Handling a very sensitive, intimate, private scoop

This is a very interesting situation of a photographer capturing a major champion reading a personal letter from his wife but also actually photographing the letter which was readable. Interesting how the situation unfolded...

From the new book "Facing Sampras: Symposium of a Champion" by Scoop Malinowski. Just want to see where this thread develops to and to see if there are any other comparable situations where the media discovered a major personal private intimate scoop and what happened.


Neil Harman (Former The Times of London correspondent): "It pertains to the Wimbledon round two match versus Switzerland's George Bastl on No. 2 court in 2002 which turned out to be his final match at Wimbledon. It was my first year as tennis correspondent of The Times and thus quite a significant tournament for me. Pete wasn't exactly delighted to be playing the match on Court 2 [now demolished] in the first place and the fact that he was against a journeyman in Bastl hardly made it any easier. The press seats were tucked in one corner and Pete's chair was opposite, but on the side nearest us. As the match neared its inevitable end, Pete dipped into his bag and started to read what was obviously a letter or note. None of us new what it contained, obviously, but it clearly had an effect on him."
"After the match, the late Tommy Hindley, a long-time freelance tennis photographer, came up and said he'd been able to snap the contents of the letter from his position high up in the stands. It was a note from Pete's then fiancee Bridgitte, which contained some lovely words about him being a true champion and that he'd always be that in her eyes whatever the result."
"Obviously, it was really sensitive and I told my desk about it, what we had and that Tommy was prepared to let us have an exclusive. The Times said they wanted to use it in its entirety, and I said I wanted to speak to Pete first. I managed to get to him before he left the grounds, explained the situation and his first reaction was that he didn't want any of the contents divulged. I passed that message back to the office and they were adamant they wanted to use it. I was in a heck of a spot. Thinking on my feet, I suggested a compromise. What if we showed the first paragraph, and then blurred the rest of the words but at least we'd have a sense of the message? All sides agreed, we had our front page exclusive which was the highlight of that year at the Championships for me. It was about being able to tread the path between making sure we had the news and also working with the player in whom I had great respect."

 

When "all sides agreed", did that include Sampras? Or did he only learn after the photo was printed?

 

Geez. Lesson on how easy (and invasive) shoulder surfing can be.

 

You know, sometimes, it's just not anybody's damn business.

 

Kind of a rookie move by Sampras, though. I get that there's an expectation of privacy, but just about anything else he did out in the court is fair game for a journalist to use, so why wouldn't this be?

What this really comes down to is riding the line between getting a story and alienating one of the best players in the world, who may refuse to talk to you afterward. I'd be willing to bet that they would have respected Pete's wishes if he was in his prime at the time and not at the end of his career.

 

"All sides" certainly includes Sampras. How could it not.

 

I'd read her letter immediately.

 

In another career in a galaxy now decades away, I visited the Nike reeduca-, uh, corporate headquarters, where I was shown a number of in-house videos. One was a tour of then-single Sampras' home in Florida. He had some cheap art on the walls, each with individual lights like a museum. But the real art was in the master bath, where a full size poster of King Pete adorned the inside of the door, exactly opposite the Throne. You can tell a lot about people by the stuff they hang on their walls.

 

No ya didn't...

 

What can you tell us about Pete by that door poster?