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An appalling piece of journalism

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Alma, Jan 16, 2007.

  1. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    silentbob,

    This isn't the first piece this reporter's written on Artest.

    I do not think the piece is horribly written, by the way. It's just not journalism.
     
  2. Johnny Dangerously

    Johnny Dangerously Well-Known Member

    I say this with all due respect, but I'm not sure ESPN the Magazine's aim is always to publish journalism.
     
  3. brettwatson

    brettwatson Active Member

    ESPN the magainze is like ESPN the network. Some good stories and some bad. You need to sift through both to find what's worthwhile.

    I tend to read SI and scan ESPN. I enjoy ESPN's photos and occasionally find something worth reading.

    Why would anyone expect ESPN the Mag to have more than a few good reads per issue? Their writing staff is like most of our newspaper staffs. Some stars, some bottom feeders and many middle-of-the-pack types.

    The big difference between SI and ESPN the Mag is that if ESPN disappeared, it would be missed by a few people for a short time. If SI vanished, it would be missed for a longer period of time by many more people.
     
  4. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    When i read it i was wondering why le batard didnt write it. This misunderstood athlete\apologist story is cliche.
     
  5. ESPN Page 2's Media Blitz did a peice of Artest last fall, although not as blatantly apologistic as this peice seems to be, and SI did an apologist peice on him about how much Larry Bird loved him a few weeks before he was suspended then traded. But, the ESPN Page 2 peice had the quote that perhaps explains Artest best:

    Right from the horse's mouth-"So of course the doctors were like, 'This guy is crazy, what's wrong with him?' They found that I have a history [of mental instability] in my family, going way back. But I've never taken that medication because I'm not crazy. I'm me. You just gotta understand me."
     
  6. STLIrish

    STLIrish Active Member

    That's rather astute. And a nice way of valuing the relative worth of publications in our business.
     
  7. Wait, you're asking whether you should go to J-school or grad school, and you can't even spell piece?
     
  8. I could spell it right if I modified my post after reading your post.
     
  9. WSKY

    WSKY Member

    I read it and thought it was was it was and nothing more. Actually if anything, it was refreshing to see a guy say fuck you to the people that think he should be something else.
     
  10. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    Oh, the "guy" can say whatever. I don't need some reporter telling me that the fuck you is aimed at me.
     
  11. daemon

    daemon Well-Known Member

    Spnited:

    Read the Ray Lewis story. It's actually a great piece of journalism, one in which the writer does a wonderful job of handling a situation like Artest's or Manning's (which is being discussed in another thread). The cover, I thought, was brilliant. SI wasn't proclaiming Ray Lewis to be God's Linebacker. It was letting Ray Lewis annoint himself, which in turn gave the reader all the irony he needed heading into the actual reading of the piece.
     
  12. ^^^ The cover of Sports Illustrated can't afford to be ironic. Expecting the average reader to spot irony is like me expecting to wake up tomorrow with my wallet full of $100 bills. It's borderline idiotic to assume that any normal reader would make the assumptions you make.

    People see the cover and think SI is proclaiming Ray Lewis as "God's Linebacker," then they look at the pictures and read the pull quotes and come to whatever conclusion they feel like. Chances are, that conclusion is not "Wow, this guy is a fucking murderer."
     
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