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E&P piece criticizing 1990s baseball writers for not breaking 'roids stories

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by hockeybeat, Dec 17, 2007.

  1. ThomsonONE

    ThomsonONE Member

    That's kind of the definition of falling asleep isn't it?
     
  2. fishwrapper

    fishwrapper Active Member

    SilentBob posted this on another thread. It's a wonderful point and I thought it worth sharing on this thread in case some of you may have missed...

    Now, does it mean complete absolution? No.
    But the post is absolutely valid on so many levels.
     
  3. steveu

    steveu Well-Known Member

    No one accused Clinton of having a dalliance with Monica Lewinsky the day after Whitewater was first mentioned, either. I agree. These types of stories don't break right away. Reagan and Iran/Contra was the same way, too.

    The best stories sometimes are the ones that slowly develop.
     
  4. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    If your definition includes passing out from banging your head against an immovable wall, then yes.
     
  5. forever_town

    forever_town Well-Known Member

    I find it an extreme reach to liken the BALCO investigation to Watergate. Watergate brought down one corrupt presidential administration among likely 43 corrupt presidential administrations. The worst that has happened is that implicated players will have a scarlet letter attached to their careers.

    If Barry Bonds were found guilty AND baseball decided to delete his achievements from the record books AND hire a next-generation Kenesaw Mountain Landis, I could see the comparison. This doesn't pass the same stink test.
     
  6. Let's not forget that without Tom Verducci, guilty as he may be when it comes to Clemens, we might still not be testing for steroids in baseball. That issue of SI was an atomic bomb, and still doesn't get enough credit. Same with Howard Bryant's book.
     
  7. henryhenry

    henryhenry Member

    agree on the SI story.

    but howard bryant's book? c'mon. it was in the remainder bin the minute it left the printer.
     
  8. BB Bobcat

    BB Bobcat Active Member

    I have been a baseball beat writer since 1997, and the first time I heard a player say, in more than just a flippant manner, that a lot of guys were on steroids, was 2000. I fiddled around with that and tried to figure out how I could do a story on it without "real evidence" until 2002, when I finally did a big takeout. (Two weeks before SI, as luck would have it.)

    I probaby could have done more follow-up after that, but it is a tough story to get to unless you get someone admitting they used or you get some real documentary evidence. You can only go so far with a lot of people saying "Yeah, I think it's a problem."
     
  9. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    And I'm betting, BB, your big takeout has no real proof of anyone taking steroids and no on the record sources naming any names
     
  10. awriter

    awriter Active Member

    The comparison between Watergate and BALCO is the amount of digging it took to the get the info, the scope of the project, etc.
     
  11. goalmouth

    goalmouth Well-Known Member

    What a colossal waste of their effort and our time by E&P. Why not put together a multi-thousand-word piece criticizing the White House beat guys for not reporting that FDR knew about the pending attack on Pearl Harbor?

    "There should be no doubt that we, as a profession, should be exposing all evil-doing, no matter how well-hidden it may be."

    Can we still get Rick Reilly to pester people with a specimen cup?
     
  12. Except that Caminiti was an all-around junkie. Pinning his death on steroids is like blaming brandy for the death of Keith Moon.
     
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