"It was taken out of context."

Conversation I once had with a NFL coach

Coach: "Player X said the quote in your story today was "off the record"

Me: "I have the tape of the whole conversation if you want to hear it."

Coach: "(Laughs) That's OK, I believe you, but that's what he said."

Me: "Do you think he knows what off the record means?

Coach: "Not a chance in hell."

 

Haha ... sounds about right for most. I recently covered a Thanksgiving Day game between teams in different divisions, so the game had no real meaning outside of being a rivalry game. Both teams had playoff games coming up a few days later.

Another reporter asked one coach - whose team was down 21-0, but rallied within 21-20 before falling short on the 2-point conversion - if coming back that far helped the team's confidence at all.

Coach says, "Off the record, you don't want to come out and get smacked around."

All I could think was, "Why the hell would he care if that's 'off the record?'" And, since neither of us agreed that it was "off the record," I ran the quote anyway.

Coach hasn't called, so apparently he's in the same boat as your Player X.

 

I once did a 20-minute interview with a radio reporter on a particular subject regarding basketball.
During those 20 minutes, I advocated one position for about 19 minutes and 45 seconds -- making my stance clear in no uncertain terms.
During the other 15 seconds, I made reference tangentially to a related issue, speaking a sentence that could be construed as me supporting the opposite side of the original issue.
Guess which quote the reporter used, and made it seem like I was taking the exact opposition position from what I'd made clear? On an internationally distributed program, no less.
Don't say this never happens. Just don't.

 

Not a big Aniston fan either, but I thought it was pretty cool that she reacted like, well, a real person with the "uncool" comment. Ripping the messenger afterward was lame.

 

Jennifer Aniston should equip herself with a knife and a Louisville Slugger and pull a Carrie Underwood on the Pitt-Jolie fleet of vehicles. Invite the paparazzi.

And keep both tools handy in case Jolie emerges and tries to pretend she really is Lara Croft.

 

I teach my spokespeople that they should speak succinctly and stay on message.

Did you ever consider that the only interesting thing you said was in the 15-second clip and that the fault may be your own for being a big, dull dud?

 

You know, Buck, I would think this board should be able to rise above mindless defense of every single crap thing reporters do in this business.
We laugh at all the knee-jerk apologists for athletes who are clowns, but we never have any interest in learning how to actually do this job better.
No wonder it's going down the tubes.

 

Tough to shake the defensive mode, though. And it isn't just the Luddite, Know-Nothing Yahoos on the attack.
You look at most episodes of Law and Order, there's an embedded attack on the press lurking in there, somewhere.

 

Yeah, THAT'S the reason ...

 

Why won't people, such as you and real celebrities and athletes and coaches and whomever, just take responsibility for what they said.

Why couldn't Aniston just look at her ex and that skank Jolie and say, 'yeah, I said it. What?'

I would have had a lot more respect for her than after her simpering and whining about 'out of context.'

 

Agreed.

But Aniston probably believes she'd be ostracized in Hollywood if she were to dare come out swinging against Mother of the Century Jolie. :

 

I'd adopt a dozen kids if I could afford it, too.







Eh ... now I wouldn't. Change kids to dogs and you have a deal.