RIP Mike Penner

I don't know. I suspect he was searching for an explanation for his depression, thought he had found it, and discovered that the depression didn't go away. He had simply become a depressed man in a dress. Since he ultimately abandoned the Christine Daniels identity and killed himself as Mike Penner, I suspect he had concluded that whatever he was looking for, Christine was not it.

 

I will admit that I see this as a bit of a special case, and yes, I would treat it as such -- just as I would, hopefully, put some thoughtfulness and care into any story I did, working on things on a case-by-case basis.

My references now, for the most part, are to this latest story about this case.

Maybe it's just me, and maybe it's because I feel pretty familiar with the story. But, other than the previously unreported cause of death, I didn't feel like I learned anything much more from this one than I already knew.

Yes, the story gave a sense of the tragedy, pain and sadness of the whole situation -- but I think we'd already covered that ground in stories that have already been done previously.

And yes, the story alluded to thoughts/reminders of how we treat others, and the importance and effects of that -- but then, in a whole story that was a follow-up otherwise, it neglected to follow up with someone who might have had some more, and possibly different, thoughts now about something careless and yet, obviously, devastatingly powerful, that he wrote. Or, he might've just declined to comment. We don't know because it doesn't appear that any attempt was made to contact him.

And, with regard to what Oberjuerge blogged, you know what? Yes, I would have felt the same way if he had written what he did regarding an athlete, or someone else who he covered -- because it was pointless, just being mean and doing the wrong thing because he could.

I'm pretty confident I would never have written such a pointlessly mean-spirited thing, about anybody.

Not that I have ever been in a position, status-wise, where I ever would have been allowed to do that, of course. It was something that, probably, was given a pass just because of who Oberjuerge was, and for no other reason, exactly as happened with Mark Whicker last year.

It is dangerous and damaging, again, pointlessly. Good journalism is not supposed to be pointless, no matter what it includes or entails, and no matter whom it involves. Is it?

And, nobody should think that Oberjuerge didn't realize or know at the time that what he wrote was going to be hurtful, and maybe even harmful, to someone who hardly deserved it. He was an experienced columnist. He knew exactly what he was doing, and I cannot believe he wasn't having second thoughts about it, probably even right then, as he was writing it.

 

Well, apparently, he did.

As I said, it wasn't a good sentence.

It doesn't negate the positives of a respected career.

 

Daniels wasn't married, except on paper, by the time Beckham played his first game with the Galaxy. Penner wrote about Daniels in spring 2007, and divorce papers were served within weeks, unless I'm reading the new LA Times story incorrectly.

 

GQ has a story about Penner in the newest edition. It's not online yet, but here's a synopsis ...

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/mens-lives/201006/mark-penner-sportswriter-christine-daniels

 

They really should get his name right in the link.

 

LA Weekly with a good story on Christine.

http://www.laweekly.com/content/printVersion/1023341/

 

Still devastating, still heart-breaking, still difficult and hard, probably, for all involved, and I am still not sure another story should have been done.

But, if it was going happen, THIS is the story I think we've been waiting to see.

 

I'm thinking I'm getting tired of these efforts.
How many more editors are going to make this assignment?

 

I thought that was very well done. It's certainly a far more complete version than anything I've seen before this.

I have no problem with seeing another story on this, as long as it isn't simply a rehash of all their earlier efforts. This one wasn't.

 

The lede was new. A nice anecdotal lede. I even enjoyed the pacing of the entire piece.
But, the body was entirely rehash.

I think what is lost in all of these accounts is the life of a truly good man. We ponder so much the last 2+ years of his life as the last 2+ decades as a friend/champion/journalist and colleague fade away.
Mike was the most creative, troubled person I've ever known. I prefer to remember the creative.

Hope that makes sense.

 

I don't know if I have read all of these stories, but I think I have read most of them. This was the first one (that I have read) that had extensive mention of Lisa Dillman and what was going on with her in this regard. All I ever heard was that she was getting a divorce and didn't want to talk about it.

Two (probably minor) issues:
-- There is reference to Dillman's parents being very upset with Penner/Daniels. Lisa's dad, Dick Dillman, former PR guy for the Minnesota North Stars, died quite a while ago. He couldn't have been a part of this.
-- Near the bottom, the story said the divorce was final in October:
"Penner's byline returned to the L.A. Times in October 2008 without any public notification, and his divorce from Dillman became final on October 24."
Then later, the story said the death was the day after Thanksgiving:
"It was a year to the day after his divorce had been finalized."