F****** blogs

[dixiehack]

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.

So did you?

 

[Doc Holliday]

So did you?

Actually I didn't. He ran running to the store manager to report me. He wanted to me to climb a stack of pallets about 30 feet up and risk breaking my neck to get some 5-pound bags of flour down to stock the shelves because he was too ****ing stupid to have charged up the forklift the night before. I told him to get his ass up there himself since he ****ed up and forgot to charge the forklift. He told me I was going up there and I said I'd kick his ass before he would make me do it. He ran to the manager and I was fired within a few minutes. Good times. Got a better job that paid more with way better benefits (even for part-timers) two months later working for Wal-Mart.

 

[Gator]

Small update here: Turns out, waiting was the best thing I could have done. The official announcement was made on Tuesday, and Club President and Guy From Governing Body gave me the inside track to put a story in the paper the day before. And during the official announcement, there was a lightly veiled shot at the blogger to went with unnamed "multiple sources." Blogger, as expected, touted his report from "six months ago," though Club President said nothing had been decided at that point during the press conference. Also, blogger was not invited.

Maybe patience, and doing things the right way, can be a virtue.

 

[LongTimeListener]

The blogger was right, though.

 

[Gator]

Sun shines on a dog's ass every now and again. It was irresponsible without confirmation and likely will keep him from getting credentialed.

 

[LongTimeListener]

LOL. So you're part of the favorites club now and you're happy about it? Got invited to the luncheon and everything!

That isn't a badge of honor. That means they know you'll only write what they want you to write. That isn't reporting.

The blogger is the one doing journalism here.

 

[Gator]

If you say so. Sometimes you have to pick your battles. I picked mine. I'm happy with my decision.

 

[hondo]

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

That's hardly the case. Bloggers have scooped newspapers on who gets a Super Bowl, College national championship etc.
The problem with bloggers and web site is they don't care if they're wrong. If they throw enough **** at the wall, something sticks from time to time. Our problem is we have to bat 1.000 in being right. Tough when you have to follow the rules of engagement and bloggers can be the equivalent of guerrilla fighters using human shields. Not a fair fight.

 

[hondo]

LOL. So you're part of the favorites club now and you're happy about it? Got invited to the luncheon and everything!

That isn't a badge of honor. That means they know you'll only write what they want you to write. That isn't reporting.

The blogger is the one doing journalism here.

On the contrary. The blogger is not doing journalism when he doesn't have to worry about sourcing or accuracy.

 

[Gator]

Both posts, said it better than I could have.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I don't know the blog enough to judge.

I do know that in this case Gator is claiming the high ground ***because he got scooped***. News isn't news only when and if the person in charge wants it to be.

 

[Gator]

How did I get scooped? I knew what he knew when he knew it. When I went to get on-the-record confirmation, I was told that nothing was set in stone. I didn't feel comfortable going with it. As I mentioned previously, you have to pick and choose your battles. I didn't claim any high ground. I decided that betraying the trust of the source I reached out to was not worth putting it in print. That decision, as I mentioned, paid off.

Not to mention that if I had gone with it at that time, it would have been incorrect, but ultimately correct. Should I report that the new stadium being built in Las Vegas is going to host the Super Bowl? I mean, it probably will, but as of right now, nothing is set in stone.

 

[CD Boogie]

Should I report that the new stadium being built in Las Vegas is going to host the Super Bowl? .

Yes

 

[Jake_Taylor]

But how do you know he didn't just have great sources?

 

[Gator]

But how do you know he didn't just have great sources?

They couldn't have been that great if, that the time of the report, it wasn't correct.

 

[JC]

They couldn't have been that great if, that the time of the report, it wasn't correct.

Or you were being played.

 

[LongTimeListener]

They couldn't have been that great if, that the time of the report, it wasn't correct.

The strong lean here is that the blogger's report was correct and you didn't have sources who were being straight with you. They obviously wanted to orchestrate the rollout for their big luncheon and their publicity purposes. So yeah, most likely they were playing you.

 

[Gator]

I'm not saying I wasn't played. But I said it from the start, and I'll say it again: I didn't feel comfortable going with what I had heard six months ago without getting a higher authority to confirm it. I mean, this is really what separates the publications that do it right from those, as Hondo mentioned, that just throw **** against the wall and sometimes it sticks. People expect better from the newspaper. Let's say, for one reason or another, it's not true. Who does it hurt more -- the trusted newspaper that's been around for more than 150 years, or the blog that's been around for less than 150 months?

 

[LongTimeListener]

I'm not saying I wasn't played. But I said it from the start, and I'll say it again: I didn't feel comfortable going with what I had heard six months ago without getting a higher authority to confirm it.

Totally understand and respect this.

I mean, this is really what separates the publications that do it right from those, as Hondo mentioned, that just throw **** against the wall and sometimes it sticks. People expect better from the newspaper. Let's say, for one reason or another, it's not true. Who does it hurt more -- the trusted newspaper that's been around for more than 150 years, or the blog that's been around for less than 150 months?

Don't understand this at all. Why are you saying this blogger didn't do it right? He obviously had good sources if he nailed the story six months before they wanted it out. Why is he by definition doing it wrong? From putting your work and his side-by-side, it simply appears he did a better job than you on this story.

Also I'm not sure if you're just trying to be cute with the wording, but if the guy has been around for "less than 150 months" that means he could have been doing this for 12 years. That's a pretty long time.

I'd be concerned as an observer of journalism if the blogger wasn't going to be credentialed in retalation for a story that was accurate.

 

[Gator]

It's funny when you say "nailed the story." I call it eventually got something right. Let's say someone of prominence is shot. Blogger gets a tip that the person dies. Goes with it, because, why not? Big page views. Well, the person lingers on for a few more days, then dies. Is that nailing the story? Sure, ultimately the blogger was right. Nailed it.