Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again (Update- No Charges Filed)

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

And to further my point - one of the television stations in town did a good job to break the story about Big Ben admitting to the police there was some sort of physical contact between him and the victim.

So again, I wasn't taking a shot at anybody - I was simply saying that TMZ has been ahead of a lot of other outlets on this and many other stories -- like Tiger Woods -- and it continues to amaze me.

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

The following quote appeared in my Saturday piece (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10072/1042533-66.stm):
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"Those photos were taken over an hour before the alleged incident happened," Chief Blue said. "They were taken at a different location, I would say about a block and a half away [from the Capital City]."
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Again, your claim that "TMZ has reported that others haven't, like the fact that this photo was taken at a different bar" is just plain incorrect.

I am not making a post to dispute the merits of TMZ, rather, making one to clear up falsehoods you are perpetuating.

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

OK, well then I stand corrected, I didn't read that piece - I read the online version that you posted and it didn't say that. Nor did a number of other stories I read or saw on the news.

Again, I wasn't trying to take a shot at local coverage - I was making a statement that it is amazing to me how much TMZ has been able to do to stay ahead of the curve in most of these "big" celebrity-fueled stories.

Almost every one of these threads involving these big breaking news stories is linked to TMZ and they, unlike a number of other online operations and even stuff like the National Enquirer, have very rarely been wrong. I just think that is amazing.

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

Bottom line: if you're a professional on duty, you should be prohibited from taking pictures with celebrities (or asking for autographs, or for them to come to your kid's party, or donating to your charity benefit, etc.) That goes for cops, journalists, doctors, the lot.

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

Not sure why someone from examiner.com should be taken seriously, but this is just not true:
"It’s different because let’s go to the Kobe Bryant situation. He was accused of raping a young lady in 2003. That turned out to be false."

It didn't turn out to be false, it never went to court, and he paid his accuser a substantial amount and also issued a statement that basically let the reader connect the dots between what orifice is acceptable and what is not (depending on who is doing the receiving, and when "no" or "stop" is said).

As to the white v. black issue and the media: yes, Kelly and the ESPN crew have been camped there for at least a week, along with other news organizations, and the minute there's an arrest or the DA says they aren't bringing charges, that will also be a story covered by most media services on the planet.

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

You do realize TMZ and the National Enquirer pay good money to their sources for details/stories, right? So the Pittsburgh media is likely not offering hospital faculty, cops, witnesses, the accuser's family/friends, people who work at the bar (and on and on) any reason to tell what they might know.
In the end gumshoe journalists generally get it right, but they're maybe not first.

(Yes, I realize I just posted back-to-back-to-back on one thread. That's what happens when the electricity is out and I can only entertain myself with things on battery power. And dooley ... don't even try!)

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

But therein lies the problem for gumshoe journalists - how in the hell do you compete with that, particularly when they (meaning TMZ) seem to be very good at getting it right and getting it first.

I don't know that people out there looking for news are going to pat traditional journalists on the back for getting stuff after it has already been out in internet land for a few days.

I think it is a real problem for traditional journalism.

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

How do you know that, though? I don't know if "illegal" is the right word, but it's more than possible that they violated some written ethical code or line of court-made law by not recusing themselves from the investigation.

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

Of all the the places on the interwebs I expected a Constitutional Law class to randomly break out, a thread about a fat, drunken, hands-y quarterback was actually very high on my list. This is why I'm the No. 1 handicapper in Vegas.

For my stone cold lock on when the next debate over school vouchers will emerge, please call my personal hotline. The first 20 seconds are free.

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

(emphasis added)

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

I would like to put my money on a "Poin Alert" thread.

 

Re: Stillers Fans at DEFCON 1- Big Ben Accused Again

When does Ben finally talk to the cops? 2011?