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Peter King's lengthy profile of Goodell

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Herbert Anchovy, Feb 2, 2011.

  1. Versatile

    Versatile Active Member

    There's a pretty big difference between an analyst paid to give his insight and reporting in a sports forum and a media relations person paid to spin things and be a spokesman.

    And I think, whether any of us like it (I know I don't), that many people would add that there's a big difference between covering the White House and the White Sox.
     
  2. Versatile

    Versatile Active Member

    I tend to think Smith gets written off these days as "Guy who does "happy," well-written features on people no one has heard of before. Don't forget that some of his best work has been stories on prominent and controversial figures such as George O'Leary and Mike Tyson, to name a few.

    Either way, if not Smith, imagine the job Scott Price could have done with this story, particularly if given reasonable access?
     
  3. Journalist21

    Journalist21 Member

    True. We don't have a dinner thrown for us.
     
  4. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    When you start taking a paycheck from the organization you cover, in my book you are now a "media relations person paid to spin things." And I don't care how ethical an individual might be, conflict of interest is all about appearances. Verducci is compromised, no two ways about it.

    And there is no difference between "covering the White Sox and the White House" when it comes to adhering to journalistic ethics. MLB is an enormous entertainment industry employing thousands and thousands of people. Consumers spend their hard-earned cash on the product. They deserve impartiality from the supposedly watchdoggiest of the watchdogs when it comes to sports journalism.
     
  5. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    i consider myself a friend of peter's and a great admirer of his work and work ethic. but he absolutely should not have been the writer assigned to do this. and if peter was the hand-picked choice of the nfl, it would've been awesome for s.i. to say, 'sorry, roger runs the nfl, but he does not run 'sports illustrated.'

    alas, the days when a publication boldly stands up for itself are long gone. too many long-time chroniclers are in bed with those they chronicle, rationalizing that principles now must be sacrificed to gain access and compete with every tom, dick and harry.com laying in wait to give the subject what they're seeking.

    it is becoming more and more difficult to read pieces without wondering what the motivation was and question the integrity of a story of this nature. and in addition to my admiration and friendship with peter i also admit that roger is a long-time friend who i also admire and respect, perhaps as much as any man i know.
     
  6. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    I don't think sports fans are expecting their columnists and media voices to attack the subject with such gravity, so I too find the comparison to the White House to be a bit off-base. But there are parts of the job that are somebody's viewpoint -- where readers can assign whatever background they want, knowing for instance that King is the NFL's toadie or Verducci gets a boner every Feb. 16 thinking about hope springing eternal -- and there are parts that are still news and require an unaffected eye. Roger Goodell's personality and his role in this contentious dispute is one of those stories.
     
  7. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    What is so prominent and controversial about Roger Goodell? The guy is milquetoast. Gary Smith writes stories. Not straight profiles. What is the story? George O'Leary had a story. Mike Tyson is a walking story. Can you really see Roger Goodell as a Gary Smith story? That was all I meant.

    I agree about S.L. Price. He's a wonderful writer.
     
  8. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    The other thing that bothers me about this story is the continued narrative, which began from the league office when Goodell's name first surfaced as a possible commissioner, that he had "worked his way up from an intern." He's the son of a U.S. senator, for cripes' sake.
     
  9. Versatile

    Versatile Active Member

    OK, I can follow in that line of thinking. I suppose I agree, though everyone has a story.
     
  10. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    OH, absolutely roger would be in smith's wheelhouse. the son of the liberal republican named to replace sen. bobby kennedy after his assassination? with roger's life goal, first and foremost, being to make his late father proud?

    you bet there'd be plenty of the psychoanalysis smith loves for him to poke and prod and reveal about roger, who's not nearly as milquetoast as you've been led to believe.
     
  11. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    that right there is one of the misconceptions, that roger's silver-spoon upbringing led him directly on the fast-track to nfl headquarters. his dad died when roger was about 15, i believe, years after he had lost that senate seat....
     
  12. Out of curiosity - if SI did grow some balls and said they they would pick the writer and that it wouldn't be Peter King would the NFL have offered the opportunity to ESPN the Magazine instead? If so - who would be considered ESPN the Mag's equal to King as PR softballer?
     
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