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Of everything you've written, what prompted the angriest responses?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by tapintoamerica, Jun 24, 2008.

  1. friend of the friendless

    friend of the friendless Active Member

    Sirs, Madames,

    If you include news side, I got threatening phone calls from the sons of a convicted pedophile. I also was pilloried for writing a story about a forensic psychiatrist who testified on behalf of rehabbing pedophiles and various other sex offenders. (Mostly stuff from people who didn't read the story and just judged the subject material.)

    YD&OHS, etc
     
  2. EStreetJoe

    EStreetJoe Well-Known Member

    I've only gotten mildly angry responses to four stories I've been involved with and one of the responses was something that was out of my contol.

    1) First day of the county tournament in girls tennis. I wrote something about a coach yelling at one of her players (I heard the yelling from 30 yards away) during a changeover. Her player went on to lose the match, upset by the coach's shouting. Coach angrily calls the paper threatening to sue for libel because I didn't get a comment from her about the yelling and I wrote about a private conversation between her and her player. She wanted me to apologize. I refused. She didn't call in a match the rest of the season, preferring to fax or e-mail the results so she didn't have to talk to me. She also refused to talk to me after her team did well at the state tournament. Several other coaches complimented me on writing about her shouting at her player the way she did.

    2) County tournament for boys tennis. I write a great article about the finals, focusing on the No. 1 singles match. Unfortunately the photographer turned in a photo of the (white) kid that lost the match and left. The next day the mother of the (african-american) kid who won calls in complaining about the photo so I wind up having to write a feature story about her son.

    3) County tournament in girls tennis (a different year) coach of the winning team complains that instead of focusing on his team winning its 5th straight title I spent too much time writing about a controversial line call.

    4) I'm given the boys and girls lacrosse beats in 1999 and get told I have to pick an All-Decade team for them. So I contact the former lacrosse writers who weren't at the paper anymore, get some input from them. Go through the archives to see their all-area teams. Get some input from veteran coaches (including one who said that his current boys sophomore goalie is better than the four-year all-state goalie he had in the mid-90s). So I run the teams and a boys coach from outside our readership area calls me blasting about 2/3 of my selections, including my goalie pick (which was the sophomore).
     
  3. Jeff Wallner

    Jeff Wallner Member

    That's easy - a column about why Pete Rose shouldn't be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

    It's not like I was breaking new ground with that position, but an especially vocal faction of Rose fans took exception. I received some "fan" mail at my home, which was a bit disturbing.

    Once had a baseball GM approach me in the press dining room to "discuss" a column I wrote about him. Wouldn't classify his response as "angry" though.

    Interestingly, I get more angry responses to columns I haven't written, i.e. why don't you ever write about (insert their team/school). That sort of thing.
     
  4. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    i realized i posted this in the wrong topic last night ...

    there was the season i covered the goddard football team as hard as i've covered any team in any town. it was a treat to cover this team. you know a game or two into the season if a team you're covering is championship material, and this senior-laden GHS team was, even at 3-2 through the pre-district schedule that included a 14-7 loss to power Clovis (one of the best photos i've ever taken was of coaches roanhaus and jernigan at the 50 shaking hands, both of them drenched in sweat and spent energy; talk about an emotional game. anyhoo, went above and beyond with that rockets team. ol' sammy j. gave me keys to the team i heard he'd given few before me. the district game with 26-time state champion artesia goes OT (one of the three best football games i've covered). nearly came to tears in the roswell game when the QB's 49-yard spiral lands in the receiver's hands on the run into the end zone (sweetest TD toss and catch i've ever seen). covered all 3 playoff wins, including a roadie at St. Pius X in the 'querque. team makes the 4A title game so i trek to las cruces 3 days early to preview onante high, the other team making its first title game appearance. also wrote a game preview. stayed and covered the game. GHS lost a heartbreaker. the 4-hour drive back that night was brutal for me. get to office the next night, totally overloaded with emotions still, and get an angry message from a GHS teacher berating me or my lack of coverage leading up to the game. couldn't believe it. i gave my heart and soul to that team, told so many stories, from practices to features to sidebars to whatever. i was effin mad this woman would charge that i'm racist toward the school (WTF?) and a few other things. and i replied in a column that doubled as a roundup.
     
  5. writing irish

    writing irish Active Member

    Racist against GHS? Meaning what, that you were anti-Anglo or anti-Hispanic?
     
  6. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    I have no idea what she meant. I wrote about every segment of that team, from the transfer stud black running back (had more than 1,800 yards but no runs of more than 34 yards, just a war horse) to the Hispanic lineman "Bubba" who spent time in the clink, to all the rich white boys. All these years later I'm still baffled by her racist assertion. She was also pissed at my Walt Whitman use of punctuation, to which I defended.
     
  7. nmmetsfan

    nmmetsfan Active Member

    Don't worry Xan, the GHS teacher probably didn't even read the damn paper. When I worked in Socorro in what seems like many moons ago, I used to get blasted weekly about stuff I supposedly didn't cover. They would shut up when I mentioned the stories I had done about the topic or team or they'd simply say they hadn't seen it. Maybe it's a New Mexico thing?
     
  8. writing irish

    writing irish Active Member

    Not a NM thing exclusively of course, but there's plenty of mean spirit to go around in small NM towns. I worked in Belen once and it was the worst professional experience of my life- all because of the people.
     
  9. nmmetsfan

    nmmetsfan Active Member

    That's funny. I grew up in and around Belen and can sympathize with your plight.
     
  10. writing irish

    writing irish Active Member

    Most bizarre small-town experience of my life...pure, powerful xenophobia. I should include Los Lunas as well, since the job involved people from both towns as well as the Rio Communities neighborhoods. Race was not an issue from my perspective, as I encountered ample vitriol from pretty much everyone, Anglo or Hispanic.

    It's a shame about Socorro. Such a pretty little historic district and the Magdalenas to the west are fabulous.
     
  11. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    Did you ever make it down to Lake Arthur, writing? I love that little cubby hole.
     
  12. nmmetsfan

    nmmetsfan Active Member

    Even though I have lifelong friends from Belen and Los Lunas, one of the main reasons I don't live there now is the ignorant, vocal minority. And I'm not talking about race. As for Socorro, it is a charming town, and most of the people were great. One of the best golf courses nobody knows about.
     
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