F****** blogs

[Gator]

So I have to blow off a little steam here. Learn through a local "news" blog, citing "multiple informed sources," that Major Event is coming to my town. I get on the horn immediately. I call a local city councilor in the know. She tells me there are talks, essentially rendering the blog report erroneous, but can't go on record. Directs me to Local Club President.

After two days, I finally get him on the phone. He says it's not a done deal, again, rendering blog report erroneous, but warns that a story might jeopardize said event from coming. We make a deal. When he knows something, I'm the first person he calls. He won't call Big State Daily or National Paper. I don't feel great about it, but it's the only way I can get a major player on the record. Call me old school, but I won't go with "multiple informed sources." It's just not that important to me because, if this event does come to my neck of the woods, I don't want to sully the relationship with Local Club President. We'll be working together quite a bit.

All this being said, if Major Event does end up coming here, it looks like we got beat by a blog that took a chance. Even though I did things the right way, it's going to look like that report (which has been picked up and retweeted by National Golf Writer) was the first one out there. I want to report what I know, but I'm walking a fine line with an eye toward the future.

It just bugs me. Sorry about all the ambiguity, if you were able to keep up with all of this.

 

[Alma]

So I have to blow off a little steam here. Learn through a local "news" blog, citing "multiple informed sources," that Major Event is coming to my town. I get on the horn immediately. I call a local city councilor in the know. She tells me there are talks, essentially rendering the blog report erroneous, but can't go on record. Directs me to Local Club President.

After two days, I finally get him on the phone. He says it's not a done deal, again, rendering blog report erroneous, but warns that a story might jeopardize said event from coming. We make a deal. When he knows something, I'm the first person he calls.

Who called the blogger?

So these things are inevitable. Part of the way the business works. In a sense, yeah, you did get beat if it comes to pass, and, if it doesn't come to pass, there will be no consequences for the blog. It stinks. It's a crappy part of the business. It's even worse when national golf writers pick up any nugget they can and tweet it along.

At any rate, someone told this blog this event was going to happen. It didn't come from nowhere. So, when you talk to city councilwoman and local club president, you tell them: This has already been reported by a blog, it has already been retweeted by a national golf writer, and there is already a leak of the news, so if the event is "jeopardized," it will have already been so by the other report.

In other words: Don't let them use your legitimacy as a way of hurting your ability to report. Chances are, when said big event "officially" is announced, National Golf Writer, who now knows it's coming, will report it about 20 minutes before it is announced. You'll still lose.

So, IMO, next time, just be blunt: Sorry, XYZ reported this, if they're wrong, tell me so, and I'll quote you. If they're not, let's talk about the event. If you're in talks, I'll report that.

And then see what they do.

 

[Gator]

At any rate, someone told this blog this event was going to happen. It didn't come from nowhere. So, when you talk to city councilwoman and local club president, you tell them: This has already been reported by a blog, it has already been retweeted by a national golf writer, and there is already a leak of the news, so if the event is "jeopardized," it will have already been so by the other report.

I told him this, verbatim. He just didn't care. And as you mentioned, I think he used the legitimacy of the newspaper against me. He even said he had heard of National Golf Writer and didn't care. He was adamant that he wasn't saying anything on record. I attempted to level with him the best I could, but just got stonewalled. Blogger is friendly with Area Tourism Guy, who probably leaked it out. Not sure who the other "multiple sources" could be. But you know, at this point, I'm going to have to live with what is. I put my faith in Local Club President and hope he sticks to his word. This was certainly a learning experience, though. Next time, I'll be more straighforward.

 

[Alma]

I told him this, verbatim. He just didn't care. And as you mentioned, I think he used the legitimacy of the newspaper against me. He even said he had heard of National Golf Writer and didn't care. He was adamant that he wasn't saying anything on record. I attempted to level with him the best I could, but just got stonewalled. Blogger is friendly with Area Tourism Guy, who probably leaked it out. Not sure who the other "multiple sources" could be. But you know, at this point, I'm going to have to live with what is. I put my faith in Local Club President and hope he sticks to his word. This was certainly a learning experience, though. Next time, I'll be more straighforward.

Call Area Tourism Guy, then.

Point is, you want whomever you think leaked it to think that you know that they leaked it, which perhaps gives them pause next time.

Call up area tourism guy and tell him straight out: Well, Local Golf Guy wouldn't tell me, so I thought I'd ask you.

Not to be rude to bloggers, but they tend to prefer reaping the rewards of a scoop like that without bearing any responsibility, which is to say: Sometimes, they don't like being taken seriously. The best thing you can do to a blogger is not to feed their inferiority complex, but treat them like they beat you and do your due diligence to retrace their steps. When you do that, you announce to their sources "hey, each time blogger breaks something, I'm following up, so your skin is in the game." And then, sources don't talk so much to blogs.

I know it seems counter-intuitive, but our culture still tends to take the newspaper seriously on a level it does not online only outlets or talk radio. Once you elevate those other sources, they get less gossipy - fast - because their sources are being hounded by the newspaper anyway.

 

[LongTimeListener]

You seem to be taking the angle that the initial blog report was wrong. Was it? Or does the blog just have a better and/or more cooperative source than you do?

Personally I wouldn't put a lot of stock in the club president's denial that it's a done deal. Organizations like these usually want to control the release of their information. He could be pulling your leg because they have a big press conference hubbub scheduled to announce it and don't want to take the wind out of their own sails.

 

[JohnHammond]

If a blog's scoop jeopardizes a "major event" coming to town, the event wasn't "major" in the first place.

 

[TyWebb]

I can remember at least three times a source told me if I did a story on something, it could jeopardize it actually happening, the most egregious of them being the hiring of a coach. All three times I did the story anyway. All three times the event/hiring/whatever happened anyway.

LTL and Hammond are right. They want to control when the news is announced, and if your article can jeopardize it, it likely wasn't going to happen anyway.

 

[Gator]

You seem to be taking the angle that the initial blog report was wrong. Was it? Or does the blog just have a better and/or more cooperative source than you do?

Personally I wouldn't put a lot of stock in the club president's denial that it's a done deal. Organizations like these usually want to control the release of their information. He could be pulling your leg because they have a big press conference hubbub scheduled to announce it and don't want to take the wind out of their own sails.

According to Club President, yes it was wrong. And it's certainly plausible that he is pulling my leg to control the amount of information that was released. Yup, this was a learning process, and I really do hope that the Club President is on the level and keeps his word, like I've kept mine. As mentioned, we have a long relationship ahead of us if this event does, in fact, occur.

 

[Gator]

Also, is it bad that I wish this event doesn't come here simply for the fact that I want be proven right in holding off? Probably doesn't matter because blogs only matter if they find a needle in a haystack.

 

[justgladtobehere]

What kind of blog is it that it has so much importance in your area or connections to people who would know? I understand if you don't want to say because it might reveal the event you are talking about. It's just that where I am, there really isn't a blog not associated with a news organization that would have any significance.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Frankly, it's time you report it. You've got numerous sources admitting it's in the works. You don't have to name them. And like the others have said, the blog reported it first so it sure as hell isn't your fault if it falls apart. Follow up with tourism guy that seems to like to run his trap to the blogger. Then write your story and run with it. These people are screwing you over. If you're going to sit there and take it, then don't blame the damn blogger. Blame yourself.

 

[Riptide]

Honeymoon's over with that club president, too. Business is business, etc.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

Honeymoon's over with that club president, too. Business is business, etc.

Exactly this. Are there any things that local club president and area tourism guy lean on the paper to get the word out about? Things that don't really move the needle for you, but they depend on for a form of free advertising?

If so, that information train is off the tracks. Tell them to get ****ed and go ring up blogger guy in the future.

 

[Rhody31]

Just a warning: tread carefully, especially if potential advertising dollars are at stake. I learned the hard way.
New Year 2013 a football player tweeted the local U was playing Penn State. This was before everyone had Twitter and, as I was the lone reporter who covered the team on Twitter, I started looking for other players' accounts, found them and a couple had tweeted the same thing. I called the school, no one got back to me. I called Penn State. Got someone on the phone who denied it was happening, get a call from my school's AD saying they wished I didn't call PSU and my snooping was putting the game in jeopardy. Wouldn't confirm anything on the record, asked me to hold off on the story. Told him I couldn't write about the game being played because I had no official confirmation - did talk to the head coach who basically said he wasn't sure how those things worked but if it happened it would be good for the program - but I was going forward with a story on the players' tweets.
Write the story, clear it with my ME, publish it in our weekly and put it up on the site. Fire off a tweet with a link. I used to work in PA, a former co-worker RTs it, that gets picked up by some Penn State writers and the next day I get a call from the AD telling me I cost the school $500,000. SID called me the next day to berate me for the same thing.
Two weeks later, fired. A few months later I heard from a TV guy that the school told my bosses I couldn't cover games anymore or they'd pull advertising dollars and the paper made a decision.

So while I'd say call the Big Event, see if you can confirm thru them, I will warn you - make sure the paper's bottom line won't take a hit if you dig to break it the right way because if ad dollars are at stake, bosses won't have a hard decision to make.

 

[dirtybird]

Just a warning: tread carefully, especially if potential advertising dollars are at stake. I learned the hard way.
New Year 2013 a football player tweeted the local U was playing Penn State. This was before everyone had Twitter and, as I was the lone reporter who covered the team on Twitter, I started looking for other players' accounts, found them and a couple had tweeted the same thing. I called the school, no one got back to me. I called Penn State. Got someone on the phone who denied it was happening, get a call from my school's AD saying they wished I didn't call PSU and my snooping was putting the game in jeopardy. Wouldn't confirm anything on the record, asked me to hold off on the story. Told him I couldn't write about the game being played because I had no official confirmation - did talk to the head coach who basically said he wasn't sure how those things worked but if it happened it would be good for the program - but I was going forward with a story on the players' tweets.
Write the story, clear it with my ME, publish it in our weekly and put it up on the site. Fire off a tweet with a link. I used to work in PA, a former co-worker RTs it, that gets picked up by some Penn State writers and the next day I get a call from the AD telling me I cost the school $500,000. SID called me the next day to berate me for the same thing.
Two weeks later, fired. A few months later I heard from a TV guy that the school told my bosses I couldn't cover games anymore or they'd pull advertising dollars and the paper made a decision.

So while I'd say call the Big Event, see if you can confirm thru them, I will warn you - make sure the paper's bottom line won't take a hit if you dig to break it the right way because if ad dollars are at stake, bosses won't have a hard decision to make.

What a clownish situation on their part. Here's a secret Mr. AD, if you don't want something like that out, make sure kids aren't putting it out on the web. ****sticks.

 

[justgladtobehere]

Why are these pieces of news getting out problematic?

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

Rhody,

Something really stinks about that story. Someone is not being honest with you.

 

[Rhody31]

Rhody,

Something really stinks about that story. Someone is not being honest with you.

There is a lot of background not there involving management and me - mainly involving their disappointment with me not producing the way I had after they cut OT and I told them I wasn't working for free anymore - but this event was the straw that broke the camel's back. Wasn't trying to threadjack, just a warning that if he digs a little too deep and it costs the paper ad dollars, it could be bad news.

 

[JohnHammond]

Alright, but not everyone gets in a fight with management about everything. It wasn't the story pissing off advertisers that got you fired; it was you.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I got fired once when I was in high school from being a stock boy at a grocery store for telling my boss I was going to kick his ass. It happens.