Journalism Students: Don't Do This

[e_bowker]

The stuff that is a problem you usually never see coming.

I can testify to this.
A couple months ago we ran spring football capsules on our local high school teams. Called the coach of one of the schools and got enough info to include a quick list of key losses and returners, and a few issues they need to address. Nothing major.
One of the losses and issues was their quarterback. The starter last year transferred to a school across town. I remarked during our conversation that that was worth mentioning, but the coach tried to talk me out of it. Said he wasn't THAT big a contributor last season (he started every game, but his passing stats weren't great and the team went 2-9). I told him I kind of had to mention it, and that it would basically be a name on a list. And that's all I ran, was a name.
A couple weeks later we ran another spring wrap-up story that mentioned the QB had transferred -- that was it. No getting into why, no diving into his contributions or lack thereof. Just that he transferred and here's who's in the running to replace him.
Coach calls later that day and goes ballistic. He cusses me out, cusses our other writer out and says "you don't need to come out here any more." I tried to text and call him back and smooth things over, but it went nowhere.
A few days later he goes to our ME (who was briefed on the situation by then) with a list of "media guidelines" for next season that include us not being allowed to talk to anyone but seniors; having to make an appointment in advance, through the school secretary, to talk to him; and not being allowed on the sideline for games -- but we can sit in the press box "if room permits," which it usually doesn't. Essentially, what you'd expect if you were covering a Division I college program instead of a small high school.

The ME is still sorting through it with the school administration. Totally blindsided us, though, to the point I've begun wondering if there's something about the way we do business. It's made me question myself, if I'm doing things right, even though I'm 1 million percent certain we did nothing wrong on this one.

E,

The coach may be a total ass or he is trying to hide something bad about this kid transferring. And from what it sounds like, it is the coach who did something bad and not the kid so the kid leaves. IF your ME allows, investigate it.

Without going into detail, I think there is some behind the scenes stuff but nothing sinister. The kid, who will be a junior next season, has aspirations of being a big-time athlete and playing college ball. Whether the kid is good enough to get to that level remains to be seen, but his opportunity is probably better at the bigger school across town.
The kid actually left after last football season, sat out his year, and will play football and baseball (he's decent at both sports).

 

[WolvEagle]

Turns out that the Evening News reposted the column, with this disclaimer from Jeff Meade: First, a side note. I have been asked (told) to add context since this column first was published Tuesday. All but the first incident happened more than 30 years ago at my first job in the business at another newspaper. I am not recommending any of this. Do not try this at home. I wouldn’t do any of them again except for the last item because I believe everything is on the record unless a reporter agrees otherwise.

The link: http://www.monroenews.com/news/2012/jun/28/journalism-students-dont-do/?sports

The disclaimer still doesn't justify what he did.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

That disclaimer almost makes it seem as if he's making light of the situation.

 

[spikechiquet]

Meade talks to Romenesko. He said he "just didn’t feel fired up about any sports issue."
http://jimromenesko.com/2012/06/29/sportswriter-reveals-the-most-unethical-things-hes-ever-done/

 

[JayFarrar]

This column made me think of the unethical things I've done, or at least some things others might perceive as being unethical.

I suspect if we all truly bared our souls, a pretty good list could be made.

 

[JayFarrar]

I forgot to include the I'll start:
--While interviewing a high school football coach after a game, a pop-up thunderstorm hit and soaked my notebook, rendering my notes into mush. I reconstructed a quote or two from memory.
--In a former coverage area, a high school coach was legendary for saying the same things after every game, one set of quotes for a win, and another for a loss. I'd write both sets of quotes during the game, and would compare them after. I used the pre-written quotes on more than one occasion because he had said, word for word, what I had written in advance.
--I've often written, up to two thirds, of a gamer before the game has started.
--In pre-internet days, I would include names of friends in stat boxes for out of area teams.

 

[spikechiquet]

I got fired from my college newspaper (this was when I didn't care about it, because I was a broadcasting major and only cared about being a SC anchor on ESPN by the time I was 26, mind you.):
My car got broken into (left the window down too low and then jimmied my window down to unlock it) near where all the skateboarders hung out.
After the cops were useless in helping, I went down with a recorder and notepad and asked the group of skaters their names and talked to them regarding a "story" for the student newspaper and how skaters felt about topics such as being able to skate in public places and not having a place to skate, crap like that.
I took down all their names and gave the cops the list to have them looked into. One of them put 2&2 together and complained to the EIC. He fired me on the spot.
He & I are still good friends (and he actually replaced me at one of my writing gigs after I got into newspapers) and it's one of those "urban legends" now at the student paper used to scare undergrads into not being dumbasses.

 

[e_bowker]

--I've often written, up to two thirds, of a gamer before the game has started.

I've done this more than once. In cases of tight deadlines, I'll sometimes write two basic outlines. One if the team I'm covering wins, another if they lose. You can leave a paragraph for the particulars and a quote or two and fill them in as the situation evolves. Slap a generic lede on there, include some information on what it means in the grand scheme of things, and you're at least halfway home.
I've also done it when I know I'm writing a featurized gamer and the outcome is secondary to the story. Do the same thing, just leave room for a summary paragraph and perhaps a more timely quote.

It might not be quite what you meant, but I don't really see a difference between doing that and writing as the game goes on.

 

[txsportsscribe]

forget about the ethics, it was just a bad, boring column. he needs to give back part of his paycheck because he certainly didn't work that day.

 

[mediaguy]

Bad column. Bad idea, bad execution, bad decision to run it, bad decision to awkwardly qualify the mistakes as, yeah, um, at least 30 years ago at another paper. (Miss Belding 1981, seriously, that's a working e-mail)

Here's a lesson to journalism students: Don't read that column, or anything else the guy writes.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

The editor responds with a column of her own.

http://www.monroenews.com/news/2012/jun/30/mea-culpa-column-disturbing/?news

 

[BDC99]

The editor responds with a column of her own.

http://www.monroenews.com/news/2012/jun/30/mea-culpa-column-disturbing/?news

Whoopsie. So why didn't she say if she plans to take any action? I'm sure the editor on duty is in some deep doo-doo as well.

 

[WolvEagle]

Interesting that she didn't mention anything about discipline. And, I was wondering why it took so long for her to opine (she was on vacation).

Betcha there's no disciplinary action coming out of this, but there should be.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

For discussion: What should the discipline be?

Most of the events he copped to were from a previous paper, NOT his current paper.


Obviously, his past history throws everything he has and will write into question, but should there be punishment for something done at a previous stop?

 

[WolvEagle]

I really wonder why he hasn't been fired yet. Could it be that the Evening News is an insular place?

 

[Bamadog]

Bad column. Bad idea, bad execution, bad decision to run it, bad decision to awkwardly qualify the mistakes as, yeah, um, at least 30 years ago at another paper. (Miss Belding 1981, seriously, that's a working e-mail)

Here's a lesson to journalism students: Don't read that column, or anything else the guy writes.

Unless you're explaining what you learned from those mistakes, that's not something you need to write. Even if it happened 30 years ago. Reputation is the easiest thing to lose, but the toughest thing to build. Once it's gone, it's gone in an instant of bad judgement. This guy just destroyed his reputation with one very badly written column.

I've done the quotes from memory thing, but that was more a matter of my digital recorder giving up the ghost right after I talked to the guy. Nothing was wrong with the story and he was never the wiser, but I was glad what he said was sufficiently memorable that I could easily recount it. A lot of writers have done that and never misquoted someone (Truman Capote supposedly did that), but that's not a practice I'd use very often.

 

[Starman]

I suspect somebody higher up the food chain said,

1) "Meade, if we ever catch you doing anything like this HERE, you'll be out of here like **** through a goose. You're not fired, but you are on Double Secret Probation from here on out."

2) "Saul, this thing only grows legs if people keep talking about it. The only people who care about this stuff read Romenesko and SportsJournalists.com. What percentage of the general public do you think that is? About 0.00000003%. Let it die and it will go away, but double-and triple-check everything Meade turns in."

 

[Starman]

If nothing else this was a spectacularly bad time to write this column, since it is the time of year small-daily sports departments can most easily replace staffers (as opposed to the middle of football or basketball seasons).

 

[BDC99]

I'd suspend the guy for a week or so just for being stupid enough to write this for publication. And I'd reprimand the editor who didn't have sense to kick it back and say, ummm, let's not run this idiocy.

 

[txsportsscribe]

Jeff says he was only trying to relate some funny incidents showing that reporters aren’t supermen; they’re human, too.

huh? when have reporters ever been thought of as supermen? and the incidents weren't funny.