Wojo's A-Rod column trumps Reilly's by a country mile

I think the problem has to do more with quantity than content. The 10th or 50th or 100th time you read a column teeing off on the juicers or Selig or the union it becomes tiresome, and certainly sports journalism generally tilts too much toward opinion as opposed to reporting these days. But I don't see anything sanctimonious about being critical of those responsible for the steroid era, especially when the media has been pretty willing to point the finger at themselves in addition to everyone else.

 

Broadway Joe--I couldn't agree more. But the issue of ubiquity is obviously different than the one I addressed in my first post on this subject.

On a slightly different matter, I'm interested in your sense that sports tilts too much toward opinion these days. If indeed the trend exists -- I don't read enough different sports pages to offer an opinion one way or the other -- I would think it's an understandable and natural byproduct of the information age. That is, because I can get the facts from so many different media, I don't need my paper or its columnists to report; I'm more curious to know what they think.

 

Hey Sarge, thanks for your response. I see where you're coming from.

We should make judgments as people, as fathers to children or as humans determining our lifestyles, etc, but I don't see the benefit of making judgments as professionals. Or, rather, casting judgment. Telling others how to think. Readers values what writers have to say. With that in mind, we need to exercise discernment and care in our writings.

If I came off as bashing Wojo for coming down on ARod, that wasn't my intent. I was thinking of all the sports writers who have, as someone up there said, teed off on the ARod/steroid/Selig issues. It's easy material to work with because it's easy to get worked up about.

But, and maybe this is just me, my "calling" as a journalist or something, I believe as journalists we're to to help folks understand the cause and effects of the actions of others. I'd like to see this done with, as I mentioned, backstories, explanations, conflicts and their resolutions.

I feel boring if I write something based solely on my opinion. Being a great columnist, a great journalist, comes about by first being a great reporter, right? And then molding what is found in that reporting into a story that can create similar, and even more beneficial, impact than our mere opinions.