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K-State fans unhappy about their new beat writer for Wichita Eagle/KC Star

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by GuessWho, Aug 29, 2009.

  1. tapintoamerica

    tapintoamerica Well-Known Member

    A needless story by the sports editor. He could have accomplished the same thing by making that thing his email to the specific complainants rather than by showing it to the whole world.
     
  2. RedSmithClone

    RedSmithClone Active Member

    My bad. I thought we were talking about the good K-State program. oops
     
  3. artvandelay

    artvandelay New Member

    Yeah, I hate it when newspapers go into spin mode. We're supposed to be cutting through spin, not creating it.
     
  4. Pilot

    Pilot Well-Known Member

    To those saying it won't matter so long as he produces good content ... I don't know about that.

    If he breaks a bunch of good news soon, maybe. If he is the first with bad news, that really won't help. Even if he is just straight up fair, people will find little stuff to bitch about -- stuff that, from any other writer, would be looked over as nothing, but from this guy, is some sort of veiled attack.
     
  5. Shaggy

    Shaggy Guest

    I agree. I doubt he'll ever get a fair shake, no matter how good of a job he does.
     
  6. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    This guy may be a great reporter, but I never would have hired him to cover K-State.
     
  7. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    It doesn't help Kellis that he's following Jeffrey Martin. Martin was a good writer and he was nice enough to offer me some help in the past. But the K-State fans loved him, and he didn't exactly dig up a lot of the dirt when it came to the recent scandals there.

    If Kellis uncovers more secret payments or funny money in the athletic department, the K-Staters will just say he has an ax to grind. And God forbid he reports anything shady about Saint Snyder.
     
  8. SF_Express

    SF_Express Active Member

    I kind of understand some of the thinking, but it troubles me that people think that being involved with a rival school automatically disqualifies you for a job like this. But maybe that's the reality of the situation.

    Having said that, I think if they were going to do this, the sports editor HAD to write something in the paper to explain the whole deal. I don't agree with those who say he shouldn't have. Not everybody is believing anyway (based on the comments), but I think they had to take a shot. I don't see it as spin. I see it as a necessity in a unique circumstance.
     
  9. doggieseatdoggies

    doggieseatdoggies New Member

    K-State needs to get competitive in the Big 12 again. Until then, shut the hell up.

    The move to hire him, and I certainly am not questioning his abilities in saying this, smells like the kind of move you'd expect from a Gannett paper. Innovative ways to piss off your readership...that's a Gannett specialty.
     
  10. Shaggy

    Shaggy Guest

    It's a McClatchey paper.
     
  11. artvandelay

    artvandelay New Member

    I agree -- there's nothing in this guy's background that should disqualify him from the job. I'm just not sure his editors did him any favors with how they handled this situation. If he wrote something that requires public clarification, why not acknowledge it up front instead of waiting for the crap to hit the fan?

    And I DO think there's some spin in the editor's response. The beat writer was too busy to do a 10-minute radio interview? Really? Just admit that you didn't want to throw him to the sharks, or don't say anything at all.

    And does the Eagle really ask all employees to delete their personal blogs, even the ones they no longer update? The Kansas City Star sure doesn't, based on the success of Joe Posnanski's blog. Just admit you deleted it because you thought it would be inflammatory or, again, don't say anything at all.
     
  12. Hammer Pants

    Hammer Pants Active Member

    I can't believe the editor wrote that story. Good God.
     
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