Should JV results be included?

You may not be frustrated, and good on you for that, but you see it too on this board. "Why don't readers understand and appreciate us? Why don't my family members think I have a real job? Why don't publishers and owners pay us what we're worth?" There's a real disconnect between the way sports journalists see themselves and the way everybody else sees them.

As far as walking out on my job, that wasn't a fail but a fantastic win. I have never, nor will I ever be, the sort of person who can be easily pushed around. That fact is much more important to me than any job.

 

Has oop read a paper lately? Just read a weekly or a small- to medium-sized daily and see the lack of ethics the lack of anything newsworthy when it comes to what's printed.

 

To be fair, that doesn't make it right.

And the fact that the lines people draw are arbitrary doesn't automatically make them invalid. I just think it's worth remembering that these lines weren't handed down by divine inspiration, they are just means to an end.

He uses words like "ethics" and "gatekeeper" as the backbone of a life spent reporting on something. I use them as a punchline. Either way, OOP does not give a damn what I think I'm entitled to.

 

JV::Varsity as Practice::Games

 

Spare me the strawman, Rick.

I see myself as a guy doing a job. I've never said any of those things. Somebody's paying me to do a job, I do it right. It's that simple.

I have never called myself a gatekeeper, either. But the fact that you think journalistic ethics are a punchline speaks volumes about you. Not a surprise at all from somebody who has admitted to making things up so certain readers wouldn't feel bad, but it still does not speak well of you.

 

I'm glad that you don't feel the frustration that many in the profession feel.

And the fact that you apparently don't mind repeating that lie about me would say something about you, if you weren't just trying to wind me up. I never once, in my entire career, made something up. If you were half as committed to credibility as you claim to be, you'd stop saying it. But you aren't, you are just trolling. But that's okay, because I enjoy playing along.

Journalistic ethics, as practiced, are kind of funny to me, yes. They are frequently treated like religious dogma, with the adherents repeating the scripture without any interest in examining it critically. It causes such absurd lines in the sand as junior varsity sports reports being vile reader appeasement, but varsity reports are in line with our higher duty.

 

When the APSE lauds ethically challenged sports figures such as Mitch Albom and Gerry Howard, why do you think others think ethics are a punchline?

 

I have zero problem with giving readers what they are interested in. We have to strike a balance of that and what is actual news. Glorified practices usually don't qualify.

It's not a lie. You said you ran little league scores altered to make the losing team not feel so bad. Never mind that kids on the winning team might feel bad about not getting full credit for their accomplishment, you ran information you knew was wrong.

I'm sorry that you can't own up to it now. Again, that is a problem with you, not me.

 

There are still certain ethical principles are clear no matter how many times people like that fail to follow them -- such as not printing information we know to be false.

 

The fact that your sarcasm detector was broken that day doesn't excuse it from being a lie when you should know better by now.

It's called having a sense of humor about yourself. You should try it sometime. Trust me, there's lots to be amused by.

 

So I'm lying by reminding everybody of what you wrote and now you are trying to bullshit your way out of it by saying that you didn't mean it? Talk about funny. The fact that you think anybody would buy the load of bull you are trying to sell....that is laughable.

 

My two cents:

If you are at a smaller paper, I would have no problem with adding a JV score to a varsity report or running a score of JV games, but I would not track them down or staff games.

I think there also might be potential stories to consider -- if a JV team is unbeaten maybe it's worth a small story. If a running back is breaking loose for 200 yards a game, he can be on your radar, if a lineman is playing in the freshman and JV games and suiting up for varsity, it might be an interesting story.

Oh, and if a kid drops dead in a JV game, you probably will have to deal with that, too.