Respect is a word that gets thrown around a lot in sports. Whether it is respect by opponents, fans or the media you can pretty much count on teams, coaches and fans having either a sincere or manufactured belief that they are being “disrespected” as a means toward motivation.
We see this within “media on media” crime as well. You can ask 1,000 younger members of the media, traditional or blogosphere, and hear story after story about how Murray Chass or Dan Shaughnessy or others disrespect what they do. At the same time asking 1,000 more traditional members of the media will point out the way Keith Law or Joe Sheehan or others are insulting and condescending in the way they handle things.
I have noticed respect as a theme in the media this month. Perhaps it is no more or less than usual but I have been taking note of it and wanted to address it. There are three areas which highlight this for me;
Holly Rowe – If you are not familiar with Rowe she is an ESPN sideline reporter. At the conclusion of the Sugar Bowl Rowe physically moved a staffer working for the Sugar Bowl’s media relations director out of the way to secure a live, post-game interview with the winning coach.
It seems that this was not an unreasonable event but I think it speaks to a lack of respect. As an adult and a professional Rowe certainly should have been able to request that the person (who she knows based on the ESPN article) let her in for the post-game interview that is a standard part of the experience.
The end result of this is that Holly Rowe physically assaulted a colleague for no other reason than to secure what is typically an unenlightening interview. This demonstrates a lack of respect for a fellow professional attempting to do her job.
Tim Thomas – As you likely know by now Thomas elected to skip the Bruins’ team visit to the White House citing frustrations with the way the government conducts itself. As you might expect such a high profile rebuff of the President of the United States in conjunction with a team event led to no small amount of discussion.
While the general consensus seemed to be against Thomas some, such as Kirk Minihane were complimentary toward Thomas’ “conviction.” I read seven or eight articles on the subject (not all linked here obviously) and every single one took the time to be critical in either an overt manner or a more subtle fashion.
The Thomas stories would have been the same 25 years ago but the ability to read more than one or two would have been limited. With so much accessibility it seems that reporters (old and young) go out of their way to be bombastic rather than offering a sincere opinion. To me this represents a lack of respect for the reader, insinuating that I am incapable of drawing a proper conclusion when presented with facts.
Boston Sports Media Watch – BSMW has an outstanding mission, to hold a light to those in the media and ensure that they are writing in a fair and even-handed manner. Unfortunately that goal, which I should note is my perception, not anything I’ve seen overtly stated at BSMW, has gotten lost in recent years.
BSMW has done some exceptional reporting over the years. The work they have done on plagiarism including Ken Powers and Ron Borges was the sort of top notch reporting to be proud of.
However, all too often recently BSMW has become a shill for local teams. It now seems that any slight against a local team is dismissed despite Bruce Allen’s* claims that he welcomes differences of opinion. I read BSMW daily and have never seen the site critical of a piece positive of a local team.
The concept of monitoring those who are reporting is excellent. It must be remembered that “skepticism” does not mean “always wrong.” An informed criticism, even from a disliked source should be applauded.
*Allen runs BSMW and does a lot of the writing/linking. His weekly SBNation column is a “must read.”
What about respect?
I started this by talking about respect in the coverage of media. One of the basic forms respect is to consider differing viewpoints and allow those who are perceived as less worthy to have the same opportunities.
The role of media is changing as is our consumption of it. As a society we have access to so much more information than ever before. This does not necessarily make us better informed. Information must be disseminated in a fair manner with consideration given to all issues.
Strong opinions are to be valued. I am all for Kevin Paul Dupont or Gerry Callahan or Kirk Minihane stating how they feel whether the issue is as meaningful as Presidential politics or mundane as who the Sox’ mop up man is going to be. I read and listen to these types of people for their opinions as I hope you read this site for mine.
However, it is vital that those of us providing information provide all the facts when sharing our opinion. A well crafted argument should be able to share the positives of an opposition view yet still clearly indicate why the alternate view is opposed.
This seems to be lacking in the spaces that I frequent and I think we as information consumers are worse off for it.
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