Deadspin: Is an ESPN columnist scamming people on the Internet?

[YGBFKM]

I think with Hoppes, the mass of love here cowed detractors into silence. Now, the critics have cowed the supporters into silence

Right, 'cause this is fifth-grade.

Before every post, I always stop to consider what others might say.

Really prevents me from expressing any opinions.

I was thinking of commenting on this whole thing, but I decided it wasn't worth getting left out of the tetherball rotation.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

This shows just how impossible it is to actually monetize Facebook and Twitter, and how desperate people are to turn it into a lottery ticket.

It's actually not that hard to monetize Facebook. The Deadspin story showed how a 19-year-old was making a couple hundo by creating an NBA memes page. Imagine what he could do with it full time. There is money to be had if done right.

Yea, he made a few hundred bucks. Big deal.

How much money has your little blog made for you?

About that much.

 

[mythirdalt]

Sarah J. Phillips, who i had never heard of until this story broke (I haven't read Page 2 since HST), is a bigger star than ever. Her sort-of journalism career is over, but she's guaranteed porn money. Perhaps a scene with Stephen Glass? He's always looking for work... Or better yet a scene with Jayson Blair.

 

[PaperClip529]

(One) moral of the story:

Any scenario that involves an attractive female on the Internet cannot be vetted thoroughly enough, and your default position, whether you are a high level editor or partial owner of a parody Willie Wonka Twitter account, should be: Is this a scam?

This is a great point. It just blows my mind that ESPN would hire someone to write for Page 2 without ever meeting them in person if no one else there had ever met her.

How did they pay her? At the very least she had to fill out tax documents.

This is the one question that I want an answer to. I did a freelance story for ESPN once (it was only a 500-word game story) and I had to fill out four pages of paperwork in order to get paid. Was ESPN leaving money in an envelope at some random park?

 

[mythirdalt]

(One) moral of the story:

Any scenario that involves an attractive female on the Internet cannot be vetted thoroughly enough, and your default position, whether you are a high level editor or partial owner of a parody Willie Wonka Twitter account, should be: Is this a scam?

This is a great point. It just blows my mind that ESPN would hire someone to write for Page 2 without ever meeting them in person if no one else there had ever met her.

How did they pay her? At the very least she had to fill out tax documents.

This is the one question that I want an answer to. I did a freelance story for ESPN once (it was only a 500-word game story) and I had to fill out four pages of paperwork in order to get paid. Was ESPN leaving money in an envelope at some random park?

She's a real person. It just appears her Indian buddy was doing a lot of the writing. And scamming.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Sarah J. Phillips, who i had never heard of until this story broke (I haven't read Page 2 since HST), is a bigger star than ever. Her sort-of journalism career is over, but she's guaranteed porn money. Perhaps a scene with Stephen Glass? He's always looking for work... Or better yet a scene with Jayson Blair.

Isn't Glass working as an attorney?

 

[mythirdalt]

Sarah J. Phillips, who i had never heard of until this story broke (I haven't read Page 2 since HST), is a bigger star than ever. Her sort-of journalism career is over, but she's guaranteed porn money. Perhaps a scene with Stephen Glass? He's always looking for work... Or better yet a scene with Jayson Blair.

Isn't Glass working as an attorney?

Paralegal last time I heard. No state would give him a law license.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I think with Hoppes, the mass of love here cowed detractors into silence. Now, the critics have cowed the supporters into silence

I don't think that's the case at all. I think he's always been someone who is very polarizing. I've always liked Lynn and he's given career breaks to more than one of my friends, who all swore by him when he was in Orlando. By the same token, it's never been a secret that many of the writers who were in Orlando when he arrived didn't care for him and felt he favored the writers he hired. That's the case at most papers.

He also posted here under his own name and there's always been an insane level of interest in the Sentinel on this board, largely because there was so much turnover there for such a long time.

But, if you look at the list of people he hired when he was in Orlando, it's pretty damn impressive.

That said, the video tour of his office is one of the worst things I've ever seen and if he hired this person to write for Page 2, he may have a hard time coming back from that.

The turnover portion of Mizzou's post accounts for a lot of it. There was a lot of turnover there, plus, unlike a lot of other metros, they would publicly post their openings. That's a perfect storm for SportsJournalists.com, back in the day.

 

[dooley_womack1]

I think with Hoppes, the mass of love here cowed detractors into silence. Now, the critics have cowed the supporters into silence

Right, 'cause this is fifth-grade.

Before every post, I always stop to consider what others might say.

Really prevents me from expressing any opinions.

I was thinking of commenting on this whole thing, but I decided it wasn't worth getting left out of the tetherball rotation.

Um, any particular reason for the sarcasm I'm getting here?

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

Um, any particular reason for the sarcasm I'm getting here?

Yeah, YGBFKM! Let dooley have a monopoly on one-liners!

I think with Hoppes, the mass of love here cowed detractors into silence. Now, the critics have cowed the supporters into silence

Right, 'cause this is fifth-grade.

Before every post, I always stop to consider what others might say.

Really prevents me from expressing any opinions.

I was thinking of commenting on this whole thing, but I decided it wasn't worth getting left out of the tetherball rotation.

POGS!

 

[Cyrus]

Keeerist. Could barely make it through half of that. WAY TOO LONG. Moral of the story is that some idiot will end up marrying her and get screwed for life. Sucks to be him.

 

[Armchair_QB]

I just don't see how Hoppes keeps his job after this.