Morrissey vs. Mariotti

[Bob Cook]

Yawn. Media vs. media. Do readers really care?

But given this is a forum of sports journalists, I'll comment here. And if Rick Morrissey wants me to walk over to Trib Tower so he can yell at me about it, send me a PM, and I'll be there!

I agree that this column just doesn't work. Morrissey perpetuates the stereotype of every blogger being some whack job who goes off half-cocked. Note to Morrissey: yes, going to the locker room is all well and good. But there are other ways to get insights than hearing Mark Buehrle say for the 137th time, "I was just trying to keep my fastball down and throw strikes." Anyway, I don't agree you always have to show up in the locker room the day after you've ripped somebody. I don't think you should make a point of avoiding it -- as Mariotti does -- but players have their jobs, and columnists have theirs. If a manager or player is that upset, and doesn't see the writer in question, he's more than free to call. The phone works both ways, last I checked.

Also, Morrissey falls into the trap of unintentionally defending Guillen by pointing out what an ass Mariotti is. Yes, truth is a defense. But the reason for the upset isn't because Guillen called him out, it's because of how he did so. And that line about cutting him some slack because he's Venezuelan -- come on, the guy has been in the U.S. for 25 years. He knows what those terms mean.

Morrissey is a good columnist, but I think in this case his personal animosity for Mariotti, and for the effect the Internet is having on newspapers, got the better of him.

 

[schrdp2002]

AMEN!

 

[Ben_Hecht]

I don't dislike Morrissey.

But the Trib is full of guys like him, who -- if they fell over and crashed in the middle of a forest -- no one would hear, notice, or care.

 

[Bruhman]

i think it was an excellent column and it WILL interest readers.

i don't think it's bush of morrissey to use this spat as a teaching moment. and i agree that it's weak for someone to rip away and never show up to hear a rebuttal. i was taught that if you're normally never there, AT LEAST be there the day after you rip.

it's a perfectly legitimate topic since it's national news and jay is such a national figure.

jay is a machine. but like gee, i don't understand the refusal to do lockerrooms (no pun intended).

 

[21]

Jay had this one coming...his endless attacks on Tribune writers for being Cub homers and apologists qualify as throwing the first stone(s)...he never hesitates to crow about how he's the ONLY voice in that city, the ONLY one brave enough to take on the big stories, the ONLY one who....etc etc etc. Time for someone at the Trib to swipe back.

 

[Bob Cook]

Jay had this one coming...his endless attacks on Tribune writers for being Cub homers and apologists qualify as throwing the first stone(s)...he never hesitates to crow about how he's the ONLY voice in that city, the ONLY one brave enough to take on the big stories, the ONLY one who....etc etc etc.  Time for someone at the Trib to swipe back.

Tempting, yes, but why take the bait? The only way you can win a fight with this bully is to ignore him. He's an attention hound of the highest order, so don't give him any more attention, and he'll wither.

I'm sure that, as we speak, Mariotti is working on his next 1,500-word piece, in which he defends himself by saying that you don't need to be in the locker room to speak truth to power, about how Morrissey and the Trib don't have to worry about confrontations because they kowtow to the Cubs, etc.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Sells papers.

Play on.

 

[21]

Jay had this one coming...his endless attacks on Tribune writers for being Cub homers and apologists qualify as throwing the first stone(s)...he never hesitates to crow about how he's the ONLY voice in that city, the ONLY one brave enough to take on the big stories, the ONLY one who....etc etc etc.  Time for someone at the Trib to swipe back.

Tempting, yes, but why take the bait? The only way you can win a fight with this bully is to ignore him. He's an attention hound of the highest order, so don't give him any more attention, and he'll wither.

I'm sure that, as we speak, Mariotti is working on his next 1,500-word piece, in which he defends himself by saying that you don't need to be in the locker room to speak truth to power, about how Morrissey and the Trib don't have to worry about confrontations because they kowtow to the Cubs, etc.

Wasn't suggesting this was payback....but Morrissey doesn't strike me as a guy who attacks anyone for the hell of it. Just saying he had no reason to hold back or temper his remarks, as you might with a colleague who had shown you professional respect in print.

 

[Chi City 81]

Jay had this one coming...his endless attacks on Tribune writers for being Cub homers and apologists qualify as throwing the first stone(s)...he never hesitates to crow about how he's the ONLY voice in that city, the ONLY one brave enough to take on the big stories, the ONLY one who....etc etc etc.  Time for someone at the Trib to swipe back.

Tempting, yes, but why take the bait? The only way you can win a fight with this bully is to ignore him. He's an attention hound of the highest order, so don't give him any more attention, and he'll wither.

I'm sure that, as we speak, Mariotti is working on his next 1,500-word piece, in which he defends himself by saying that you don't need to be in the locker room to speak truth to power, about how Morrissey and the Trib don't have to worry about confrontations because they kowtow to the Cubs, etc.

Wasn't suggesting this was payback....but Morrissey doesn't strike me as a guy who attacks anyone for the hell of it.  Just saying he had no reason to hold back or temper his remarks, as you might with a colleague who had shown you professional respect in print.

God help me for agreeing with 21, but she's dead-on here.

It's not that Mariotti avoids the clubhouse because he doesn't want to get ripped; he ALWAYS avoids the clubhouse. During the '03 NLCS, the man was always roaming between the press box and media dining room at Wrigley, but was nowhere to be seen in the interview room after the game. His "leg work" for columns consists of having someone swipe him a copy of the media notes after each game.

And this is far from the first time he's been accused of this.

After the Tim Floyd debacle with the Bulls, Crumbs Krause called him out in the middle of the press conference for writing so many scathing columns despite not attending a single practice or press conference since MJ retired.

 

[Double Down]

I enjoyed the column, and I like Rick a lot.

But it does bring to mind 2muchcoffeeman's post on the Jeff Pearlman thread.

"It's like wrestling with a pig. You get covered with mud, and the pig likes it."

 

[tmunson]

I've always been interested in the folks who ask:

Do readers care about the media?
Do they care that Jim Rice was a jerk to reporters?
Do they care that Shaq left the locker room without talking?

The answer to all these questions is a resounding yes.
Bruhman was right. Jay Mariotti is a public figure, especially in Chicago. He's fair game.
Why do you think the Washington Post runs a media column?
Why do you think ESPN reports that Michael Irvin got caught with marijuana?
If a sports editor in any town gets charged with DUI, readers will -- and should -- read about it the next day.

Bickering between high profile columnists might be the best reading of all. They are the faces and voices of their respective products. Readers arent just interested in this. Readers eat this stuff up.

 

[DyePack]

I've always been interested in the folks who ask:

Do readers care about the media?
Do they care that Jim Rice was a jerk to reporters?
Do they care that Shaq left the locker room without talking?

The answer to all these questions is a resounding yes.
Bruhman was right. Jay Mariotti is a public figure, especially in Chicago. He's fair game.
Why do you think the Washington Post runs a media column?
Why do you think ESPN reports that Michael Irvin got caught with marijuana?
If a sports editor in any town gets charged with DUI, readers will -- and should -- read about it the next day.

Bickering between high profile columnists might be the best reading of all. They are the faces and voices of their respective products. Readers arent just interested in this. Readers eat this stuff up.

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[jason_whitlock]

enjoyed morrisey's column... but you might also wanna take a gander at telander's piece in the sun times... telander's swipes are an inside job, taken with precision and very destructive. morrisey worked the head. telander worked the body.

 

[Double Down]

Telender's take. Perhaps a few subtle shots in there at his collegue. Thought he did a nice job of actually talking to two of Ozzie's "many" gay friends by getting their numbers from Guillen's cell phone. It's not the sort of thing you can do sitting in your office, I guess.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/telander/cst-spt-rick23.html

 

[Chi City 81]

Long-time Trib columnist Melissa Isaacson weighs in:

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_nottobemean/

 

[Cadet]

As someone who has dislike Mariotti for many years, I'm loving this. Morrisey did a great job. Telander as well. Isaacson needed to throw her $0.02 in and made good points. I'm also glad they took an unofficial group approach to calling out Mariotti for being what we called in college a "butt reporter".

And yes, this is news, so it should be discussed as such.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Why. Does. Melissa. Write. That. Way.?

 

[cranberry]

Telander's column was an excellent read.

 

[Ace]

enjoyed morrisey's column... but you might also wanna take a gander at telander's piece in the sun times... telander's swipes are an inside job, taken with precision and very destructive. morrisey worked the head. telander worked the body.

I disagree. I think most readers would not even realize Mariotti was being hit. He was more like a pickpocket making off with Jay's wallet and no one saw a thing.

 

[markvid]

Why. Does. Melissa. Write. That. Way.?

Good. Question. It's. Annoying.