor. Being a fan of one team does NOT give you license to be a dick to fans of another.
If you love him, or hate him...
At least Favre is keeping the offseason a little interesting. We’re all sick of him, but at least we have something to talk about during this awful time. We don’t have a shiny new QB (Chicago) or a QB of the future (Detroit) or even a flashy new defense (Green Bay), but we do have the good ol’ boy from Mississippi.
It’s pretty much “when,” and not “if” anymore, which is fine. I hate him, but I’ll learn to deal with it.
And like I said, shoddy reporting or not, at least we’re discussing. Too bad they weren’t as accurate. And it’s not like it was the Vikings organization jerking us around; they didn’t really say anything, and though they could have, they by no means have to address anything that could be considered a rumor. No fault there.
All in all, it’s been at least a little interesting, if nothing else.
Visit:
http://www.vikingvigil.com
Skol Vikings!
Woot Woot!
Great Graphic By Anthony
“I say we get someone to do a graphic of that little guy pissing on Chevy, Ford or whatever they hate. Have them do it on the ESPN logo and e mail it to their executives and producers every time they come up with another stupid tidbit to yank our chains with.”
Upon my posting of this, Anthony was quick to jump on my request (thanks Anthony).
It is a shot of the little dude peeing on the ESPN logo. I have already sent it to many of my Vikings Friends.
Check it out on the “Favre Too Much” article. Clip this to an e-mail to ESPN every time they come up with a stupid Favre rumor.
Have a Favreless day my friends.
Correction
Cartoon was on Vikings Suspend Persuit of Favre.
One writer suggest we do it on a Favre jersey of helmet. Can you produce that Anthony?
i gave em a D
would have been an F but they got bonus points for mentioning the vikings.
by iseepurplepeople on Jun 10, 2009 3:21 PM CDT reply actions
I gave them a C which definetly put me in the minority
If it had been a grade for ESPN the last few days I would have piled on an F, but Pat Kirwin, also a reporter, called BS on the story the same day it aired so overall reporting on the Favre saga rates a C.
As you hammer the reporters, remember that they are dealing with a guy who is documented to change his mind about 4 times a year. I think any sports reporter who gets confirmation from a second source should run with a deadline story, so my questions for ESPN are: Did you have 2 credible sources? and What the crap do these sources have to say now that Chili has spoken?
A few other points, in a league full of misdirection, can anyone think of other reasons a deadline story may have been intentionally leaked to reporters? Could it affect contract negotiations maybe between Favre and the FO? Maybe a failed attempt by the FO to shift some power out of Farve’s hands and push him to finalize a contract? Maybe not everyone in the FO wants Farve?
How about reasons the Farve camp might leak it? A little ego boost for Farve? The wife realizes after 20 years, him being gone most of the year is a good thing and is tired of him being at home? Buzz Cook wants a commission? After all thier offical line is still “Favre is retired, as of right now.” Which we all seem to agree is a BS smoke screen probably just to allow Farve to save face if the arm never makes it back and he decides not to play.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Jun 10, 2009 4:06 PM CDT reply actions
Great article Anthony
You pretty much sum up my animosity towards NFL reporters right now.
How can they get away with such irresponsible reporting? Don’t they realize how many fans out there aren’t as gung-ho and intuitive as we are, and believe what is being reported to them? I don’t know how many times recently I’ve had to tell a friend, who’s harassing me about the Vikes/Brett topic, that the report was false, and then had to show him where it was refuted and who refuted it.
Simply put, there are plenty of people that believe everything ESPN tells them and it’s irresponsible to report rumors as fact.
V-I-K-I-N-G-S! Skol Vikings, Let's Go!!
anyone see
Werder on ESPN this afternoon trying to defend himself? It was the skeeziest, most pathetic thing ever.
Also, I LOVED this morning’s radio on KFavre. PA and the Powertrip show were both great!
I found this quote of Chili interesting: "He obviously had a setback last year. He was playing very well early. If in fact he’s had that surgery, I’m anxious to see just exactly what he’s got left in that cannon because had a pretty good arm as we know."
Anyone listen to the interview – did that come out of Chili’s mouth in a natural way? If, in fact, Chili doesn’t know whether or not Favre had surgery, maybe he didn’t have it? Maybe they’re not talking at all? Did it sound like he was being coy when he said that…? Curious.
This annoys the crap out of me. From BSPN Comms Director: "In the course of reporting the news of the deadline, we also noted the possibility that Favre could still join the Vikings once the deadline had passed. Clearly, that’s important context. We stand by our reporting."
What context??? That you’re an asshat who doesn’t know what the word “deadline” means? Since when has “X is a fact, unless it’s not” become good journalism? Jackoff.
Btw, Anthony – you’re a posting machine. Keep it up – good work!
Do a search on youtube for “Cowboy Chris Ed Werder” the guy just gets on Ed Werder for his crappy reporting.
by Timothy De Block on Jun 10, 2009 9:33 PM CDT reply actions
Love it
They played it on the Dan Patrick Show for about a month after it happened. Good times. Werder blows, he’s a disgrace to mustaches everywhere.
by Eric J. Thompson on Jun 11, 2009 10:29 AM CDT up reply actions
I've said it all along...
Don’t believe ANYTHING you hear from those quacks on BSPN… or anyone else for that matter! I absolutely don’t believe a damn thing unless I hear it from the horses mouth. I don’t believe Favre has even had the surgery yet. He hasn’t came out and said he has, so therefore I don’t believe he has had it. And obviously Chili cleared up alot of the bullsh*t ESPN has been putting out. He stated it all started getting out of control with the BS reporting when he was sitting in his office in winter park watching espn report that he was on his way to Hattiesburg to meet with Favre. So intil I hear it from either Favre or Childress, I refuse to believe anything these idiot reporters put out!
Sounds like a good business opportunity
With everyone trying to be the first to the news, and reporting more on rumors then reporting on the story.Create a news AFTER the news. Analyze, maybe a day or 2 after, what really went down. Using the hounds that jump to conclusions as one source in itself. Talking over the phone and through texts is a disaster. You want the truth out of someone, invite them to a dinner on your treat. Look at them face to face, Don’t start asking questions until their stomach is full, and you’ll get honest opinions. Only time can tell the future, and in my opinion the one that holds off the longest will have the most correct news, and in result; the best news.
Unreliable is an understatement
Apparently the media was so busy making up reports that they forgot to find out that Favre had a surgical procedure done weeks ago. Unbelievable.
This is exactly how trade rumors work in European soccer but I expect better from our own media. At least it’s only one player instead of all of them I guess.
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