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How do we feel about the Chron guys now?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by SF_Express, Feb 19, 2007.

Page 41 of 52
  1. creamora

    creamora Member

    It may be that the "greater good" in the BALCO story has not arrived yet. The original crimes netted a maximum sentence of four months in a prison camp and a
    $ 10,000 fine. It looks as though the much more serious crimes committed by Ellerman, who is an officer of the court, will get him at least 2 years in prison and a
    $ 250,000 fine. The leak investigation is ongoing according to a recent NY Times article. What if a government official is eventually outed as having illegally leaked documents and information to the Chronicle? This story may go far beyond a "greater good" in sports before its conclusion.

    creamora
     
    creamora, Mar 11, 2007
    #481
  2. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Some of you are sincere. Others of you are playing a "greater good" obfuscation game. But this isn't about people's judgments about what constitutes the greater good (as if you'll ever get agreement about something that nebulous). It's about the fact that the truth about something was exposed. This story was news.

    It doesn't matter if it was a matter of vital national interest or something so trivial that the news was greeted with a yawn. Some reporters went after some info. They gathered the news. Imagine newspaper reporters doing something like that. Shocking, I know.

    And at the end of the day, these little debates about government leaks or shifty defense attorneys are all well and good. But it doesn't change the fact that this story was news and what was reported finally exposed some truth with regard to performance-enhancing drugs and elite athletes.

    I can understand why some people out there would be threatened by the truth being exposed. But I'm frankly blown away by others who would think in "greater good" terms with regard to the truth--particularly on a journalism board--because that is the kind of language used by the very people who seek to stifle or bury news they don't want made public. Information, news, the truth (whatever you want to call it) shouldn't threaten people this much.
     
    The Big Ragu, Mar 11, 2007
    #482
  3. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    So Raqu do you consider the work of the National Inquirer news?
     
    Boom_70, Mar 11, 2007
    #483
  4. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    It depends on the work. One thing about the Enquirer that makes me uncomfortable (should make anyone uncomfortable) is that it pays people money for information. This makes a lot of that info suspect. So from a credibility standpoint, the value of its news loses something for a lot of serious consumers of the news. For example, a few years ago, the Enquirer falsely reported that members of Elizabeth Smart's family were involved in a gay sex ring and had to print an embarrassing retraction. It was a story they had bought for $20K. The Enquirer has also been sued successfully for libel.

    Those kinds of things eat away at the Enquirer's credibility overall. This is about reporting the truth. And if your practices lead you to get things wrong, it's hard to have confidence in your publication as a news source.

    But to the extent that the Enquirer has reported the truth, I'm certainly not threatened by it. I think that's a good thing. For example, when O.J. Simpson vociferously denied owning Bruno Magli shoes when those shoe's footprints were identified at the crime scene, it was the Enquirer that dug up a photo of him wearing a pair of Bruno Magli shoes. There's nothing wrong with that sort of work. They actually beat the hell out of most other publications with their reporting of the OJ trial.
     
    The Big Ragu, Mar 11, 2007
    #484
  5. Fenian_Bastard

    Fenian_Bastard Guest

    We've disagreed on this thread, and the topic's about played out, but Ragu's performance here is one of the greatest one-man one-thread performances in SportsJournalists.com history.
     
    Fenian_Bastard, Mar 11, 2007
    #485
  6. creamora

    creamora Member

    I agree that Ragu certainly knows how to bring it and he has a lot of stamina. I don't agree with much of what he has had to say regarding the issue being discussed in this thread and he certainly doesn't seem to have much support for his position, but you have to admire his tenacity. I personally think that he is on steroids and other drugs and just won't admit it. Specifically, I think he's also on EPO. A four time Super Bowl Champion once said, "As soon as you start to use steroids, you automatically become a liar."

    creamora
     
    creamora, Mar 12, 2007
    #486
  7. Fenian_Bastard

    Fenian_Bastard Guest

    You are, of course, entitled to your smugness.
     
    Fenian_Bastard, Mar 12, 2007
    #487
  8. creamora

    creamora Member

    I'm simply pulling Big Ragu's chain a bit in my previous post. It seems that this is an equally important issue to him as it is to me and I respect everyone's opinion on this board. I've learned a lot from his efforts as well as others and I'm glad to have been a part of this discussion.

    creamora
     
    creamora, Mar 12, 2007
    #488
  9. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Ha! Of course now that I've finally managed to win a measure of your respect, there are about two dozen people out there who think I am a humorless, pompous windbag. I suspect that when the Academy gives me that lifetime achievement award (the "you've never won anything, but you refuse to go away" type... and maybe Maggie Gyllenhaal will present it?), they'll spend more time on my work on the JDV thread. They'll refer to this as my dark period, in which I tried to be a "serious" filmmaker and got mixed reviews from the public. But thanks. It's nice to hear. I've been a little self-conscious about this one.

    And creamora, no on the EPO. Threads like this can cause a stroke. I don't need to introduce anything to my blood system that makes my blood so viscous that it can't travel through my arteries. Just not my idea of a good time.
     
    The Big Ragu, Mar 12, 2007
    #489
  10. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    If anyone is the pompous windbag it's Fenian. Who is he to declare discussion over.

    Ragu - at least you did not do a video . I am worred that you will end up with carpel tunnel. You might want to take some HGH as preventitive measure.
     
    Boom_70, Mar 12, 2007
    #490
  11. Dave Kindred

    Dave Kindred Member

    Even I, a devotee of this thread, have not read every word of Ragu's posts. Chances are, I've read one in 10 as he and creamora became locked in some macabre dance in which they each managed to put a foot on the other's throat. Still, I applaud Ragu for refusing to back away from the principle of a press free to report the news as it discovers it.

    I also applaud Boom's suggestion of HGH for Ragu's weary typing fingers. I have a suggestion, too. Of all the experts on the board, the one I'd go to if I needed pharmaceutical help would be Ragu's dance partner. While nothing creamora has argued would persuade me to believe him on the truth on the facts of the case, I do believe he could point Ragu to a chemist one step ahead of USADA.
     
    Dave Kindred, Mar 12, 2007
    #491
  12. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    Maybe this is naive, but I'm really baffled and disappointed by the absence of all the friends and colleagues who posted here in defense of the Chron reporters when it was about tshirts and courthouse rallies.

    Not that anyone has an obligation to post on SportsJournalists.com, God knows, but it seems so disingenuous to take broad public stands when the issue is so clear--Don't Send Reporters to Jail!--but then hush up when the issue becomes murkier.

    I don't know, maybe there's nothing to add, or too many questions yet unanswered. But this unfinished story is going to dog us for a long time....it's unfortunate that the debate here has been limited to so few.
     
    21, Mar 12, 2007
    #492
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