Conflict of interest at APSE?

Re: APSE results next week?

With the state of the industry as it is, gotta believe that attendance at APSE conventions will see a noticeable and steady drop.

 

Re: APSE results next week?

MLB.com?
Not only a website, but a website run by one of the institutions these guys are supposed to be covering.
Give me a large freaking break here.

 

Re: APSE results next week?

The APSE bylaws state that past presidents, of which Jim was one, are lifetime members of the organization. I don't believe we've ever had this situation, but it's not lost on the membership that Jim's employer is someone we all cover. As someone who had Jim as one of his officers (for a short time) and has worked with him for a few years, I can tell you Jim knows the separation between church and state. And he's a bright guy whose ideas make the organization better. The vast majority of APSE members also know this is a bit of a sticky wicket for us. It's a legitimate point to bring up and bears watching. But unless we change the bylaws and make it retroactive to a certain date, Jim will stay in the organization as a member of the executive committee.

 

Re: APSE results next week?

Holy god.
You can't be serious.
Why not just have David Petraeus hand out the Pulitzers?
I'm updating because I didn't want anyone to think I was being harsh on this guy personally. I don't even know him. I think he's probably a swell feller. But he works for an institution that we cover now. I don't care about the by-laws; that ought to be an automatic disqualification from any position with a journalists' organization. I don't see this as a tough call at all.

 

Re: APSE results next week?

It's kind of a sad state of the business that good people like Jim Jenks get out of newspapers and feel better working for something like MLB.com. And as an aside, I'd make the jump in a second, too, if a job I wanted opened up.

 

Re: APSE results next week?

Agreed -- except for the last part.
But once you're out, you're out. If this were a reporter who took a part-time job with the team he's covering, there wouldn;t even be an argument.

 

Re: APSE results next week?

Wrong, F_B. Once you think you're out, they pull you back in.

 

Re: APSE results next week?

No fair quoting the worst Godfather movie.

 

Re: APSE results next week?

Jim is just one person in a judging group, his opinion will count the same as anyone else's.
That said, from having known Jim from a few APSE gatherings, he can be trusted to do the right thing.
If a guy who was a top-notch SE leaves for a dotcom and wants to help judge, especially when getting judges is tough, I say let him judge.

 

Re: APSE results next week?

That's irrelevant. It's the appearance of a conflict of interest. It's not something you judge on a case-by-case basis. I'm sorry, I don't know the guy from Adam, but he shouldn't be judging this contest. There should be no wiggle room.

 

Re: APSE results next week?

Absolutely.
Who signs his checks?
This isn't even close.