'Borrowing' material

SI & SI.com had huge layoffs in the past year

gee, you think there's a connection?

still, no excuse for this

really think firing wouldn't be inappropriate

 

SI aside, I'll admit I'm very reluctant to attribute something to a blog unless the blog breaking the story is part of the story. Do I steal it? No. But I would rather go through the pains of verifying it myself or waiting for the AP version before I give a blog the same treatment as another newspaper.

That sort of pains me to say because I've had my own blog and I respect the blogging community, for the most part. I just don't think they deserve equal footing as a newspaper. Newspapers break things all the day. Most blogs are blind squirrels.

Just cuz I find something scandalous about my congressman and post it on my blog above family photos of us at the beach wouldn't make me a journalist.

 

You make a good point about newspaper folks being hesitant to attribute to blogs.

But the solution obviously isn't "Steal the fake news from the blog," right?

And if blogs aren't trustworthy enough to use as newspaper sources, obviously they shouldn't be sources to steal from.

 

Totally agree. As I said, I wouldn't steal something of interest. I'd verify it on my own.

Yet, if it's a huge, huge scoop that we've verified, I do think newspapers should give that blogger credit. That may be a little different from what I originally posted, but no one can deny Drudge his due in the Clinton case.

We have a blogger in this state - a former insider - that's blown the doors off all the newspapers in this state a couple of times. He's gotten plenty of press, both good and bad, from the same papers.

 

I probably should apologize to Ian for putting him on blast here, but let's face it ... this is pretty bad. (I have to say, a couple of non-SI journalists emailed to say they were surprised by this, and that he's a good writer, class act, etc.) Perhaps this one poor lapse in judgment.

While I understand the apprehension of linking to blogs, i would assume that some of you spend your downtime at work/at the ballpark occasionally checking them out. By now, you probably know which ones are legit and credible.

 

No question.

Of course, tbl, you've been around SportsJournalists.com long enough to know that plenty of folks in this business are mired in "us-vs.-them" silliness about blogs. Sad, really.

 

It's not us vs. them ... sort of ... it's more of I don't want to get beat at my job - not by someone who works at a rival newspaper and definitely not by someone who isn't paid to be plugged in like I am. It means I'm really not doing my job. At least that's my mentality ... and if I become complacent about it I'm going to get beat more often.

 

WB - Highly doubtful that you'll get beaten to the punch on transactions and such. About the only way we'll get something is if some booster at, say, Kansas State, becomes a big fan of the blog and decides he/she wants to slide us information on the sly.

But that's highly unlikely, seeing as we try to cover all of sports, as opposed to a specific niche. And even then, chances are the tipster would sooner go to the super-friendly rivals message board.

The other option could be if, say, Pat Riley flew into Milwaukee tonight and was seeing walking out of a restaurant with Mo Williams and shaking hands just a few hours after Williams was with Bucks brass. Could it happen? Sure. An eager fan sees something cool, doesn't have a blog, and wants to tell someone his story.

That's where we come in. Hopefully.

 

I wasn't including you in that, wb. Every conversation we've ever had about blogs on this site devolves into nonsense from some of the usual suspects. I'm surprised the phrase "mom's basement" hasn't come up yet.

 

I don't cover sports, but I understand your point.

 

I have a friend who works on the news desk at a NYC daily. He told me that one of their senior writers worked on an obit and lifted four grafs from the NY Times and put them in his story. Without changing a word.

The next day, said senior writer was suspended for a month. With pay. He's now back, lifting to his heart's content.

 

I blog for our paper and read several non-MSM blogs on a regular basis, often using links to stories that I find on those blogs. But I can't "hat tip" to many of those blogs -- examples: deadspin, withleather, thebiglead -- because I can't link to them. The language/material in many of the posts and comments on those blogs don't bother me, but they ain't appropriate for a family newspaper (or web site).