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More ESPN & more alleged stealing stuff

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Gonna Buy me a Dog, Jul 26, 2012.

  1. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    Maybe. Their explanation isn't totally impossible... but it's pretty implausible.

    Anchors adlib around what's actually in the PrompTer all the time. It could conceivably go in the PrompTer verbatim and come out of the anchor's mouth just slightly reworded... though given the wording, I think that's really unlikely in this case.

    And they said this was unfolding during a live Sportscenter, so I could imagine a situation where a producer may give the anchor something that's been reported elsewhere, so the anchor can read it, and then adlib a "so and so is reporting..." But again, I can't imagine that's the case here, because absolutely no one is going to cite RealGM.com during some sort of quasi-breaking news situation.

    So, even working with their explanation, I have a really hard time finding an explanation that doesn't involve someone ripping off a blog out of sheer laziness.
     
  2. Rhody31

    Rhody31 Well-Known Member

    Could TheRealGM people sue? They could claim that by ESPN stealing their content and distributing it, it cost them clicks, which affects advertising. Or is this way too much of a stretch?
     
  3. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    I think RealGM would have a very, very hard time proving any actual damages. One instance isn't going to cost them any clicks. If they could show a pattern of ESPN specifically ripping off their copy, maybe, but even then any real financial damage would be damn hard to prove.

    If anything, it's probably a short-term boon for RealGM.com. I hadn't even heard of it before someone at ESPN stole from it.
     
  4. linotype

    linotype Well-Known Member

    Fitting. A cut-and-paste apology because somebody, well, cut and pasted.
     
  5. PEteacher

    PEteacher Member

    It could be "lazy journalism" or blatant plagiarism that ESPN openly admits and won't apologize for, and the general viewing audience still couldn't care less.

    I'm a member of that general viewing audience now.
     
  6. BobSacamano

    BobSacamano Member

    Yeah. I get it, dude.

    ***

    This journalism bubble we live in makes us too cynical. Fortunately, I exist on the freelancing outskirts so I interact with civilian sports fans a little more openly (and often, I suppose). Speaking in generalities always sucks, but I've learned that sparking the conversation with sports fans about ESPN's mediocre programming often generates informed opinions. The most passionate sports fans and media ingesters I know, family and extended, stick to the official networks for their favorite leagues and the region-specific channels. They're more into SNY than ESPN, and often regard the latter as background noise. It's like MTV, and how the true music snobs resent(ed) it for its focus on pop music and culture. People are active for alternatives.

    I find that if you make people aware of the issues, as is being done so often within these last few months, they'll seek more reliable sources within this relentless 24-hour news cycle. That's how people end up following RealGM.
     
  7. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I wonder if the most feared words in Bristol these days are, "There's someone from Deadspin on the phone looking for a comment..."
     
  8. mediaguy

    mediaguy Well-Known Member

    A close second, Mizzou, to "Oh, crap, I think Wikipedia is down."
     
  9. SockPuppet

    SockPuppet Active Member

    First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
    Because I was not a Socialist.
    Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--
    Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
    Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
    Because I was not a Jew.
    Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

    If you don't stand up for what's right, you'll fall for anything. No one else is being a watch dog, so what's wrong with a few of us throwing rotten tomatoes at ESPN?
     
  10. Tarheel316

    Tarheel316 Well-Known Member

    Very good comparison.
     
  11. 1HPGrad

    1HPGrad Member

    Hoppes has a protege ... outstanding.
     
  12. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    First they came for ESPN, and I did not speak out--
    Because Chris Berman is annoying.

    .....
     
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