Orlando

I doubt the Sentinel's lawyers would be very happy with Lynn posting personnel information on a public message board. You people don't seriously expect him to say something here, do you?

 

The Sentinel isn't the problem. Nor is Newsday. Or, the L.A. Times.

Give me a:
T...
R...
I...
B...
U...
N...
E...

(probably unfair to include them in this discussion, but what the hell.)

 

No, it's not. It's absolutely justified.

See above post.

 

I read your post.
Last time I checked, KTLA's morning show wasn't Cronkite, Murrow and Brokaw.

 

Seems like Steve made a mistake and is paying a ridiculously high price.

But: If you're going to freelance, shouldn't you know the rules? It's pretty serious business, using your newspaper access to create other professional opportunities (true or not, that's how the papers view it). It doesn't matter whether you signed off or agreed to the rules, you have to comply.

I really don't see the comparison to the unfortunate oral sex blog ordeal--bad judgment in a blog isn't the same as the perception of compromised objectivity in your paper.

Not meaning to sound harsh--the firing and lack of severance is appalling--but this is surely a cautionary tale with more than one side.

 

Very true.

But it doesn't matter if it's Cronkite, Murrow, Brokaw with a sprinkling of Ernie Pyle, William Shirer mixed in with Christianne Amanpour and Gwen Ifill for diversity purposes. You had a gross and inexcusable overreaction

And never mind the shenanigans at KTLA, where aside from the ones I listed earlier, their entertainment "reporter" Sam Rubin was allowed to accept a paid junket from Disney to Hawaii to attend the screening of Pearl Harbor.

It's selective enforcement, pure and simple.

 

I'll be the first to say that Steve Elling is a heckuva writer and reporter and I was among many saddened by what happened at the Sentinel. He is one of the best golf writers in the country, if not the best. I worked with Steve in Orlando and in Raleigh and he always has/will be a writer I respect.

I can't speak for management or for the desk staff, but most of the writers at the Sentinel respect(ed) Steve. That is why, to be honest, I'm a little surprised at his post. I understand his need to vent, though. I can't say I'd be full of platitudes if I were dismissed in the fashion he was, but most, if not all, of the writers I know there felt terrible for what happened to him.

But I can't help but feel the need to defend them because I know they won't come on here and do it. And like Steve, I guess I have too much free time on my hands.

For myself, I'll just say that I made a huge mistake and for the 1000th time, I did not give a how-to lesson about oral sex on my blog. I made a crass joke, which precipitated a question I posed about the subject. I was fairly new to blogs and column writing, so I didn't exactly envision a scenario where someone from SportsJournalists.com would jump on my personal blog -- a blog that only my friends visited --and it would become industry fodder. Yes, I was that stupid and naive. Not looking for sympathy, just telling the truth.

And yes, other people at the Sentinel have made mistakes, but they nor I can control how management deals/dealt with us. We are not in the position to hire, fire and reprimand. I'm not angry at what Steve posted -- although based off the e-mails I've received since he posted this I may be in the minority -- but I hope Steve understands he had/has the full support of his co-workers and that they should not be targets.

 

I've had the distinct pleasure of working for the Tribune Co. and Dean Singleton in one career.

 

You have my sincere condolences, FW.

 

Boy, I really want to tread lightly on this one, and I'm not even going to repeat the name -- because any of you can look it up -- but this whole plagiarism thing on that spring training guide has irked me since I first heard of it a few years ago.

Yes, it was a mistake, a pretty big one, and one she learned from.

But the assignment was to put together one of of those be-all, end-all guides, with all the stadium info and ticket info and stuff about the areas. I don't remember, but for all I know, it was one of those big full-page graphics, or maybe a double-truck. It's the kind of assignment very young reporters are handed early in their careers.

And she went out, without being to travel all those places and I'm sure on a pretty tight deadline, and using a bunch of sources, but a lot of one guide book -- not properly attributed, no doubt -- she put together the damn guide or graphic or whatever it was. Mostly clerk-type grunt work.

There are a lot of young people handed these jobs who have to go out and dig up that stuff from whatever source -- easier now with the 'Net -- and do the best they can.

So I don't get jumped, I'm not excusing this methodology, but I'll repeat her one comment at the time: Sports departments often do a lousy job of attribution in these kinds of things, the gathering of facts for guides or primers or whatever.

The Sentinel published a clarification, the book author was satisfied, and rather than ruining a promising young career, everybody moved on.

So without disputing Birdscribe's overall claim of inconsistency of policy in Tribune Co. -- he's right -- I really think, "allowed a plagiarist to keep her job" was and remains an over-the-top description of what happened in this case.

 

I just think its really a shame that the apparent axe grinding of someone at Orlando Magazine led to all this.

If anything good comes of this, it's that it pays to cover your ass with approval from bosses when doing freelance work or appearances.

And when regimes change, tread lightly.

 

I know she's no longer employed by CubsCo, but still ... we have to give girlfriend props for representing. I know I'm gonna. She's written some crap (and I mean crap) at times, but she's either backed it up or ventured the appropriate "mea culpa" (speaking of which). Keep being a stand-up girl and you will win even more people over.

P.S. Jemele is at a half-post-per-day pace, which will have her passing dooley sometime in the year 2133.