Former NHL coach Pat Burns dies - see NHL thread

More than CTV screwed it up. TSN, Star, Sun, Fan590 and a few others all published stories.
Hell, the Fan ran an obit and spent 20 minutes talking to Wendel Clark about Burns as if he were dead, even though it was becoming apparent Burns wasn't dead

 

And Bruce Dowbiggin weighs in in today's Globe, about five hundred years after the incident.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/reports-of-pat-burnss-death-were-greatly-exaggerated/article1714099/

He comes down pretty hard on Cox.

And then Randy Starkman, one of the sports editors at The Star throws his two cents worth in on the comments section of Dowbiggin's column

Randy Starkman Toronto Star
9/20/2010 6:28:56 AM

Bruce: As a fellow veteran journalist, I find it remarkable that you would get in touch with Ray Ferraro and Andrew Krystal for erroneously reporting Pat Burns' death, yet you never called Damien Cox for this column, despite singling him out as the culprit. It totally undermines what you've written here and exposes your vindictive glee. You're right: "It's not about throwing rocks." More like boulders. If the intent here is a critique on journalism ethics in the new media world, you've fallen well short of the mark. Regards, Randy Starkman
-------------------------------------

And Dowbiggin responds but then gets into some pointless scolding and general musings on The State Of Society:

At the end of the day, Cox and his fellow friend here are the epitome of the state of society today where many do not/can not take responsibility for their actions and be contrite thereof- be that politicians, Wall Street, Actors, Pro Athletes, or just plain old newspaper men.

Cox can't let go and has three tweets in a row from about 3:30 a.m. Monday morning

DamoSpin
Best part is Dowbiggin (William Houston Jr.) is loathed by Globe colleagues for inventing ridiculous rumours others then forced to chase.
about 5 hours ago via web

DamoSpin
When people with no respect from anyone in the biz like Dowbiggin take cheap shots, it actually makes me feel better about entire episode.
about 5 hours ago via web

DamoSpin
Funny how Bruce Dowbiggin takes a run at me for not consulting secondary source but never bothers to call me for comment on his hack job.
about 5 hours ago via web

Nothing like a good old pissing match to address Big Journalistic Questions but guess what, guys? Everyone else has moved on. No one cares. Meet over at The Wheat Sheaf, and have a go at it over a couple of beers.

 

Cox is an arrogant douchebag. That is all.

 

Cox gets a pass from me and probably always will. I've never met him in person but I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for forwarding my "Slap Shot" book proposal to his editor. I don't know where it or I would be right now if not for that kindness.

 

From today's SportsBusinessDaily...

A "perfect storm of assumptions, breakdowns in protocol and greed for scoops produced the embarrassment" of former NHL coach Pat Burns phoning sports news outlets to say, "I'm not dead yet," after reports of his passing become news on Friday, according to Bruce Dowbiggin of the GLOBE & MAIL. Burns is battling terminal cancer, and Maple Leafs Senior Advisor Cliff Fletcher Friday "told several reporters that he'd heard Burns had passed away." Toronto Star reporter Damien Cox then "reported Fletcher's story on his Twitter account ... without consulting Burns's family or double checking the story." Within an hour, the "story was viral." Vancouver's CKST-AM co-host and former NHLer Ray Ferraro "received an e-mail from a trusted source," and he "went with the incorrect report on-air." With today's "this-just-in culture, a significant portion of mainstream media and blogosphere ran with the story till Burns, himself, phoned TSN's Bob McKenzie a couple of hours later to say he was out shopping, not checking out." Ferraro: "I should have called Bob McKenzie to verify it. He's a friend of Pat's. I was wrong. I can tell you it will never happen again." Toronto's The Fan 590-AM "broadcast a prepared obit during Andrew Krystal's show," and Krystal "echoed Ferraro." Krystal: "It will not happen again on my show. I plan to apologize Monday to the Burns family." Dowbiggin wrote, "The biggest culprit these days ... is the speed with which social media allows for instantaneous reporting and bragging rights to breaking stories. In the days before the Internet, the Burns story would have been phoned into a desk where an editor or producer would have demanded a second source before the story was moved" (GLOBESPORTS.com, 9/19).

ALL WE NEED IS JUST A LITTLE PATIENCE: In Vancouver, Cam Cole wrote, "The really remarkable thing isn't who lit the fire, but how quickly it spread on this Babe Ruth of social media, as contributors leaped in with both feet to be among the first to retweet the retweets and add a personal note of sadness." A phone call to Burns' family to verify the news "might have halted the wildfire earlier, but no one made that call because the important thing was to get it on Twitter first, and worry about whether it was accurate later" (VANCOUVER SUN, 9/18). The NATIONAL POST's Ron Nurwisah wrote, "What have we learned here? Stories can spread quickly on social broadcast platforms like Twitter, very quickly, and we all must be more diligent before posting and sharing content on these platforms" (NATIONALPOST.com, 9/17).

COX OFFERS EXPLANATION: Cox offered an explanation for the erroneous Twitter report on his blog, saying he and Toronto Star reporter Kevin McGran were "standing outside the Leaf dressing room ... when Cliff Fletcher walked out." He "came over to say hello, shook hands, and then told us that Burns had passed away." Cox: "It wasn't like someone whispered a rumour. It wasn't an off-the-cuff or off-the-record comment. He believed he was passing on sad news that the hockey world would want to know about. ... Within seconds, a larger media group descended, and Fletcher agreed to comment at length about what he believed was the death of his friend." Cox added, "As soon as it became clear the news was incorrect, I deleted the information from my Twitter account because I didn't want it to spread more by my doing. Clearly, however, there was nothing mischievous or malicious intended by Fletcher" (THESTAR.com, 9/17).

We had it before and I'm guessing we'll have this conversation again.

A decade or so ago, CNN reported that Bob Hope died. The NBC O&O here in Los Angeles, which has its studios in Burbank -- not far from Hope's home in Toluca Lake -- took it and went Usain Bolt with it.

That confirming a story with a source thing they teach you at every level of the journalistic food chain? We don't need no stinkin' sources... well, until Linda Hope -- Bob's daughter -- called the station to let them know that her dad was very much alive.

You could have made a Beth's Cafe 12-egg omelet with the facial the station took.

Keep in mind that was pre-Twitter -- and assume the worst lies in the future accordingly.

 

Once again, what is the fucking rush?

It's been pretty well known that Burns is seriously ill, so his death won't come as a shock. That said, why does everyone have their Twitter thumbs flying before they have it confirmed -- or God forbid -- to make sure the family has had a chance to contact everyone to let them know?

No disrespect to Pat Burns, but he's a hockey coach. It's not like world power has shifted if he's gone, and it's not like the stock markets are going to crash when the news breaks.

Just wait a fucking minute. If you can't justify that out of respect for the (perhaps) deceased, do it to protect your own credibility.

 

I still want to know who told Fletcher that Burns was dead in the first place. Unquestionably, this was a clusterfuck of epic proportions, but the information didn't exist in a vacuum. Unless Cliff Fletcher is sitting back in his office, cackling about having embarrassed a good chunk of the Canadian media (and a few outlets south of the border as well) someone, somewhere tipped these dominoes over.

 

Various members of the Canadian media are too busy sniping at each other to ask the question.

I put my money on Stephen Harper

 

I bet it was Barry Melrose.

 

Fletcher is 75.

 

Harold Ballard looks up from the fiery depths and thinks to himself that the Toronto hockey scene was never this fucked up when he was in charge.

Funny how we all looked upon Ballard as the reason why Toronto could never again win the Stanley Cup. His tenure as the man in charge lasted only 18 years.....we're now 20 years beyond Ballard and the post-1967 Cup counter remains stuck at zero.

Just some food for thought.

 

Almost a month after his prematurely reported death, a very frail Pat Burns took part on Wednesday in the ground breaking for a new arena that will bear his name.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/871984--i-m-still-alive-frail-looking-pat-burns-jokes