What Lee Jenkins' LeBron scoop says about our industry
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Songbird said:
Didn't they stop kissing as ass so much in Miami? I thought I remember something when he first signed about him trying to alter the team off season schedule around his social life. If Riley and the Heat put a stop to that, then they did mentor him.
I like Sandomir, but this comes off as a whiny and petulant crock of ****.
So, if LeBron was going to go to the New York Knicks and wanted to announce it in a first-person form to the New York Times, Richard Sandomir would have a huge and ethical problem with this, and write as such in today's editions of the New York Times?
Thought so.
You and the millions of others got beat by a guy who has boots on the ground, works and cultivates his sources and isn't an it's-all-about-me reporter who could have tweeted/blogged it out from LeBron's hotel room as he was describing his decision.
No, instead, Jenkins had the biggest announcement in the NBA this offseason and ... went back to his room because,
“It’s a feat of editing, to put it together in a simple structure that made sense.”
Bingo.
You tip your hat to Jenkins and SI for a job well done. And be better next time and you, too, can get a scoop like this.
So, if LeBron was going to go to the New York Knicks and wanted to announce it in a first-person form to the New York Times, Richard Sandomir would have a huge and ethical problem with this, and write as such in today's editions of the New York Times?
Thought so.
You and the millions of others got beat by a guy who has boots on the ground, works and cultivates his sources and isn't an it's-all-about-me reporter who could have tweeted/blogged it out from LeBron's hotel room as he was describing his decision.
No, instead, Jenkins had the biggest announcement in the NBA this offseason and ... went back to his room because,
“It’s a feat of editing, to put it together in a simple structure that made sense.”
Bingo.
You tip your hat to Jenkins and SI for a job well done. And be better next time and you, too, can get a scoop like this.
YankeeFan
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Sandomir has a point.
SI didn't cover the story, they partnered with a person they cover.
The press isn't supposed to be in partnership with their subjects. They're not supposed to serve as a PR arm of a subject they cover. They aren't supposed to help a subject they cover tell their story in the way that makes the subject look best.
Would you ever trust Jenkins to break unflattering news about James now, or has he forever been co-opted?
SI didn't cover the story, they partnered with a person they cover.
The press isn't supposed to be in partnership with their subjects. They're not supposed to serve as a PR arm of a subject they cover. They aren't supposed to help a subject they cover tell their story in the way that makes the subject look best.
Would you ever trust Jenkins to break unflattering news about James now, or has he forever been co-opted?
YankeeFan said:
No, he doesn't have a point.
What if Jenkins wrote a straight narrative with LeBron's quotes like Sandomir whined about? What's the difference? Still "partnering."
And under your scenario, any story with sources that breaks news is, in effect, "partnering," which you are tsk-tsking. And by that, there should be NO SOURCES at all because, well, "The press isn't supposed to be in partnership with their subjects."
Nice try.
Double Down
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Being LeBron's mouthpiece > Being **** Cheney's Mouthpiece
But nice try, New York Times.
But nice try, New York Times.
Meatie Pie
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The story does "raise questions" that are worth discussing, and shouldn't be dismissed automatically.
It's the answers to those questions that are different.
SI was very obviously partnering with LeBron here, and as one of the recaps - adage? - said, Jenkins had written a complimentary piece on LeBron before, which likely led to an assumption of trustworthiness.
SI has done this type of thing before, and will probably do it again. The mediums are completely different, but this was Decision 2.0, right down to a legacy media outlet agreeing to partner with LeBron and his camp.
The answers to Sandomir's "questions" depend on whether you are sensitive to this idea. I had no problem with The Decision, have no problem here. Media outlets sometimes agree to release stories at the discretion of the main source. Letting LeBron approve the letter, well . . . I guess that was part of the deal, if his name was going to be on it.
But this is absolutely worth discussing, and such discussion does not have to be an indictment of Sports Illustrated or media in general. It's not a bad thing to discuss what this means for Journalism (if anything), beyond the simplest topics of "Yay, Jenkins and SI!" and "Hahaha, Broussard and ESPN!!!!"
It's the answers to those questions that are different.
SI was very obviously partnering with LeBron here, and as one of the recaps - adage? - said, Jenkins had written a complimentary piece on LeBron before, which likely led to an assumption of trustworthiness.
SI has done this type of thing before, and will probably do it again. The mediums are completely different, but this was Decision 2.0, right down to a legacy media outlet agreeing to partner with LeBron and his camp.
The answers to Sandomir's "questions" depend on whether you are sensitive to this idea. I had no problem with The Decision, have no problem here. Media outlets sometimes agree to release stories at the discretion of the main source. Letting LeBron approve the letter, well . . . I guess that was part of the deal, if his name was going to be on it.
But this is absolutely worth discussing, and such discussion does not have to be an indictment of Sports Illustrated or media in general. It's not a bad thing to discuss what this means for Journalism (if anything), beyond the simplest topics of "Yay, Jenkins and SI!" and "Hahaha, Broussard and ESPN!!!!"
Baron Scicluna
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YankeeFan said:
In the post 9/11 SI, Wayne Gretzky wrote a first-person piece about his friend who was on one of the planes when it crashed. Would you say that SI has forever ruined its credibility by having him write about his friend instead of a reporter putting words in his mouth?
Versatile
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I wonder what Richard Sandomir thinks about the fact error on his own section's front page.
Partnering with LeBron James is displayed transparently, the rarest of things in this industry. And a media critic gets mad because The New York Times used to get these types of exclusives.
Partnering with LeBron James is displayed transparently, the rarest of things in this industry. And a media critic gets mad because The New York Times used to get these types of exclusives.
YankeeFan
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Versatile said:
Who is likely to write about James in the (near) future:
Lee Jenkins joined Sports Illustrated and SI.com as a senior writer in September 2007 and he has written more than 100 features for the magazine and more than 30 cover stories across every major sport. Since 2010 his primary beat has been the NBA, and he has profiled the league's biggest stars, including LeBron James and Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. He wrote the annual SI Sportsman of the Year story about James in 2012.
http://www.si.com/author/lee-jenkins
Do you trust him break negative news about James? Does he value his access to James, or does he value his readers?
And, I understand SI isn't worried about this. Tom Verducci's conflicts didn't bother them. Why would this?
When has Lee Jenkins broken any negative news or done a negative profile?
As said he's a profile writer. This is no different. It's just that it's in first person as LeBron said it. Again I have no problem with the approach or how all of this came out other than the whining by those who got beat.
As said he's a profile writer. This is no different. It's just that it's in first person as LeBron said it. Again I have no problem with the approach or how all of this came out other than the whining by those who got beat.
YankeeFan
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MileHigh said:
Give me a break. This isn't "as LeBron said it".
Jenkins and his editors wrote it for James, and James team signed off on it.
It's bad enough when we pretend a statement put out by a PR agent is actually the words of the client. In this case, I'm supposed to suspend my belief and pretend these are James' words?
Jenkins and SI served as James PR team. That's not journalism.
As for profiles, does no reporting go into them? If the Cavs struggle this season, might we expect a writer like Jenkins to do a feature on them? What if James is playing selfishly, or undermining a coach, or something similar? What if he's not, but some people are suggesting it? Can we trust Jenkins to get to the bottom of it?
YankeeFan
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Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled.
LOL.
Does anyone believe that James and Jenkins sat down in Vegas, and these were the first words out of James' mouth?
LOL.
Does anyone believe that James and Jenkins sat down in Vegas, and these were the first words out of James' mouth?
Double Down
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Why would anyone care whether they were the first words or the 45th words?
Should this have began: Hey Lee, good to see you. How was the flight? Want some water? A bourbon? You mind if I take a quick ****? Cool. Btw, it's CAVS.
Should this have began: Hey Lee, good to see you. How was the flight? Want some water? A bourbon? You mind if I take a quick ****? Cool. Btw, it's CAVS.
steveu
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Personally, I laughed my ass off that, for all the ESPN stuff (LeBron's on a plane! Where is he going to go? Let's talk about this and shove all the other highlights off our screen!) the WWL didn't get the story. Instead SI played it quiet and ended up with the biggest story in quite some time.MileHigh said:
I will say ESPN handled one thing right yesterday, and this is where multiple networks come in handy. Regular programming went to ESPN2 on Friday, so if you didn't want to see LeBron all day, all the time you could watch Outside the Lines or other stuff. They honestly should have done that with Friday night's Sportscenter.
And I have no problem with how SI did it.
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