NBA ref sues AP reporter for 'defamatory' tweet

Isn't that the dude from The Office?

 

I'm with JC...why is information bad? As has been pointed out, it might not be gamer-worthy, but twitter is a different method of giving out info. if you have it, and it's of interest, why not print the truth? what are they going to do, move press off the floor? most places, they've already done that to sell off the front row.

 

The reason Twitter is the valid discussion point here is that it's the first time reporters have been asked -- no, required -- to post their thoughts without vetting them. That can mean talking to sources and asking them "did I just hear what I heard?" It can also mean letting a line or a paragraph kick around in your head for 10 minutes instead of just being a constant brain-dump out into the world. Sure the people involved are at fault, but whether it's this guy or Cappy Pondexter, the common denominator is the lightning speed. It makes everyone think less.

 

This is all sorts of backward thinking. Should The New York Times also not dig for recruiting violations? If it's going to, should the government disallow public records requests?

As reporters, we should report what we know and dig into what we don't know. That's the job, and doing a good job in those tasks is the only way we'll continue to be employed.

I bet Krawczynski picked up a ton of Twitter followers, thus allowing him to better promote his work and craft. How is that bad for journalism again?

It's a bit surprising an AP writer would Tweet something like this, being that he stands to gain little from it. But good for him. Good for us. And by us, I mean the sports journalists who visit sportsjournalists.com.

Your post makes me believe you're not a part of that user group.

 

Beyond what is and isn't "for public consumption" at courtside, and beyond the question of if it "should" have been tweeted....how do they plan to prove defamation? Can't prove it's not true...probably need to prove malice because a 22-year NBA ref is a public figure, which will be difficult. Suit seems without merit, regardless of the journalism questions in play.

 

Dumb. Correct it to "Stay away from shooting off the hip on Twitter."

Twitter can be a tremendously valuable tool for your work...if you use it right. It's part promoting your stories, part promoting engagement...and being careful with everything you say.

 

The problem is that officiating does not work that way.

Everyone assumes the officials are incompetent and horrible, but yet, also assumes they are smart enough, skilled enough and devious enough to remember who they owe makeup calls to, make them without being obvious and not end up owing more makeup calls.

If officials can do that, that's a tremendous skill.

 

While I don't approve of the tweet, I don't see how the ref wins this case because it's not particularly defamatory.

It's like tweeting that a local banker actually likes it when people are late with payments because then the bank can charge fees and raise rates.

 

Damn straight.

Yeah, let's go to court, on this. See how far that goes.

 

Anything a coach or player says on the floor is for public consumption. They are in a public arena, a public place, and presumably anyone on the front row in the stands can hear what is said.

That said, if you report what you hear in a huddle, you're going to permanently damage your relationship with that coach/team. But if I hear a player saying, "Fuck off" to a ref, I'm going to report that said player used an expletive in his communique with the zebras. If I'm on the floor and can hear the coach say, 'You're awful!' to the ref just before said coach gets Td up, that's a valuable nugget of info to pass along.

 

Just ask Kurt Rambis if it's true. I'm sure he won't mind pissing off every NBA ref in the league.