TBL talks to Karen Crouse

Sirs, Madames,

The notion that only Jets writers can judge whether KC was stand-offish is a laugh. Their opinion = one season. She has been in the business how long? No prior history of being anything but the fairest and most decent person. Their supposed testimony on her character doesn't pass the laugh test. If she was anything less than social/colleagial I imagine that it could be put down to nerves and a new setting (it's still odd to think of her as NY), not arrogance.

Frankly, all the bitching and moaning about her coverage ... it does seem that everyone is up to speed on what she wrote. That is why we're in the business, isn't it?

And Master 70, asked and answered. She's not on the beat because she got a promotion.

YD&OHS, etc

 

we can disagree from here to eternity whether karen got a "promotion."
i don't know what the standard is, but that's an insult to beat writers everywhere -- who i still contend are the lifeblood of any sports section. in karen's mind, i'm sure it is a promotion. she never wanted on the beat in the first place.

like i've said, i don't know karen from a hole in the wall. she's clearly well-liked by many. a lovely person, for all i know. but i do know very well several folks she left behind in the jets' press room. some of them are also wonderful, generous, talented people.

clearly, karen did not get along with the people in that room. sometimes the world ain't black and white. i don't see how karen's defenders can simply say, "she's always been swell to me." there are clearly dissenting opinions out there.

as for the way she covered the beat, hey, it wasn't my cup of tea. different strokes. what can i say? i'm a hardass. i don't give a darn what anyone's mother, sister, friend, etc., has to say as much as karen does. i love football, the games, the strategy, all of it. The players? they come and go. everyone's got a story.

the games are the only drama i need. friends who are fans and newspaper readers tell me they can't get enough of x's and o's and personnel moves, evaluations and drafts. the beat people i've enjoyed most -- the buster olneys, bob mcginns, vinny ditranis -- tell me about those things with great insight and clarity.

what did i learn from karen's pieces? that nfl players come from all different places and have all different stories? fine. pieces like that certainly have their place.

but as a day-to-day reader, i'd rather have someone give me meat and potatoes insights on a daily basis then an occasional touchy-feely takeout. i found her daily stuff pedestrian -- often childlike, i.e. mangini's "sesame street" yechfest.

i'm loving the discussion, though. carry on, crouse supporters. she's blessed to have you. obviously, she's done plenty right in her career.

 

Karen was in Memphis a few years back for one of the Tyson fights. I gave her a lift at one point and, sure enough, a week later a thank you note arrived in the mail.
The woman is one of the kindest, most generous people in the business. She's a hell of a writer and she's dedicated, too. At the risk of extending a thread that has already gone on too long, put me down as resoundingly pro-Crouse.

 

Mr Calkins,

So you go suckered by that cunning bitch too!

YD&OHS, etc

 

You can't discuss Albom's work if you haven't been on a staff with him? Why does that matter? These discussions are about a person's work, which is in newspapers every day for people to judge. And they do. They can do that without having a personal relationship with the writer.

I don't know why you need to make these things personal. I'm glad that Karen Crouse sends thank you notes to helpful people but, frankly, that shouldn't influence anyone's opinion of that person's work. I've known people in this business who are sullen and rude, but they write incredibly well. I wouldn't want the seat next to them on a long flight, but I'll damn well make it a point to read their work.

That's what this business is about (and what this debate should be about): Delivering a product for readers. I judge writers on their clips, not their merit badges.

 

Smasher, if I have nothing to contribute but hearsay and don't regularly read a writer enough to make an informed judgment about his or her work, I stay out of it because there are people better qualified than me to weigh in on it. You're free to do the opposite, but don't expect people who know more about it than you do to refrain from pointing out that you don't know what you're talking about.

 

Then by that standard I am more qualified to comment on her work than you are Frank. I've read the Times 7 days a week for the past 40 years. My position as reader certainly gives me the right to "weigh in"

As smasher pointed out the original discussion was not about whether Karen was a nice person. It has about the NY Times coverage of the Jets. Certainly anyone who has read the Times sports section for a long period would have noticed the difference in the way The Jets were covered vs the way The Giants were covered.

I am glad to hear that Karen is a nice person but it does not bias my opinion of her Jet work.

 

Much as I'd like to continue banging my head against the wall for another day, I have a date with Nick Mangold's sister.

 

Just to be clear, I told someone I would no longer respond to his posts, yet there he goes again. In dealing with readers, as professionals know, it's acceptable to end a conversation when it become repetitive and a waste of time.

 

Better her than Coles dad from what we have learned. Ask her how to block a D linemen playing the "3 Technique"

 

i've gotta agree with the boomster on this one, frank. the finished product has nothing to do with the qualities of a person. still wish we could find a jets' insider to fill us in on where the relationship with crouse and the rest in the press room went wrong. she wasn't exactly befriended by people who are generally quite welcoming.

like you, frank, i know this one firsthand. i worked in that room from '83-96. and i discount the previous rants of someone like mike freeman -- he never worked the jets' beat day-to-day. i can honestly opine that karen is the only person i can recollect who found the room an unpleasant workplace. doesn't make her an evil person. simply makes me wonder if she must share in the blame.

darn, it's frustrating not to have any current jets reporters weigh in with their take.

 

Well, if you want to walk that road, I'm not going to stop you, but I hope you'll at least use spellcheck.

Never said her work's good because she's nice. I like her work. I see nothing wrong with it.