Quitting social media

"You're not as dumb as you look."

 

Twitter is essential for the niche area of sports I cover, and it’s fucking hilarious most of the time for “in-game” happenings.

That area of sports I inhabit has particularly embraced Twitter, specifically, so that’s made it essential.

There’s negative, and as a visible account in the sphere I get a lot of that, but so what? I’m a big boym

I think the most valuable aspect of Twitter, and my following specifically, is that people can ask questions. I do my best to answer every single reasonable one, and I think people really appreciate it.

 

This is a very good point. About a year ago, there was a prominent figure who died in the sport I cover.

It was late, even on the West Coast, so I was one of maybe two or three people working to try to break the story. We all knew he was dead, but couldn’t confirm it until I got his daughter (in her early 20s) to talk to me on Facebook messenger.

If I had to rely on phone conversations, which I was also hammering that night, I wouldn’t have been comfortable publishing until at least the next morning.

 

JFC. Listen to yourself.

 

You have Snark in your name. You said something snarky and dumb, not for the first time. I called you on it. I didn't tell you to fuck off. I didn't tell you to lick my ass. I pointed out that your bad point was bad. That's how this place works. You can't handle the back-and-forth, that's your issue.

Also don't hack up quotes. That's bad journalism.

 

How much revenue does it add to the company? That's how "essential" it is.

And no one would have been any worse off.

 

News feed, aggregation of links, much more than a news source, so to speak. That's how I feel about it, anyway.

 

I kinda get your first point, but this one is terrible.

I shoulda waited until the next morning instead of chasing down the storynl that night, because “no one would have been any worse off”? If I have that attitude, I’m not sure what I’m doing reporting anything at all.

I hustled that story down and beat my competitors. Waiting until the next morning would have been lazy.

 

I didn’t “hack up” anything, Mr. Journalism Professor. I took two sentences you used out of the top of your post. And this isn’t journalism, anyway.

You continuously show you are self-important and condescending in this forum.

I expect your next piece to include full transcripts of all your interviews, too. Wouldn’t want to put out quotes you “hacked up.”

 

Hope you got all the credit when others reported the story the next day. And I hope it's the first story listed on Google when someone searches for "xxxxxx xxxxxx dies."

 

Our competitor actually published off a second- hand source soon after I filed, which was shitty but that’s not the point.

It was a very big name in our sport who died. Probably a Hall of Famer, eventually.

Not running it down when it happened is counter to every journalistic instinct I have. You thinking it was all about being “first” is silly. My story was thoroughly reported and ready to read by our customers that night, or in the morning.

If I was a “oh, I’ll just wait to get it in the morning” kind of guy, I wouldn’t be doing my job.