Is Canzano being unethical?

Ditto what TP said. WW kicks the Oregonian's ass regularly and isn't afraid to touch stories the Oregonian won't (ie, Neil Goldschmidt). It has an excellent reputation.

 

Mr Grad,

I'm not accusing Mr Canzano of being bought -- his employer who shouldn't stand for him being in position to be bought. Even if his employer is confident that he won't be. Appearance of conflict = potential for conflict = conflict. It's absolute. He's your hero. He makes great coin. Hold him to the highest of standards.

YHS, etc

 

You off your meds again, killer?

 

Actually, it's the appearance of being bought. Which is the essence of this entire issue.

BTW, Mizzou, your university called and it wants its degree back.

 

actually, i've never heard anyone rip on the WW until dumb, dumb did as much.

 

I've never heard of the WW. I've never seen it.
I really don't care about it. I find those free weeklies to be so full of themselves and so delighted when they can cheap-shot the "establishment" -- in this case, Canzano and the Big, Bad Oregonian.
They were wrong here. They were wrong in what they said and how they executed. Not one of you noted that the Oregonian made no apparent effort to contact Canzano or the paper and ask for their side. That's the first time I've heard of the WW and the last time I'll think of it.
But TP, you can paper your walls with the covers for all I care.

 

if you've never heard of a paper, you'd probably appear to be much smarter if you didn't rip on it, wouldn't you, dumb, dumb?

 

The WW has a good rep for doing investigative work. They also have a rep, like many other alt-weeklies, for ripping on the local daily as much as possible.
The WW has won a Pulitzer, so has the Oregonian. As a matter of fact, the WW got an Oregonian Pulitzer winner suspended for two weeks for parking in a lot owned by a source. Never mind it was a lot where anyone could park for free, but the Oregonian judged it to be a conflict.
So the Oregonian has very high standards and they OKed the radio deal.
One could almost think that the management there was smart enough to realize that even with the station being owned by Allen, that in today's modern media environment, you can't swing a dead cat and not hit a member of the Poynter police who would think the deal gives the appearance of conflict of interest. But the reality is that each situation is unique and that you shouldn't pass judgment without knowing all the facts.
Allen is also partners in Comcast SportsNet Northwest, an all-Oregon sports channel that could possibly have shows that would feature Oregonian staffers.

 

Twoback, where have you been? You act like the Tribune Co. and Time Warner have always gotten a pass, but everyone's ganging up on Canzano. That's not true. For years, people have been pointing out the ethical issues that are raised by media conglomerates owning all or part of some of the institutions they cover. The Tribune's credibility in its coverage of the Cubs, for instance, will always be compromised as long as the parent company has a stake in the team, and that's been pointed out many times. But as problematic as that stuff is, what Canzano's doing is worse. It's a much more blatant, much more direct conflict of interest.

 

Another epidemic... sportwriters who think they KNOW someone.

 

Listening to your iPod the whole time, huh?