Nashville media: sickening

He TOLD them? Off the record in that event means "a source close to Titans coach Jeff Fisher said Vince Young would start Sunday."

 

Hate to say it, desportes, but your take is totally off-base. Given that I've been a beat reporter for over 25 years, I think I have a bit more insight than you. You're too idealistic. Politics does it even more than sports -- holding stories, or honoring off-the-record agreements -- so your sports is the toy department analogy doesn't hold water. If a coach says to hold something until Saturday, what's the problem? Would you rather burn him, have him exclude you from things for the future (which means you'd then bitch and moan even more, which only serves to further exacerbate the problem), just because of one story that will probably be a blip on the radar screen in the whole big scheme of things by the end of the year? You have to pick and choose your spots.

I challenge you to find me one veteran beat writer in any sport who hasn't held stories or not run something because of various compelling reasons. No beat writer writes everything. It's a matter of trust -- if the coach finds he can't trust you from holding something, it'll eventually trickle down to the players, as well, and then no one on the team will trust you. Fisher, who I've known for years and used to cover as a player, didn't tell the reporters NOT to write the story. He just asked them to hold it until Saturday. I don't see a real big problem with that. He was only trying to maintain some semblance of a competitive advantage. That's his job.

Let's flip-flop the situation: Let's say your boss tells you something in confidence that may appear to have a big impact upon your newspaper in the short-term, like maybe switching beats among a couple of other fellow reporters you might be friends with, but is not a big deal in the overall big picture. Do you burn your boss by telling everybody else who will listen to you? You'd immediately be on that boss's shit list for the rest of your tenure there -- and get a reputation as someone who can't be trusted.

 

Your job and Jeff Fisher's job are independent and irrelative. You're not obligated in any way, clear or implied, to help him compete in Sunday's game. That's bullshit. So screw what he "needs you to do."

 

Fisher at least took everyone aside and asked them just to embargo it for a few days. That's more than most coaches would do.

So go ahead and out him, write what you want, have him close practice permanently and then watch how what little cooperation you have from him now becomes zilch. And then you'll be writing about how uncooperative he is with the media.

No matter what you tell 'em, some guys just don't get it how the game is played -- or has to be played -- sometimes.

 

So it's okay for a coach to dictate and manipulate your coverage. That's how the game is played. That isn't how it used to be.

If Jeff Fisher asked you to put your tongue up his ass on the condition that you could watch practice, would you do it? Because that might become the next stage of the game.

As Buddy Ryan once told the pack, if I'm winning, you can't hurt me, and if I'm losing, you can't help me. Jeff Fisher hasn't been winning for some time. He has no power in the relationship between coach/media right now. You need to show him who does.

You're a pussy if you don't write this story. It's really that simple.

 

So tell me what you've accomplished, using your line of thinking? Do you honestly think you're bigger and more powerful than Fisher, and that if you out him he'll be sticking his tongue up your ass, knowing how all-powerful you are? If so, you're pretty naive.

 

Fisher has only ONE possible excuse to even attempt to do this . . . to protect Young from
reporters, in an attempt to keep him focused on his (overwhelming) task. I'm not defending Fisher . . . he's a typical USC boy who's frequently full of it.
But I'm trying to read his mind . . .

 

Frankly, Ben, that might be part of it, but not letting the Cowboys knowing what was going on was almost certainly a major part of it, too.

 

Where's the link to this? So many questions.

 

I'm certain Dallas personnel threw a party when they heard the news. It was like a gift.
The kid's so unready, it's unbelievable. With his mechaniacs, it's arguable he'll never
make it at this level. I'm not second-guessing - said it, when he was drafted.
Bud Adams' problem . . . not mine.

 

In my mind, it's very simple: You tell the team that anything newsworthy that you witness in practice will end up in the paper. If they don't like it, let them close practice. If you're a solid reporter, you'll find out what took place without seeing it first-hand anyway. Bottom line: You don't make deals with the subjects you cover.

 

I think if the situation is like this, you address it BEFORE something like the Young story comes up.
Tell the coach if he won't allow you to report on practice, you're not going to practice. Essentially, you close the practice to yourself. Then you are free to report on anything you find out. And I do think you can find things out without attending practices.
I might honor a request on what to print or not (if there is a good reason), but I don't let coaches make hard and fast rules for me.
If it means you are the only beat writer not at practices, so be it. It will be worth it when you're the only one to report Vince Young is going to start.