How do we feel about the Chron guys now?

There is plenty of disregard for the truth in the Game of Shadows book. Follow-up on many of the references in the book and you will soon find that out. What amazes me is that it seems that other "reporters" or "journalists" haven't bothered to do that for some reason. Is that simply "unacceptable" behavior in the good old boys club? Most seem to have just accepted what the authors have written without any questions. Why?

creamora

 

Was Mark Fainaru-Wada a well seasoned and experienced journalist before the BALCO story? How did he manage to rise from a virtually unknown local beat reporter to a nationally recognized award winning journalist and best selling book author within a period of a couple of years? Wonder if his rise to fame and fortune would have happened so quickly without the grand jury leaks from Ellerman?

creamora

 

With or without the leaks, he delivered a very big (and accurate) story about some very famous people, which is pretty much the prescription for becoming a nationally recognized award-winning journalist.

As for proving the accuracy of the book, are you suggesting we dismiss the entire contents (especially the parts that are undeniably true) because of less critical inaccuracies?

Unless you're saying that the entire contents are false, which seems hard to believe.

 

Because the two reporters knew that Ellerman's subsequent bleating about prosecutorial leakage was false, and they couldn;t report that part of this (so very) important story because they were professionally obligated to a guy they knew, better than anyone else, was a liar.

 

I never read in my Chronicle research any news story quoting Ellerman accusing the feds of leaking the grand jury testimony.

He complained of leaks of investigatory reports and said that would be "Exhibit A" in his motion for dismissal.

Not a word about the grand jury testimony of Montgomery, which was all that had been published at the time of his motion. Nor do I remember a word about the Bonds testmony.

Now, maybe F-W and Wms purposely withheld those quotes to protect themselves from just this accusation. I could believe that, except that neither did the rival Merc News report any Ellerman accusation that the feds leaked the grand jury testimony.

I have to believe that once Ellerman leaked the testimony, he shut up about it. After all, Fenian, as you rightly noted, the leakage of Montgomery's testimony was "tangential" to the defense team's filing for dismissal.

 

The following are excerpts from the Chronicle article about the Bond’s grand jury testimony published on December 3, 2004. I have also provided a bit of commentary in brackets:

Bonds testified that he had received and used clear and cream substances from his personal strength trainer, Greg Anderson, during the 2003 baseball season but was told they were the nutritional supplement flaxseed oil and a rubbing balm for arthritis, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by The Chronicle. [Note that nothing above is presented as direct quotes.]

To the prosecutors, the substances Bonds said he was using sounded like "the cream" and "the clear," two steroids designed to be undetectable in laboratory testing.. [Sounded like to the prosecutors? That seems to be quite convincing evidence.]

"I never asked Greg" about what the products contained, Bonds testified. "When he said it was flaxseed oil, I just said, 'Whatever.'
"It was in the ballpark ... in front of everybody. I mean, all the reporters, my teammates. I mean, they all saw it. I didn't hide it."

"Did he ever tell you it was a molecularly or chemically altered steroid? Did Greg ever tell you anything like that?"

"No, because my other trainer, who is 50 years old, Harvey, was taking the same stuff," Bonds replied. "And he said it's flaxseed oil." [Note that Harvey Shields told Bonds that it was flaxseed oil and not Greg Anderson. Is it possible that what Bonds generally stated was that he watched his running coach, strength coach, weight coach as well as the team trainer rub white creams, blue creams, yellow creams and clear creams on him on a daily basis and that he never really paid much attention because several different people would routinely rub “cream” on him? Is it also possible that there was a lot of additional testimony by Bonds that the Chronicle “chose” to leave out of their article that might have presented a different tone and overall meaning and interpretation? Could there be additional testimony by Bonds that the Chronicle is aware of that may suggest why Bonds has not been indicted yet? Does “sounded like to the prosecutors” as published by the Chronicle not seem quite weak? Simply take a look at the Chronicle article containing the supposedly verbatim transcript information again an see how “slam dunk” the information presented really seems to be. Is this the most incriminating stuff that Fainaru-Wada was able to obtain from a sleazy lawyer with an agenda? These are simply a few more of the tough questions that need to be asked and answered.]

creamora

 

The following was published as a letter to Editor & Publisher on February 15, 2007. The author makes several very good points.

creamora


BALCO Lawyer Was Playing 'Chron' Reporters

As a journalism practitioner and teacher, I am disappointed in San Francisco reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, who ignored the real motive of their now-confessed source, lawyer Troy Ellerman, for leaking BALCO grand-jury testimony that spawned their acclaimed newspaper series and book.

After the reporters publicized their initial information, the court-sealed testimony of sprinter Tim Montgomery, they must have clearly understood Ellerman's tactic was to use them for gaining exoneration of a client on trial.

Yet they went back to Ellerman for more. Why? Simply, they wanted the major scoop, testimony by baseball stars Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield.

I see no public service in this mess, on part of anyone. I do, however, recognize the imperative that American media undertake serious self-evaluation, not only for ethics but their constitutional duty to uphold a free press--the right of every citizen, not merely journalists, and including a Barry Bonds.

A constitutionally mandated "free press" is not to be interpreted as anointing anyone for playing god with facts, especially media.

Matt Chaney
Warrensburg, Mo.

 

Nice letter, Matt.

 

Many journalists have made statements in their articles basically saying that Bonds has "admitted" that he used the "clear and the cream," but that he did so unknowingly because he thought they were flaxseed oil and arthritis balm. Remember all the Bonds has "admitted" using steroids stories? Where is the evidence provided by anybody at any time that confirms that this is actually what Bonds has said? I challenge anybody here to provide credible evidence that Bonds made any type of admission that he was taking THE "clear and the cream." This evidence was certainly not provided by the two Chronicle reporters in their newspaper article published on December 3, 2004. It seems to me that what we have is a fish story whereby the minnow has been turned into a whopper of a catch over time. Once again, where is the credible evidence by the two chronicle reporters or anybody else to support that any type of admission was made by Bonds?

creamora

 

'What is keeping Ragu on his feet, Angelo?"