Ridiculous AP Gamer

I read this yesterday and couldn't believe it came from the Associated Press. Since when did it become fact that a game is unwatchable or that a game was more like a painful exercise of poor passing? This is what's wrong with journalism today, writers injecting their own opinions as fact. What's worse is this is AP, which used to be the standard. Now it's just like every other fanboy website. I'm sure the asswipe who wrote this thinks he's awfully clever. I'd have thrown this shit back in his face and said who, what, when, where, how --- you work for AP fucktard, not the Huffington Post.

A lead I would have shit-canned immediately:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Blake Bortles put together one decent drive all day, doing as much with his legs as his arm, and the defensive-minded Jacksonville Jaguars eked out an ugly and sometimes unwatchable 10-3 victory against the Buffalo Bills in an AFC wild-card game Sunday.


The paragraph that made me quit reading:

This was far from a passing clinic. It was more like a painful exercise in overcoming poor passing.


The full story:

Bills vs. Jaguars - Game Recap - January 7, 2018 - ESPN

 

It's also a sign of lack of editing, which is a bigger problem AP has.

 

Dickie Dunn!

 

I didn't like it and it could have been tightened up in a way that worked, but I'd guess the straight lede that preceded it was fine if you wanted just the facts.

I will say that the quote he was building the writethru around gave legitimacy to his lede, but it reads like he was just trying to say something to support the quote...

"We weren't sharp, we made some bad plays and did some stupid stuff, but we found a way to win and that's all that matters," Bortles said.

But the AP has gone way downhill since I was there. Shame really.

 

I thought the same thing when I read it. He's trying to support his shitty writing with a quote that says something along the same line. Total bullshit reporting.

 

Probably more like he needed to file the writethru in about five minutes, that was the quote he wanted to use and he wrote a crappy lede around it. I've been in those situations when the words don't come right to you, but the desk failed him and the subscribers by failing to at least tighten the lede if not re-write it entirely. It reads like the desk just let it fly.

 

I don't think this one will be in the game story HOF, but man, I've seen (and probably written) a whole lot worse.

 

It's not about you or what you're writing. It's about AP and what is expected of AP. They were once the standard of journalism --- fair, impartial, always in the middle. They were the standard for unbiased reporting. I doubt you, me or any of us ever were the standard.

Unfortunately, they suck ass now like fanboy wannabes.

 

At the risk of getting flamed, the only problem I had with the lede was "ugly and sometimes unwatchable." The latter two words definitely should have been spiked, and I'm fine with the argument that the story describes the ugliness without the writer mentioning it. The rest of the lede, though, is pretty inarguable.

I do agree the passing clinic graph was unnecessary and should have been spiked.

 

This thread reminds me of the brouhaha at AP when they dropped "brouhaha" from the stylebook.

 

What you have to understand about AP is certain writers are given more latitude than others. They want to be more analytical but there is no universal approach to being that. My guess is this is a veteran reporter with a lot of freedom.

 

I’d guess the same. The writer in question is starting his 19th year with AP. (And yes, the two editorializing passages belong on the cutting room floor.)