Are Mitch Albom, Mike Lupica and writers of their ilk...

Has anyone been able to confirm this Mitch Albom lede? A reader on the Freep website claimed it was factually incorrect ... or fitted to suit the story, if you want to believe that.

BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

NEW YORK -- Two nights earlier, he was sleeping at a hotel in Altoona, Pa., sharing a room with a minor league teammate.
Friday night, he had his own key at the Hilton in New York City.


This was the first comment at the bottom of the story by a reader (looks like it was erased from the site and added later by the same person):

Why was Cameron Maybin Staying in a hotel in Altoona on Wednesday night when he and his Erie Teammates were playing a game in Reading, PA? From what I heard Mr. Maybin was on a bus ride to Altoona when he got the callup on Friday. Mitch, in your attempt to jump on a story you forgot to check your facts again, or maybe Mr. Maybin told you in a interview that he was going to be Altoona on Wednesday but didn't show. Just blame your editors again.

 

Lead, read five posts above yours.

Its no secret that I dislike Albom and all he stands for; the pop writing, the Gospel According to Mitch and never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
However, there's nothing incorrect (that we know of) about that lead. He didn't say that Maybin found out he was heading to the majors while sleeping in a hotel room. He just said two nights earlier he was sleeping at a hotel and sharing a room.
Had he said, "Cameron Maybin received the wakeup call of a lifetime. At the door of his hotel room, deep in the wee hours of the morning, was his manager, who simply said 'It's Showtime.'" it would have been factually incorrect.
While poorly worded and leaving a lot to be desired, it does not come out and say Maybin found out he was called up while sleeping in his hotel room.

 

oops. apologies for the 'DB'

 

Albom has had this happen more than once. His Final Four piece drew the most attention, but he did it earlier in his career on a column about Bobby Hurley's crash in Sacramento. Columnists have some liberties, but when fact-fiction blur, and it stretches even that standard beyond elasticity multiple times ... credibility concerns slip a slanted eye toward future reads.

 

detroit's little scribe strikes again

 

Since this sort of hedging of facts was done in the interest of some creative angle, I'll offer it as Exhibit Z in the case that running off to do an electronic gig gets in the way of doing your best print work. A little more time at his computer rather than heading off to the studio might have provided Mitch time to think of equally compelling, but actually true, angles.

 

Of course this would also be Exhibit A in why newspapers should stop forcing their writers to become bloggers and video stars for their Web sites. I don't understand why you would begrudge people in such an ill-paid profession from a little side coin? If a newspaper wants to buy up my entire life it would need to come up with a much bigger check.

 

Because there are very few of us who are nailing it consistently enough to head over to another (near) full-time job. Gimme 60 more minutes at the computer and it might have led to something better for the paper (and Web site). A telephone call-in deal or a crack-of-dawn radio gig for 20 minutes? No problem with freelancing like that.

When you're stretched thin by the paper, for blogs and video and whatever, you're still just serving one master and they get to choose how to spend your hours. But if you're not freaking great at what you do, and you knock off early to go do something else, then -- just my view -- you're cheating everyone: Bosses, readers, yourself.

I suppose I wouldn't gripe about a writer who gives a hard, honest 40 hours, though. Again, just my view.

 

. . . drowning in a sea of green . . .

 

Bill Conlin was excellent in his prime. Some of his stuff on the Phutile Phils is simply brilliant. Edwin Pope was incredible as well. Jim Murray was the king. I'd agree with the P-P assessment of today's crop but I might add Sally Jenkins to the list.

 

I sea Luppy from time to time on The Sports Reporters. Annoying little man but I think he's a terrific writer and I loved his stuff long before SportsJournalists.com was around.

Not only does Albom come off as a pompous prick but his writing is like nails on a chalkboard. I can barely make it through two paragraphs.

I think it was only by chance that he didn't end up working for Hallmark cards.

That said, read everybody.

I'm not even in the biz but I probably read 15-20 columnists every day, both U.S. and Canadian.