Waco paper calls out other papers in Baylor blog

Interesting blog, and even more interesting comments...

http://www.wacotrib.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/collegefootball/entries/2007/11/08/where_theres_sm.html

 

He does a flop-flip in the lede graf.

 

Interesting comment.

I'll admit this is a very tricky area that can be easily abused. In the case of Dennis Franchione, everyone knows he will be fired. So a reporter can run with a unnamed source of dubious importance -- a low-level trustee, for example -- and get the "scoop," even if it's wrong.

I was in a situation a couple years ago in which everyone "knew" Coach X was going to be hired, but the AD was very firm that he wouldn't make a final decision until a certain time. I was terrified that I would wake up Thursday morning and find that one of my competitors had written that Coach X was hired. Even if the story was wrong, it would ultimately be true, and anything I said would be construed as sour grapes. Luckily, it didn't happen like that. But I can understand the Baylor guy's frustrations.

 

First ... be first.
Second ... be right (eventually, hopefully).

Dem's da new rulz, kids.

 

If it makes a difference: I know who the source is on at least one of these stories. He/she is high-level and well-placed. As in, he/she will be integrally involved with the hiring/firing of a football coach. This is info the reporter had to go with.

That said, the blogs in the Big 12 have been chippy this season, calling out papers and reporters by name. Good times, all around.

 

Some of the stories can even get a bit chippy. This is a nice rundown of the panic that apparently set in when Andre Ware "reported" Franchione's buyout this week.


Citing anonymous sources, ESPN.com and CBSSports.com posted stories online that said A&M and Franchione had begun negotiations to buy out his contract. CBSSports' story initially said Franchione had agreed to a buyout. The story was later edited to say Franchione was "on the verge" of a buyout.

The San Antonio Express-News combined both stories and added that running backs coach Kenith Pope could become the interim coach. The details about Pope were later removed from the newspaper's Web site.

The Houston Chronicle reported Monday on its Web site that A&M presented Franchione with a buyout sum of $1.9 million. The story also said Byrne enlisted sports consultant Chuck Neinas to help with the coaching search. A call to Neinas' home in Boulder, Colo., was not returned.

That entire story later was removed from the Web site.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/110607dnspotamulede.23168c7.html

 

God, don't touch this. In a blog, in print, on the radio, anywhere.

Even if it's not sour grapes, it comes across that way.

Buckle up the chin strap and get 'em next time.

 

This is the problem we run into in the world of the 24-hour news cycle.

Even when you are right, you can end up being wrong.

Things change so fast, what was true five hours ago might not be true right now. The great thing about newspapers was that they gave everyone involved - reporters, editors, sources - a perfect timeframe to investigate, dissect and divulge. If it is true at the end of the day, it's usually true. I have no doubt that, at some point in time over the past week, Franchione was "on the verge of" accepting a buyout. I also have no doubt that, at some point in time, he rejected a buyout offer.

I really have no idea how reporters are going to be able to last for their entire careers. Right now, we're at a point in time where you literally have to update your story every hour. And write what happens to be true at the end of that hour.

Ok, i'm rambling. enough.

 

Actually, I have no doubt that Franchione has already accepted a buyout offer, effective at the end of the season.

 

I saw Chuck Neinas and suddenly felt dirty...

 

This comment says it all.

 

A newspaper's blog calling out other papers, such as this one by the LSU beat writer for Louisiana Gannett papers? (My comments are in bold)

Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Why such peril over Perrilloux?
BATON ROUGE - It's funny how the media business works sometimes.

(Such as this blog, for instance.)

On Monday there was a media feeding frenzy feasting on quarterback Ryan Perrilloux and his latest non-arrest at a bar where there were about 25 of his closest teammates. The story, which was actually first written about in Gannett newspapers on Sunday, was on the front pages of several news sections around the state today and Monday. It was a national story Monday. It's all anyone was talking about.

(Originally, this blog item said the story was "first reported by Louisiana Gannett," but when called on it, the writer admitted a TV station was first, so he changed this paragraph.)

Meanwhile, Monday night at the LSU football facility, defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey openly discussed how he had just practiced that afternoon for the first time since injuring his knee against Auburn on Oct. 20. Representatives from only two major news organizations were there - the Gannett News Service of Louisiana and the Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News. Congratulations Louisiana media, other than Gannett, you got scooped by an out of state paper on your own beat.

(That last sentence sounds like it was written by a 7th-grader with his tongue sticking out. More on that "scoop" in a bit.)

Now tell me who is more valuable to the LSU football team - Dorsey or Perrilloux?

Here's a hint. Dorsey may be the best defensive lineman in the nation. At 75 percent because of his knee injury, he's still one of the best defensive linemen in the nation. Perrilloux is a backup who only plays in spots. He's very talented, athletic, has in-game savvy and could be the LSU quarterback in 2008 and 2009. I think he should have been playing much more this season and passing much more. But he's till just a backup who plays in spots. LSU will be just as good without Perrilloux. Starting quarterback Matt Flynn is coming off the best game of his career and can run pretty well, too. LSU doesn't need Perrilloux to win. LSU needs Dorsey to win.

And there Dorsey was talking about how he might play with a knee brace against Alabama and how badly he wants to come back and the two largest newspapers in the state and area television stations were not there.

(That he might play was not a "scoop." It was reported by everyone a week earlier when Les Miles said he was "optimistic" about Dorsey's chances. That Dorsey badly wanted to come back? If that's considered a scoop, that a football player wants badly to play, well, congratulations.)

The Perrilloux story is a big story, but it's getting old. It broke Saturday. He was not arrested, but he was mentioned in a police report. Plus there is his track record of other near arrests and questionable behavior and iffy status on the team.

(It's getting old? It's a story until it's resolved. Other papers followed it until the police made their final report, and when Miles made his decision to boot two players and discipline Perrilloux. It was a story until its resolution.)

If Flynn gets hurt and Perrilloux is not available, it's big. It's a legitimate story, but it shouldn't create such a frenzy. He's a backup. There may continue to be developments here and there on it, but whether or not Perrilloux plays or not is not as significant as whether Dorsey plays or not.

(Is he seriously suggesting the media wait until after Flynn gets hurt to decide Perrilloux not being on the trip to Alabama is important? That's absurd. This is a team with national championship aspirations, and it went to Alabama with one quarterback who had any significant SEC experience.)

Funny. I was on a radio show in Alabama Tuesday and there were a few questions about Perrilloux. Then they asked if linebacker Derrick Odom, who was not arrested but mentioned in a police report along with Perrilloux, was going to play. They didn't know that Odom has not played all season. The only reason they knew about Odom was because of his arrest history. He hasn't made a tackle this season unless you count cars and doors.

Perrilloux could help LSU beat Alabama. His running style could relax some of Alabama's blitzes, but so could Flynn's. Flynn has thrown for 1,266 yards this season and rushed for 138. Perrilloux has run and passed for 606.

Now if Flynn or Dorsey were in a bar fight and almost got arrested. Now that would be a story.


I give the guy points for getting the story in print first and for having good quotes from Perrilloux's lawyer, but this blog entry is the worst kind of 'I'm better than they are' bullshit that I can't imagine readers care about.

I also want to point out that he was beaten a couple of days later on print reports that LSU receiver Early Doucet said he was at 100 percent for the first time since his groin injury. Still waiting for him to chastise himself for being "scooped" by the Louisiana media other than Gannett.

This is chicken-shit finger-pointing, and the first version was inaccurate to boot, giving himself credit for breaking a story he didn't break.