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Interesting takedown of Whitlock.....

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by BrianM, Jun 11, 2014.

  1. BrianM

    BrianM Member

    I am not necessarily endorsing the conclusions this piece reaches, because I actually admire Whitlock's contrarian iconoclasm. Still, it certainly made for interesting reading and should produce some fun general reaction.....

    http://deadspin.com/can-jason-whitlock-save-espns-black-grantland-from-hi-1586606960
     
  2. hondo

    hondo Well-Known Member

    Whitlock gets all this criticism for pointing out (rightly so, in my opinion) how much the hip-hop culture has done to damage society, behavior, decorum, respect, etc. None of the critics ever once take Whitlock on about the issue of whether he's right or wrong. They simply scream that he shouldn't write or speak to the issue at all.
     
  3. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    I don't mind a contrarian if he believes what he is spouting. I suspect Whitlock at times latches onto an opinion meant to be controversial but doesn't in any way believe it. That is just Glenn Beckish fakery.
     
  4. CD Boogie

    CD Boogie Well-Known Member

    A black Grantland seems like a really half-baked idea given the dearth of African-American sports editors cited in the article and the fact that 13.1 percent of people in the U.S. identified themselves as African American in the most recent Census.

    Blacks may comprise an overwhelming majority of the NBA and NFL, but the majority of fans are still white. A black Grantland smacks of separate but equal, which isn't a good look for anyone. I doubt the site will ever launch.
     
  5. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    This piece does argue why Whitlock's wrong. Read it.
     
  6. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    Howard seems to be preaching from the pulpit in much the same way Whitlock does. This from a guy who said he never read Whitlock prior to his job interview.
     
  7. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Had anyone here heard of Black Grantland before now?

    The difference between Simmons and Whitlock is most of the people at Grantland love Simmons and would do almost anything for him. Whitlock, and he's been one of my favorite columnists for years, is not well-liked by other journalists. I think he would have a very difficult time getting top African-American writers to join one of his projects. I'm sure he could find people to hire, but I don't think he's well-liked enough to lure the level of talent you would expect would be associated with a project like this.

    The thing about Whitlock that has always fascinated me is for someone who delights in stirring things up, he is remarkably thin-skinned. I get what he means when he says, it's his job to "go against the grain" because there are other columnists who have reputations for doing the same who sometimes overdo it.
     
  8. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    He's written some great pieces that "go against the grain" but there are a lot of times I read his stuff and I think, "There's no way he actually believes that."
     
  9. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    I hadn't heard of Black Grantland, but then again, I hadn't heard of FiveThirtyEight, either. And on first glance, that looks pretty interesting. I'm surprised that I hadn't seen anything about that before reading the article.
     
  10. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I'm surprised you hadn't heard of it. You must do a good job steering clear of the political threads on here... :D
     
  11. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    That is my passion. In my spare time, it is my hobby.
     
  12. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    It's a fascinating site during a presidential election year. I'm not sure what year it started, but I saw it for the first time before the McCain-Obama presidential race.

    During presidential election years, I'm on that site and RealClearPolitics almost daily.
     
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