Would You Have Written This Story?

What did the reporter apologize for?

 

Basically he apologized to coach and team for not giving proper context to what really was a minor incident. He was very vague in initial story which made it look like last's year team was out of control.

Really you could probably write same story about any HS team in the country.

 

Something to be said for finding an angle and running with it, though.

 

Well it does give a good young columnist a nice clip for his portfolio. I will give the guy credit in that his work is not typical of what you see in a local weekly. His work is very readable from the usual drivel you get from sports section of a hometown paper.

He is making the most of his opportunity and no doubt will be moving to bigger places.

 

TMZ or Perez Hilton most likely.

 

Seems more like Bill Simmons in training.

 

umm, where was an editor in all this?

no documented facts and reporter didn't even talk to the coach? editor should have given the story back to the reporter with directions to do his job COMPLETELY.

 

I wouldn't run from controversy, but if it involves kids, it's a much bigger bag of worms that usually isn't worth the trouble.

I wrote a story about a kid who was suspended for a key basketball game (state playoffs). The coach had told us on the record that the kid had been busted for using alcohol, but there was no police report. I had the coach on tape and I played it for my editor. We ended up writing that the kid had been suspended for the game, but never said why.

The following day I was in the publisher's office getting my ass chewed (only time in five years I met the publisher) because saying he had been suspended was too vague and implied the kid could have done something worse than what he actually did. It could have been cutting class, it could have been violating curfew, it could have been for selling heroin. A parent on the team had an in with the publisher and made my life hell for a month.

It's just not worth it. I learned of similar incidents while covering preps and I ignored every single one of them. By doing that, I was on a pro beat within six months.

 

Yeah, it will be a nice clip, but if he failed to do the basics of checking out the story before publishing and putting things in context, is it really that good? Doesn't sound like it to me.

As for using kids' names, no way! If their names aren't used in a crime story (save for something particulary heinous according to your paper's standards and practices), no way I'm using it just for downing a few brewskis under age.

 

if he didn't contact coach or have solid, verifiable facts then it isn't a nice clip at all. it's a very incomplete story and one his editor should have passed back to the writer for more work.

 

Mizzougrad, you'd better hope your lazy ass never works for me.

And I can't really comment on what I think about the story or subsequent column because, you know, we haven't read either of them and are taking Boom's word for the content/angle/etc.

 

I agree, you need confirmation from outside these team captains, whether it be from police report, coach, AD or whoever. This year's captains could be guys that were upset with lack of playing time last year, didn't like some of last year's seniors, any number of reasons. At the bare minimum, I'd say you have to at least attempt talking to the coach. Just having a few current players saying it with no substantiation is asking for trouble. I wouldn't expect the coach to say much (if anything), but you have to at least try. You could even take the angle of making it a learning moment, showing how the team overcame a problem to come together and win the state title.