Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Responsibility of Journalism

Ok, fair warning is given. I am going to rant. I am pretty pissed. I am a mom.

A local state college, Oklahoma State University in Stillwater has had a major controversy brewing with a major newspaper based in Oklahoma City. I have never cared much about learning their distribution range...until now. A female sports writer has opened a BIG can of worms and as a parent I am outraged at the article she recently printed which is at the center of debate. And I'm not a fan of the college either, but...

Do any of you have children that play sports or have ever participated? What about college sports or amateur level? How would you as a player, parent, sibling or...human with feelings...deal with a sports writer...male or female...or respond when someone writes an article in a MAJOR sports column and basically calls you a wuss. Ya know...wimp...wienie...yellow...what about chicken?

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy is being called out as having acted unprofessionally and inappropriately...my opinion is he set out to repair an undeserved ridicule by overshadowing the damage created by someones printed "observations". The coach not only showed his support for his player but inspired others by standing up for a player that was mercilessly attacked.

Long story made short - kinda - reporter has the freedom to write a story based on her "observations" and claims an anonymous source backs her "facts" about a young college athlete she claims is being replaced as quarterback because of his attitude...not ability. She claims he got "nicked" a couple of times and was scared to finish out the game. She said he was sitting it out instead of gutting it out.

This reporter belittled an amateur athlete who is playing a GAME. Not every player has NFL aspirations and deserves to be rated by her in terms of ability. She says she has the right to state her opinion. Yes she does. God bless America. But, has she ever played football? Has she ever been tackled by a 300 lb. 6'5" defensive tackle? Was she sitting next to this kid asking him what was going through his mind? Was she present when she claims his mother fed him "chicken" after the game? Her column was fiction and opinion...as for ethical...she didn't supposedly state anything in the article that could be legally contested.

4 comments:

Chicki Brown said...

That's definitely irresponsible. Today's media isn't what it used to be. The standards have been lowered for sensationalism's sake.

Shame on her!

Jennifer Shirk said...

The media, in general, is at an all time low for professionalism and reporting the "facts".
If that reporter wants to report her opinions, save it for the editorial page, where people can respond back.

PatriciaW said...

The media is especially harsh toward athletes and celebrities. The sad part is that, in an effort to have more and more content, they are taking jibes at college level and below. These are kids!

Wonder if said journalist has ever done anything athletic?

Chelle Sandell said...

Chicki~What made me so mad was she was upset that the coach made a big public deal about it and embarrassed her...what was it she was doing in her article? She can dish it out but she can't take it. She can have an opinion aka her column...but no one can have an opinion about her opinion.

Jennifer~It kills me that she can get away with it and without supporting facts because it's a "column" and not technically held liable. But the players mom is filing a law suit now because the reporter claims the mom hand fed her son chicken after a game and no one knows where she came up with it.

Patricia~As a parent its especially frustrating when we see how hard these athletes are working for a future and journalists tear them down because the team is struggling. I wondered the same if she has played sports and where she is qualified to report on college football.