Small Colorado daily draws flak for football photo

I'm wondering how great a journalist some sports writers were that were/are beloved in a community. I've had a parent say "so and so" radio guy wouldn't do that when I mentioned that an umpire told the pitcher to shut up and pitch.

The pitcher promptly gave up what turned out to be a game-winning home run. The funny thing about it was that the mom of the kid defended me in front of the parent who gave me a hard time. If something affects the outcome of a game in a decisive manner, you have to write it.

You can't gloss over this stuff. If it's a small town, everyone will know that the kid fumbled anyway.

 

I work in a small town.
Four weeks ago, one of our local schools lost the field hockey state title in triple OT, a game they weren't supposed to be in. I took a photo of one of the captains walking off the field, crying, as the other team celebrated in the background.
My coworker layed out the front, we came up with a big headline for it and some of the people in news started saying how we were cold blooded for running a picture like that and how we wouldn't do it if we had kids.
I asked them why I shouldn't run it. Their answer - it's mean.

 

That sounds hard. My way is easy.

 

Nice.

 

This Bills fan still can't bear to say "Scott Nor....." (sigh)

 

But wrong. You can say what happens without piling on or embarrassing the kid.

 

Purposely trying to make someone look good is just as bad as purposely trying to make someone look bad. It's disingenuous bullshit.

 

We ran a fumble shot once. Photog insisted on it ... it was a great photo.

The kid who was pictured losing the ball made a joke about it the next time I visited practice, I said "it was a great photo" (he said "really, it was") and the matter was never brought up again. Maybe the fact that his team won probably helped.

 

It doesn't illustrate how hard they tried.

eta:

I think Rick makes a damn good point. Readers don't want unvarnished truth. They want something that confirms their worldview.

 

Giving readers what they want isn't all that great if you have to sacrifice your credibility to do it.

The Colorado paper did nothing wrong. If that fumble was as crucial as it sounds it was, kudos to the photographer for capturing the moment. If anything, the reporter deserves a second-look for burying the fumble in his gamer.

 

This is something I probably wouldn't have done. If the team won, why run a photo of the kid fumbling? Why not run a celebration shot of a touchdown or something, or an action shot of the big playmaker of the game?

I would never have run the fumbling shot if the team won, especially at the high school level. You're almost asking for trouble at that point.

 

Well-stated and I agree. Although often times you have to lead with your strongest photo, but if I had a choice for a high school game I would have gone with something else, as well. I don't mind the crying photos after games...that just shows the emotion of the moment...of course parents don't see it that way. How embarrassing it must be to raise a bunch of crybabies