Reporter Curses Out Sports Blogger -- Bemoaning That Blogs Are Filled With Cursing

from the is-this-irony? dept

Last week, we pointed out the amusing contrast of a corporate blogger winning respect for his coverage of the beer industry, while a supposed trade industry journalist admitted that his coverage was impacted by the fact that he felt this blog was competition. In the latest example of a reporter's actions against a blogger making a much bigger point than his words, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter (and author of the book Friday Night Lights) Buzz Bissinger went on a curse-filled rant against bloggers on Bob Costas' show. The rant was mainly directed at Deadspin author Will Leitch. Amusingly, Leitch (who Bissinger accused of being crass and unprofessional) remained calm, thoughtful and respectful through the conversation. What was so amazing is that Bissinger displays almost every trait that he trashes Leitch and other bloggers for.

Of course, this sort of rant from a traditional reporter is nothing new -- but it's based on a misunderstanding of what's happening. He cherry picks some examples of silly blog posts, and then assumes that represents the entire concept. That, of course, is exactly wrong (though, perhaps not as ridiculous as Costas, who later in the show suggests he doesn't understand the difference between blog posts and blog comments). No one denies that as you expand the "long tail" of content out there, that you get a lot more crap. That's not even worth pointing out. But, that doesn't mean that the good stuff doesn't rise to the top -- and it does so by finding an audience. What Bissinger's attack is really saying is that he knows he's losing to the competition, and rather than up his game, his only response is to trash talk. It's a rather sad position for such an esteemed journalist, and it's insulting to his readership, as he's suggesting that they're too stupid to understand the difference between good writing and bad writing.

Filed Under: blogging, bob costas, buzz bissinger, deadspin, journalism, will leitch