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Golfweek Fires Editor

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by PalmettoStatesport, Jan 18, 2008.

Page 5 of 7
  1. Fenian_Bastard

    Fenian_Bastard Guest

    Thanks, pt.
    That's what I was looking for.
     
    Fenian_Bastard, Jan 18, 2008
    #49
  2. EE94

    EE94 Guest

    No, but Callaway, TaylorMade and Nike do

    Advertisers in those kinds of magazines don't like anything that makes the sport look bad

    keep it shiny and happy and everyone makes money (Like Entertainment Tonight and such, for the most part)
     
    EE94, Jan 18, 2008
    #50
  3. KuwaitLady

    KuwaitLady New Member

    I guess a scapegoat was needed for a poor decision. Really, those without fault at GolfWeek cast the first stone.
    Well, some one did and the unfortunate Dave Seanor was hit. It's hard to believe just ONE person was responsible for the cover -- don't you believe it.
     
    KuwaitLady, Jan 18, 2008
    #51
  4. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    They could have gone the CBS route and just fired the graphic artist.
     
    DanOregon, Jan 18, 2008
    #52
  5. Fenian_Bastard

    Fenian_Bastard Guest

    Then let them not run commercials on The Golf Channel until Tillie The Dunce gets fired.
     
    Fenian_Bastard, Jan 18, 2008
    #53
  6. forever_town

    forever_town Well-Known Member

    You could always run another photo of Tiger. ::)

    There were other options. He just decided to do the one that would cause the most ruckus.
     
    forever_town, Jan 18, 2008
    #54
  7. Elliotte Friedman

    Elliotte Friedman Moderator Staff Member

    Sorry Gold, hadn't seen your post until now.

    Honestly, I don't think you can answer this on anything but a case-by-case basis. Was there malice? What is the person's history? What is the setting it's said in? What is the reaction of the offended? I've never been one to subscribe to "off with her head" mentality.

    Now, I've never heard anyone make a Holocaust joke on a news/sports program, but I do remember this: I was listening to CFRB one morning about 15 years ago. It was the biggest AM talk station in Toronto (maybe it still is, I don't know). The sports guy was Bill Stephenson. I don't know his religion, but for the sake of discussion, he could best be described as a "wasp." Mr. Stephenson is a legend in Canadian sports broadcasting. He was always really friendly to me, even though I was some schmuck just starting out as he headed towards retirement.

    Anyway, he and the morning show host (who was by far the most popular in the market) were talking about Wayne Gretzky buying a house in Toronto. The host said Gretzky did a great job of negotiating a price. Stephenson replies, "So, he really 'Jewed' him down, eh?"

    Talk about a "Holy Shit!" moment. Legend has it that the head of the local B'Nai Brith chapter drove his car into a tree and CFRB paid the damages.

    Within 30 minutes, Stephenson apologized on-air. After much discussion, he was suspended, but not fired. And I agreed with that. He had no other examples of that behavior, publicly or privately. Anyone could have come forward and buried the guy, but there was no evidence of it. He deserved the punishment, but because of an otherwise clean existence, he deserved to return.

    If someone wants to show me Tilghman having that history, I'll be the first one to demand her dismissal.

    Now, you raise another point, a slightly different issue. It's no excuse that live broadcasting doesn't have a backspace key. That's part of the job, to avoid saying things that get you into that type of trouble. You can't prevent that, you shouldn't be on the air. If Golf Channel execs aren't confident she can avoid a similar slip of the tongue, then she shouldn't keep her job. It's that simple.
     
    Elliotte Friedman, Jan 18, 2008
    #55
  8. forever_town

    forever_town Well-Known Member

    What I'd be interested in is what events led to his on-air apology 30 minutes after the verbal gaffe. Did the station get flooded with complaints? Did one -- or several -- people pull him aside and warn him that he said something offensive? Or did he realize almost as soon as he said it, "oh shit, I shouldn't have said it."

    Not that it would necessarily change things. You have a much better context for what he said and the kind of person he was than any of us could hope to have. It's just something I'd wonder considering the timing of the apology.

    And "oh shit" moments aren't limited to broadcast. I made a major blunder in judgement with a column I wrote -- and ran -- in the spring of last year. I couldn't exactly un-write it or retroactively kill it, but I did what I could do: Write a clarification that ran in the same spot as the previous week's column. I ran it in lieu of a readout.

    If the guy wanted to prove I acted with malice, it's hard to convince someone of malice when I did so without his approaching me. Nearly one year later, I still haven't heard from the guy.
     
    forever_town, Jan 18, 2008
    #56
  9. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Guess you could arguing that "Jewing" someone down had become generic and no anti-Semitism was intended.
     
    Ace, Jan 18, 2008
    #57
  10. Elliotte Friedman

    Elliotte Friedman Moderator Staff Member

    I'd like to meet the person who'd make THAT argument.
     
    Elliotte Friedman, Jan 18, 2008
    #58
  11. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Well, it's that or say that you didn't know that "Jewing someone down" was offensive to Jews.
     
    Ace, Jan 18, 2008
    #59
  12. Elliotte Friedman

    Elliotte Friedman Moderator Staff Member

    Ace,

    Unfortunately, Mr. Stephenson grew up in an era where people said that. It was common language. Doesn't make it right, but it does mean that some people said it without intending to be malicious.

    Another example: 10 years ago, at my first job in television, I was sitting in an edit suite with two other guys. One of them (younger than me) left for a couple of minutes. During that time, his chair was taken. He came back and said, "Someone Jewed me out of my chair." After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I told him, "That kind of language will not be tolerated around here."

    He was quiet.

    Later, he tearfully apologized. He was from a small town (no Jewish people) and didn't realize the connotation. I said, "We'll see. Prove it."

    There was never another issue. Bottom line is, there are honestly people out there who don't know, or don't mean it badly. To me, Tilghman is the latter. But, if I had any reason to expect malice -- and like anyone else, I have before -- I'd be the first one demanding more serious punishment.
     
    Elliotte Friedman, Jan 18, 2008
    #60
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