Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
ESPN: Kickin' It Old School
So, remember my blog post about ESPN not reporting the alleged Brett Favre info-sharing story? If not, continue to scroll down. The last thing I wrote in that article was my anticipation of what ESPN's ombudsman, LeAnne Schreiber, would have to say about the whole thing.
Well, Schreiber has spoken.
In her latest column published this week, Schreiber praised ESPN for excersing "old-school journalistic ethics" with regards to the Favre story.
Still, though, the perception that the network was favoring or protecting Favre is hard to overcome. Schreiber asked ESPN's news director Vince Doria his reasoning for delaying the Favre coverage.
"When a story involves criminal allegations or issues that impugn character, and when there is no track record of similar behavior by the individual targeted by the story, we don't report it without further confirmation on our part," Doria said. "We felt this story called Favre's character into question, and we couldn't confirm it."
So, Schreiber's final verdict is summed up thus:
"ESPN had a genuine old school moment. If ESPN had them more often, it would have a better chance of winning the perception game."
So, do you agree? Does true journalism include holding off on reporting character-damaging allegations towards those with seemingly good character? What about the John Edwards story as a precedent?
Well, Schreiber has spoken.
In her latest column published this week, Schreiber praised ESPN for excersing "old-school journalistic ethics" with regards to the Favre story.
Still, though, the perception that the network was favoring or protecting Favre is hard to overcome. Schreiber asked ESPN's news director Vince Doria his reasoning for delaying the Favre coverage.
"When a story involves criminal allegations or issues that impugn character, and when there is no track record of similar behavior by the individual targeted by the story, we don't report it without further confirmation on our part," Doria said. "We felt this story called Favre's character into question, and we couldn't confirm it."
So, Schreiber's final verdict is summed up thus:
"ESPN had a genuine old school moment. If ESPN had them more often, it would have a better chance of winning the perception game."
So, do you agree? Does true journalism include holding off on reporting character-damaging allegations towards those with seemingly good character? What about the John Edwards story as a precedent?
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