Chris Jones on Jason Whitlock

[otc]

Here's the deal: Jones may not have damaged his brand with people who were already rabid fans of his. But when he came after Whitlock, most of my journalism friends who were like, "Who the fork is Chris Jones?" He's not as famous as he thinks he is.

I'm not sure CJ thinks he's famous at all. And I'm even less sure he cares. If he really cared about publicity, he would have done this on his My Second Empire blog on Esquire, not on a Wordpress site he just started

I'm not sure CJ thinks he's famous at all. And I'm even less sure he cares. If he really cared about publicity, he would have done this on his My Second Empire blog on Esquire, not on a Wordpress site he just started



Jones' blog was never going to be on Esquire's site. He doesn't represent them that way.

Believe me. The blog is all about the ego trip you get by establishing yourself as a sage to the masses. It's not a bad thing - feeding your ego can help you do better work when you get stuck in a rut. You just have to use your power responsibly. And in this case ... fail.






[/quote]

 

[otc]

Those Who Matter?

/captain picard face

Sorry - no disrespect. Translation: The decision makers at some media companies I'm not going to name here.

 

[JR]

A lot of people in our circle can write at the level Jones does.

Can you provide examples of their writing that would be equal to Jones's "The Things That Carried Him"? Or maybe his Ebert profile?

And the fact that your journalism friends are asking "Who the fork is Jones" says more about them than Chris.

And, so we're clear: I know Chris, have been fortunate enough to have had dinner and a few beers him but by no means are we friends.

His pish-up with Whitlock was maybe unfortunate but it doesn't define Jones who, in my opinion, is a real mensch.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

 

[YGBFKM]

Actually, before I saw your post, my first thought was, isn't Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, twitter.com/scott_raab a bit like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Costanza? That's not a dig at Scott Raab, by the way. Honest. He's a very successful writer, but you just carved his mug into Mt. Rushmore without asking first.

Nice! Which leads in splendidly to my next point:

(Sidebar: Sorry to be so late to the party, but I just got pointed to this thread today.)

Here's the deal: Jones may not have damaged his brand with people who were already rabid fans of his. But when he came after Whitlock, most of my journalism friends who were like, "Who the fork is Chris Jones?" He's not as famous as he thinks he is.

So their first impression when they looked him up? It's a hard truth: They remembered that Ebert photo that ran with his Esquire story. That image was unforgettable. Then they read his work for the first time and were like, yeah, the kid can write. His work's good and I've used it in journalism workshops, but the truth (sorry, Chris)? A lot of people in our circle can write at the level Jones does.

Unfortunately, he's now being discussed by Those Who Matter as a phony: He creates a blog where he purports to want to inspire young journalists and hold himself up as a mentor, but then goes and publicly shirts all over another journalist (twice!) for some secret transgression that I would speculate wouldn't be all that shocking to those of us like myself who've been in the business for a long time and have thicker skin.

We certainly don't need to teach more impressionable young journalists that personal attacks on the internet are a way to settle what ails them - a lesson both Jones and Whitlock could benefit from.

Jones isn't famous enough yet for just his work and could be gone from memory tomorrow as the next level of good writers takes his place, so everything he does - like his unfortunate blog - is carving out his legacy, which right now goes something like this: Great writer. Not so classy guy.

This certainly wasn't (with apologies to Esquire) Chris At His Best.

You've made a few posters cry.

 

[YGBFKM]

I bet Those Who Matter also would not last at sj, as they'd realize soon enough we are not deserving of their presence any longer.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Those Who Matter?

/captain picard face

Sorry - no disrespect. Translation: The decision makers at some media companies I'm not going to name here.

I wouldn't name them either, because if they are anything like the forkups who just destroyed Fanhouse and fired John Feinstein, they are idiots.

 

[Boom_70]

I bet Those Who Matter also would not last at sj, as they'd realize soon enough we are not deserving of their presence any longer.

The things they carry.

 

[Alma]

A lot of people in our circle can write at the level Jones does.

Can you provide examples of their writing that would be equal to Jones's "The Things That Carried Him"? Or maybe his Ebert profile?

Can you provide them with the opportunity to write them?

 

[Mark McGwire]

This entire thread is an exercise in Kabuki so dense as to truly befuddle the imagination.

And the fact it's allowed to stand tells you all you need to know, really. And don't argue. If you don't get what that means, you don't know what's going on.

But I see our friend Boom has returned to his Things They Carried motif, and something struck me, cause, you know, as a journalist, I like to check things out.

When Jones' story originally came out, I thought I remembered Boom loving it. And I was right.

Boom on "The Things That Carried Him":

Finally mustered up enough courage to read this story. Jones - amazing piece of work. Sgt Montgomery and his family will be stuck in my mind for a long long time.

You brought great honor to his death. I was particularly stuck by the folks at Dover and the effort they make to insure that each and every soldier who arrives is treated with honor and great dignity.

I was good on holding back the tears until you wrote about the guy who washed his hair for the last time and thought about his mom washing it with great care the first time.

If you take out the surreal parts of the movie your story made me think of Deer Hunter- in the end less a war movie and more a movie about life and friendships in a small town.

Here is the thread for verification. Boom didn't delete it like he does so many other embarrassing posts, since someone else quoted it.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/1924607/

Then after Jones won a National Magazine Award for the story, Boom decided to troll Jones.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/2439716/

So, like Boom's hero, John Kerry, I guess he was for Jones before he was against him.

And that's why people like Jones don't post here anymore. Not because there are trolls on the internet. But because here they're allowed to run the joint. And it wasn't worth the effort anymore.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

I gotta admit, that's pretty good.

 

[Boom_70]

I gotta admit, that's pretty good.

You should like this one even better then Elliot:

There is no need for anymore digging through the SportsJournalists.com archives. We all know the history.

Let's keep it to the subject.