...next caller.

(long-time reader, only occasional poster)

Let me see if I get this right ... David Aldridge gets ripped on here by plenty of folks. Frequently. Don't know the backstory of 'David Aldridge is reporting ...' but I see it here often.

Aldridge gets the Iverson scoop, which is the arguably the biggest NBA 'get' since ... geez, is it since the Mike Wise Jordan-is-out-of-DC story back when Wise was at the NYT? ... only to have ESPN muscle in and claim it as their own ... and Aldridge counters by standing up to the Worldwide Leader (let's face it, that email took some brass ones), and nobody says a word?

Isn't this power play by ESPN the kind of thing you guys bemoan on a weekly basis? Or perhaps I'm overestimating this 'get' because I'm an NBA junkie (maybe Vecsey breaking this wide open was bigger. Who knows).

Anywho, thought it bizarre that nobody would pat the guy on his back. Guess that's the industry. Or, he's deeper in the doghouse here than Ronald "Lawn Boy" Miller and Andrew Bynum.

Happy holidays. I'll hang up now.

* Never spoken to Aldridge, not his brother-in-law, former neighbor, high school drinking buddy, pet-sitter, secret santa gift giver, etc.

 

I don't think Aldridge is the one getting smacked around here - he just became a symbol for ESPN claiming every single scoop, no matter who had beaten them on it, and throwing in their reporter's name to boot.

Aldridge was just the fall guy.

 

That 'power play by ESPN' is what made Aldridge's TV career, when he was 'breaking' stories over there.

'David Aldridge is reporting that Michael Jordan has two legs....David Aldridge with breaking news that Pat Riley will wear a suit to tonight's game....according to ESPN's David Aldridge, the NBA will open in November....'

Wasn't Aldridge's fault, but when he did actually break a story, it was lost in the wash of ESPN psuedo-headlines and muddy attributions.

So now he's on the other side of that. Live by the Mouse, die by the Mouse.

 

and not only was it shit that didn't fit the definition of breaking, it was often so obviously shit that had been broken by someone else.

 

I first heard the trade news while in my car and listening to the Dan Patrick radio show. Marc Stein came on and talked about it.

 

Didn't Jim Gray break it? :

 

Did I miss a thread? Where did this whole thing play out? Where is the angry Alderidge email thebiglead speaks of? Why was I not afforded an opportunity to bang out 1,500 words condemming both Dave and The Mouse? Does thebiglead know I was sick the day they taught telepathy in journalism school?

 

Not sure if this appeared here (and if not, why thebiglead didn't post it with this thread), but tbl apparently received a note from Mr Aldridge and posted it on that site yesterday:

 

does it matter who was first by two minutes?
who cares - the news was going to come out anyway.
it's only important if you dig out news that people are trying to hide.

 

Wow. Good for Aldridge, who I thought was ESPN's best on-camera reporter (though he did steal a bunch of scoops, as has been mentioned).
But it seems ESPN has limited the amount of scoop-stealing in the past year or so. Maybe the backlash has gotten to them. The more I look, the more I see "This news was first reported by The Big City Press." But letters like Aldridge's help. And when it's my story, I definitely appreciate the shoutout.
But here's my only other question. Sometimes it takes more than 10 minutes to post an article online. What if ESPN didn't happen to click on the Inquirer in that small period of time?

--Oh and Henryhecht: any reporter who doesn't care about being beaten on the biggest story of the year, even if it's by a few minutes is, in my opinion, in the wrong business. No offense.

 

When you're working for the Mob . . . and then you're not working for the Mob, anymore . . .
some things just don't come, so easy . . .