Barry Bonds headlines (real ones)

It'd be more like putting "Murderer signs book deal" on an OJ story. You Can. Not. Do. That.

 

Uncommon Bonds, in hindsight, would have been a good headline

 

Was that hed the winner in a reader contest? I hope a journalists wasn't responsible for that.

 

Everyone here who is against the asterisk is missing it.

An asterisk is a subjective device. It doesn't say "He did steroids." It says there's doubt about the validity of the record. And no doubt there is plenty of that.

Would Bonds have grounds to sue over the use of an asterisk? NO.

Would O.J. have grounds to sue over the phrase "Murderer Signs Book Deal"? YES.

For those who view the asterisk as condemnation or an accusation of wrongdoing, keep in mind Roger Maris had an asterisk next to his name for nothing more untoward than playing a few extra games.

ASTERISKS DO NOT IMPLY GUILT OF ANYTHING. THEY IMPLY RESERVATIONS OF ACCEPTANCE.

 

For about the 900th time:

Roger Maris NEVER had an asterisk next to his name...never, never, never.

 

God I hope you're not a slot. A story should express the doubts, not the hed.

 

Whatever happened to the hed reflecting what's in the story?

 

It was never affixed, but Ford Frick had ordered it to be used until the league thought better and never followed through.

My point remains the same.

 

I like it, just not for this story. That could work for a feature on Bonds and his relationship with something (possibly media), but the story was the home run.

The question is not "Can someone sue the paper?" It is "Is this resposible journalism?"

Also, Maris played those games. It's a proven, well-documented fact. However likely Bonds' steroid use may be, all we have is circumstancial evidence and leaked grand jury testimony. I think he 'roided up, but I wouldn't print it in a respected publication.

EDIT: I realize that an asterisk is subjective and doesn't mean he definitely did steroids, but it does lead the readers that way.

I'm disappointed that papers used asterisks. In due time, Bonds' name will be cleared or destroyed by his alleged steroid use, but neither happened last night. My hometown paper ran an A1 column that said Barry watched Sosa and McGuire with "growing jealousy" in 1998, which inspired Bonds to cheat like them. Ugh.

 

What the asterisk does is imply that there is something wrong with the record, and while most people think there is, there is nothing proven. Unless your story under the hed with the * was about how people/players/etc doubted its legitmacy, it shouldn't be there. For the story about the home run (how, when, who, where, blah blah blah) it does not fit.

 

And if it does not fit, you must omit.

 

Thanks, Johnnie.