So you "accidentally" get a text with newsworthy info ...

As case was with Manziel and AP yesterday.

How would you handle it? This is a text clearly sent to you by mistake. Is it fair game to use on the record? Probably a conversation reporters should have with their editors.

 

no conversation to be had at all. It's yours to use.

 

Really, this is a question?

 

As long as you're certain about the source of the text, it's fair game.

My only reservation is that texts, like emails and tweets, can be hoaxed — so make an effort to verify before you run with it blindly.

 

I haven't looked too much into it, but how is it "clearly" sent by mistake? Have to agree. As long as you're confident of the source, run with it.

 

Uh, wrong.

Yeah, that's fine, you go ahead and run with that on a national story. You'll be the interwebs sensation and trending on Twatter for at least 12 minutes. But try burning your local high school football coach with such a thing and see what happens. Good luck with that morons.

There is a fine line here you have to consider. How important is the story? Is it worth destroying your relationship with the coaches, players, administrators you cover? Once you burn those bridges with something like that, you're never building them back.

This is where a writer, editor and even publisher must communicate and decide what is best. It's called news judgment, and it's what few of you seem to have or understand.

Not saying you don't run it. Just saying you fully understand the repercussions if you decide to go down that road.

 

I don't think anybody said "definitely run it," just that it's fair game.

Not sure where that leads to everyone being morons with zero news judgment, but feel free to keep tearing down that strawman you just built.

 

No shit? It depends on the news value and whether it will burn a source? Who knew? The question was whether it is fair game. The answer is yes. As long as you are confident where it came from. Would there be a discussion about it? Yes.

 

On noes don't piss off the high school coach

 

Burned a high school coach once. He coached a 3A football team in a southern state that had won two games in three seasons. When I put together the football preview section before the season there was a rare Thursday night game during district play. A few weeks before the game I texted him asking to verify if the game was on Thursday or Friday. Got no response. The week before I asked him over the phone if the game was on Thursday and was told he hadn't heard of a change. The Monday before the game I did my routine pregame interview and was again told the game was Friday.
On Wednesday morning, the coach called and said the game was actually Thursday. They got whipped and the band/cheerleaders didn't show up until halftime (it was an away game). I wrote a column basically saying the team shouldn't be blamed for being unprepared when the coach doesn't even know when the game is. I also mentioned a rule in the athletic association rulebook stating a school could be banned from all sports if they missed a district contest.
He hated me, so did the principal and AD. A group from the school even threatened to buy a billboard in town telling people not to read the paper. But, he was a good baseball coach so he had to get over it. The coach and AD both resigned, but stayed on as head coaches in baseball and softball.
When the new football coach/AD was hired things changed dramatically. At the first spring practice, guys I had never met came over and shook my hand to thank me. I've worked at small daily papers for 10 years in four states and he was the only guy I've come across who had such a terrible reputation in the community that you could get away with that kind of thing. But, seriously, who doesn't know when one of 10 football games in a season happens?

 

Delete your account.

 

OK.