TMZ breaks NCAA violation story

http://www.tmz.com/2010/03/18/oklahoma-basketball-star-keith-gallon-ncaa-scandal/#ixzz0iXACdqVg

I have to say, I wasn't expecting them to break news like this.

 

I'm practically at ground zero and it's all anyone's talking about.

TMZ doesn't have to worry about ruffling the feathers of a local coach, double-checking sources, catching the wrath of fanbois, etc. That gives them an advantage over a reporter who's working the story on the local end.

Plus, it doesn't have to worry about being wrong. When it is wrong (and trust me, it will be), it can hide behind the fricking defense that it's a gossip site.

 

I'm wondering how TMZ got the document that detailed the wire transfer into the bank account. You'd think there would be privacy concerns if you're the kid and his mom.

 

I'm sure they paid somebody for the tip. Another edge they have, ethics be damned.

 

I'm personally fine with TMZ breaking stuff because readers have to come to us to see if it's true.

 

They don't get a pass in terms of breaking the law however (If, in fact, they have).

 

It doesn't have to give TMZ the advantage.

What - you don't think newspapers in Oklahoma couldn't write about NCAA violations? Maybe not this one, but others? They could. They choose not to pursue it. Not worth it. Not because it won't attract readers...it'll attract readers. Readers are suckers for the truth, especially when it's scandalous.

It comes down to, quite simply, will. Mettle. Intestinal fortitude. Work ethic. Drive. Newspapers will abdicate their responsibility for covering these issues to TMZ and the like because - and it pains me to say it - beat writers would rather eat their gameday buffets, bullshit with the coach in the offseason and appear on radio stations and TV shows.

I know that's harsh and hits below the belt. I hope it hurts a little. Beat writers - the people best equipped to write these stories, with the best training and ethic - need to wake the fuck up.

 

On the other hand, if you do have an agent wiring $3,000 to an NBA prospect's bank account and they player and his mom can't explain it, you shouldn't worry about making coaches, sources and fans mad.

One of the problems on chasing these NCAA violations stories is that many reporters don't want to stick their hand in the hornets' nest and also don't think it's all that big a deal of a kid gets some cash on the side, NCAA be damned.

Oh, yeah, and what Alma said.

 

It's not a back-end problem, i.e. beat writers staying away from scandalous stories in order to take the path of least resistance.

It's a front-end problem, i.e. sports just not attracting the kind of reporters that will pursue these kinds of stories in the first place.

Let me make this very clear. I don't mean anything against the reporters on the Oklahoma beat. It is very likely that this story just got dropped into TMZ's lap, which is going to happen occasionally. Everybody gets beat. Part of the gig.

I also don't mean to say that there are not incredible reporters working beats in sports. There are. I've worked alongside them. I've worked with them. Just as there are community college students who could wax someone at Princeton (think "Good Will Hunting.")

But I think it is safe to say that the recruiting pool for dogged sports writers just isn't as big as it is on the hard news side. Part of the disparity is what you say - path of least resistance, compliance out of habit, etc. But I think the larger part is that very few ambitious writers and reporters end up pursuing sports beats to begin with, comparatively speaking. The beat just isn't important enough or meaty enough. It can be, of course, particularly when large public universities are involved. But very few potential Pulitzer winners are willing to endure 200 sports press conferences a year for the opportunity to work a beat where even the most important stories, like this Oklahoma one if it turns out to be true, don't really affect many people in the grand scheme of things anyway.

 

I'll be impressed when they finally dig up the goods on Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo and USC gets the death penalty