Traitorous reader/"reporter"

There is a guy in my area who writes on what I assume is a very part-time basis for this little fan magazine for the school I cover. He basically uses this byline as a way to get into games. Shows up at about a fourth of the press conferences, never really accomplishes anything.

Anyway, he posts on the message board that is connected to his fan magazine all the time. It's easily the most popular message board for this fanbase. Thousands logged on at all times. Everyone knows his handle, yet this guy either thinks a) the beat guys don't read the message boards, or b) "everyone" doesn't include us.

I say this because he'll get on there and rip us, and not just "what a shitty story" kind of rips, it's like, "Beat Guy's a bad guy" kind of rips. Makes fun of our personalities, stuff we wear, shit like that. He'll go on our newspaper's site and comment under the stories using a similar handle and rip our coverage, which I'm sure he does to the other papers in the area, too. Then he'll see us at a presser or somewhere and act like we're buddies.

On the one hand, this guy is so irrelevant that I want to laugh at him. On the other hand, he's such an unprofessional, two-faced, loser of an asshole that I'm thisclose to calling him out one of these times in front of everybody.

 

The bigger question is why you haven't called him out?
What are you waiting for?

 

I would have done it yesterday. Twice.

 

cut his brake lines

 

Call him on it!



I'm your huckleberry.

 

Tell him to kiss your ass... you know what he's done and what he's said.

 

I would be remiss if I didn't suggest that you upper-deck him.

 

I suggest you walk up behind him when there are a bunch of people around and put him in a sleeper hold...until it gets to the point where he realizes you're not doing it in good fun, but rather to put him to sleep. Then, when he starts flailing around, whisper in his ear, "I know what you did last summer" and let him go.

Seriously.

That would be awesome.

 

At the next game or presser, ask him, loud enough for other reporters and perhaps the SID to hear, why he doesn't post those messages under his own name. If he protests or denys, just say your paper traced his comments back to his server (which can be done).

 

That ain't bad.

 

I say fuck with him. Next time he tries to act like your buddy tell him how you love reading his message board. Tell him 99 percent of the people that post on it are great, but this one guy (whatever his handle is) is a real clown. Just go on and on about this tool acting as if you don't know it's him and see how he reacts. Do that for a while then wait for him in the parking lot and knock his ass out. ;D

 

That's not a bad idea. I'd like him to start wondering whether I know, then we'll have a nice "does he know that I know that he knows" thing going for a while, and he'll be looking over his anonymous internet shoulder.