Comments on: A Sportswriting Rough Draft

By: Are sports games or big business? «

Are sports games or big business? « — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:24:18 +0000

[...] Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski streams his conscience on the current state of sports journalism, grappling with the reasons the profession has changed during the past 50-plus years. Are sports [...]

By: The Right To Free Speech Doesn’t Apply To Sports, And It Doesn’t Need To, Either | MOUTHPIECE Blog // A Chicago-Addled Sports Blog

Thu, 28 May 2009 17:23:55 +0000

[...] It’s interesting to consider; my position is no, not necessarily. To give one example, Joe Posnanski questioned whether journalistic ethics should be pursued as rigorously in the sports world as they should be [...]

By: TP

TP — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:05:57 +0000

I would love for sports journalists (pro and amateur) to start tagging articles as fact, opinion and rumor because the lines are so blurred now that smart athletes are just going to stop speaking to the press all together…blogs and what not, allow anyone to act as journalist and as such the dirt and dishing thrown out with no regard to ethics is ruining the once noble job of sports journalists who used words to paint a picture of the moment for history sake. sports journalists need to get back to reporting the news not making the news.

By: KT

KT — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:02:17 +0000

I could have used this when I was teaching a class in sports and media with an emphasis on ethics! Well done! Thank you.

By: Jay Weiner

Jay Weiner — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:36:02 +0000

I understand the gray areas that you’re addressing.

I also understand your own ambivalence.

But I think that young sports journalists need to be trained to think more seriously than they instinctively do.

Seems to me young sports journalists were driven to their interests because of their fan orientation. And many now see Simmons as a model.

That orientation unsculpted will lead to rah-rah sports writing, and not thoughtful reporting. It won’t push young sports journalists to wonder about public financing of stadiums, about academic fraud in colleges, about non-compliance with Title IX and about the lack of black college football coaches.

At your level – which is among the highest in the craft – I might trust the blurring of the ethical lines and the ability to discern between fandom and journalism.

(And I appreciate jaymarkm’s comments above. We can read and enjoy both Simmons and Posnanski on the same day, the same way we can read a trashy novel and Steinbeck.)

But at the level of a 22-year-old just coming into his or her first journalism job, I’d worry they won’t even consider ethical issues and viewing the coverage of a sports team – a sports business – like city hall. Often teams and city hall are partners. Readers/users need those dots connected. That’s also our jobs as sports journalists.

For those of us who often wonder about the changing face of sports journalism in our new landscape, this is a provocative and helpful piece. But it is, as you write, a first draft.

Keep at it!

By: jaymarkm

jaymarkm — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:20:21 +0000

Stephen King is my all beef hot dog. Neil Gaiman is my filet mignon.

Atlantic City is my all beef hot dog. Las Vegas is my filet mignon.

A clean taxi is my all beef hot dog. A stretch limo (with plenty of cold ones) is my filet mignon.

A meaningless September game is my all beef hot dog. A do-or-die October game is my filet mignon.

Bill Simmons is my all beef hot dog. You, Mr. Posnanski, are my filet mignon.

By: Doofuss

Doofuss — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:53:48 +0000

“*Though, in many ways, we ARE going back to those days as team sites become more prominent.”

I have stopped reading articles on mlb.com because it became clear to me long ago that it was merely propaganda. Even the blogs they choose to quote appear suspicious to me. It seems the whole point is merely to stimulate interest, which given that mlb is a business, makes sense but it shouldn’t be confused with journalism.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:43:40 +0000

I don’t see anything at all wrong with sports journalism remaining the “Toy Section” of newspapers, magazines, websites, etc. Toy sections are fun. They make you feel good. They give you escape.

I think we can have a much less-racist, less-sexist, less-homophobic sports section without suddenly having to deal with a separatism that makes sports this serious thing. It’s not.

I actually believe you should have been allowed to take the golf vacation and given a small time college conference a little more space in the paper. Fun for both of you.

By: Graphite

Graphite — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:53:01 +0000

“Horse racing writers would supplement their meager salaries by using insider tips at the track.”

This has to have been put there to inject a little humour into the piece.

By: Bucky

Bucky — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:55:37 +0000

A quick note–responding about sportswriting is much better if people can write well themselves.
Paragraphs with topic sentences are good things. They are efficient and recognize that a writer should work with the reader.
Short, well-reasoned responses are generally better than long rambles. Again, such responses view the process as communication instead of venting.
Joe gives reasons for his thoughts and beliefs; should we not do the same?