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It was interesting to see how Andy Reid, who is the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, was so mad at reporters for doing their job.
It was reported that Eagles’ injured linebacker Stewart Bradley would miss the entire 2009 season, but Reid was upset because he has a pact with Philadelphia reporters that they only talk to him about injuries and he will tell them all the information.
Apparently those reporters found out through another player.
At first, it seems silly to criticize the reporters for doing their job. These days, with all the ways information is passed on, the media cannot always wait on a coach to give information at his leisure. With Twitter, blogs, online stories and all that sort of stuff, trying to wait for a story is bad reporting.
Having said that, reporters should know better than to make an agreement like that.
There used to be a time when “off the record” really meant that, and making pacts was unethical. Yes, times change, but integrity still should count for something in journalism.
Wonder how that unethical methodology would fly in a small town.
Small-town reporters are the only ones getting most of the information, and they generally have a closer relationship with whomever they work. Making pacts would seem logical, but reporters need to be careful nonetheless. Getting too close to sources on any level is not keeping journalism professional.
When a story about sensitive material breaks in a small town, sometimes it’s harder to get a coach or player to go on record because of the closer community feel.
If a reporter in a small town went behind someone’s back as the Eagles’ beat writers did, it could create even more tension.
But that’s a two-way street. If no one wants to go on record, the reporter has to resort to finding another source.
What it all boils down to is transparency. People want to know the facts, and those facts should not be kept secret. It’s going to come out one way or another. At least in a small town, coaches tend to get to know the reporter a little, and is willing to work with said reporter.
And while I’m on the subject, players should not be allowed to twitter during any team functions, let alone during games. That’s when you know these sort of things are going too far. It is unprofessional and a big distraction to the player and team....Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to my hourly Facebook status update.
It was interesting to see how Andy Reid, who is the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, was so mad at reporters for doing their job.
It was reported that Eagles’ injured linebacker Stewart Bradley would miss the entire 2009 season, but Reid was upset because he has a pact with Philadelphia reporters that they only talk to him about injuries and he will tell them all the information.
Apparently those reporters found out through another player.
At first, it seems silly to criticize the reporters for doing their job. These days, with all the ways information is passed on, the media cannot always wait on a coach to give information at his leisure. With Twitter, blogs, online stories and all that sort of stuff, trying to wait for a story is bad reporting.
Having said that, reporters should know better than to make an agreement like that.
There used to be a time when “off the record” really meant that, and making pacts was unethical. Yes, times change, but integrity still should count for something in journalism.
Wonder how that unethical methodology would fly in a small town.
Small-town reporters are the only ones getting most of the information, and they generally have a closer relationship with whomever they work. Making pacts would seem logical, but reporters need to be careful nonetheless. Getting too close to sources on any level is not keeping journalism professional.
When a story about sensitive material breaks in a small town, sometimes it’s harder to get a coach or player to go on record because of the closer community feel.
If a reporter in a small town went behind someone’s back as the Eagles’ beat writers did, it could create even more tension.
But that’s a two-way street. If no one wants to go on record, the reporter has to resort to finding another source.
What it all boils down to is transparency. People want to know the facts, and those facts should not be kept secret. It’s going to come out one way or another. At least in a small town, coaches tend to get to know the reporter a little, and is willing to work with said reporter.
And while I’m on the subject, players should not be allowed to twitter during any team functions, let alone during games. That’s when you know these sort of things are going too far. It is unprofessional and a big distraction to the player and team....Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to my hourly Facebook status update.
