Identifying Jenn Sterger

Good point. I remember hearing it talked about on talk radio a couple weeks ago. The hosts were questioning whether ESPN would get on the story.

I guess, to me, the comparison would be to leaked grand jury testimony. To me, it's unacceptable to actively steal it. It is acceptable to accept it from someone else who stole it.

I know these are weird lines. Arbitrary even. But this is my intuition. Or rationalization. Take your pick.

 

I'm guessing most of the longtime beat writers on this board have seen tons of shit that they can never dream of writing about, for various reasons.

I remember when I was covering colleges and I ran into a player at a bar who was underage and had a drink in his hand. He said, "Are you going to write about this?" and I said, "Only if you get arrested."

The line can be crazy at times.

 

I don't think any place "stole" the story. They all credited/blamed Deadspin.

 

That's not the analogy I was making. Not even close. I'm comparing crediting Deadspin to receiving leaked grand jury testimony, as opposed to stealing it yourself (i.e. burning a source yourself as compared to letting someone else do that dirty work).

 

10/7 Deadspin posts video of voicemails/photos.

10/9 NFL announces investigation.

 

But from the NFL POV, you have a pattern of what would legally be harassment on the job. If you ignore that now, the payday swells for the next one. Can you really not act here when you fine OchoCinco 25K for a pregame tweet? Goodell attempts to hold the moral high ground.

If you saw an athlete break the law in a more egregious way, would you really just laugh it off and say, not on my watch?

 

One problem with the internet is you have all these people people posting these stories and photos and rumors and it's not because they don't know any better. It's because that's what pays.

If you were a newspaper beat writer and wanted to do that story, you'd have a hell of a time convincing your editor and what would it get you? Some attention, some acclaim maybe. Some criticism.

If you are a web guy and you post that story, you make money.

 

DeLaurio posted that the photos existed weeks before 10/7, and it was indeed talked about by a small minority of the mainstream media, probably mostly talk radio.

 

If one guy is standing on a corner screaming that he knows Joe Blow is a murderer, you wouldn't print it. That's basically what the first story was, one person making an accusation with nothing to back it up. You can't responsibly amplify that.

 

Daulerio's first post on the matter was August 4th.

There was no evidence of any kind posted until October 7th.

I'd be interested to see how many "mainstream media" outlets actually produced or published stories based on the allegations during those two months.

 

Most didn't.

But I can personally verify hearing talk radio chatter about it.

They were - shock of shocks - calling out the print media for not following up on it.

But you're right, essentially. The vast, vast majority of mainstream media outlets waited until there was an actual NFL investigation to hook the story to.

 

Of course Daulerio would throw shit up and see what sticks. He's working for Nick Denton, the King of Douchebag Clickmeister Generals!