Stupid media

[ChadTower]

Read the first two paragraphs.

[Sephroth57]

lol thats funny  "I ask that my privacy is respected"

so anyway this guy did this.. blah blah


lol

[ChadTower]

That's pretty much my point... it's not a new story, dude respectfully requests that his privacy be respected, and it's reported anyway along WITH his request.  May as well put a picture of him getting the finger too.

[ScoopKW]

If he wanted it to be private, why in hell was he telling ESPN about his separation in the first place?

If he wanted it quiet he should have said, "That is a family matter, and like all family matters I will not discuss it with the press. I will neither confirm nor deny any questions relating to my family. So please ask me about football instead."

Pretty simple.

You don't give a reporter a "scoop" and then ask him or her to forget it. Publishers don't pay for that kind of sloppiness.

"By the way, this is all off the record, right?" doesn't cut it.

If y'all really want the rules of engagement when it comes to interviews, I'll be happy to let you know.

ScoopKW

[Dartful Dodger]

blah blah blah

ScoopKW

For those of you that can write a page of nonsense, but can't read the first two paragraphs of the page, which is what was asked of you in the first sentence of this thread...

This is not a new development," Belichick said. "I ask that my personal privacy be respected."

Rumors of the separation first appeared earlier this week....

He didn't give them a story he just said

[Zero_Hour]

And the two sentences before that - which is how the article actually starts out:

"In a statement to ESPN.com, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick confirmed Wednesday night that he and his wife, Debby, are separated."

No longer a rumor.

Regardless, the only thing I care about Bill Belichick is what he and his team do on the field. Training camps are opening soon, surely there is something team related that could be written about.

[ScoopKW]

blah blah blah

ScoopKW

For those of you that can write a page of nonsense, but can't read the first two paragraphs of the page, which is what was asked of you in the first sentence of this thread...

This is not a new development," Belichick said. "I ask that my personal privacy be respected."

Rumors of the separation first appeared earlier this week....

He didn't give them a story he just said  "I ask that my personal privacy be respected.", then they wrote their story which started out with the word "Rumors".

If the point of this thread is lost to you here is another hint:

ru

[ChadTower]

Let's re-read together: IN A STATEMENT TO ESPN.COM


So, basically this guy sends a fax to the media saying, "Here's whats going on" and "Respect my privacy."

Are you with me so far?

I'm not, because your reading comprehension lacks some comprehension skill.  When trying to find out what is going on in a new story, always look at who and what first.

Who:  Bill Belichick

What:  confirmed

That verb would be confirmed, as in responded to a query, as in not the initiator of the exchange.  What it means is that they heard a rumor, they went to him for the info, and he answered their question.  He did not send out an unexpected fax to the media.  The verb in that case would have been announced.

[ScoopKW]

The question could have been as innocent as, "Hey Bill, why'd you buy a new condo?"

My point still stands -- he told ESPN that he was separated. If he didn't want ESPN to know, he should have said, "No comment."

I think Sports Illustrated said it best about this story. "Who cares."

But your railing against a reporter whose job is to cover the New England Patriots.

You also seem to be missing the point that you can respect someone's privacy and still report on relevant news. The story itself was neutral. There were no opinons offered on WHY  the split happened. There was no finger pointing. Just a simple story.

You read divorce stories all the time. You see them on TV. Divorce has been newsworthy since Henry VIII. I see no foul to call on this one.

ScoopKW

[ChadTower]

The question could have been as innocent as, "Hey Bill, why'd you buy a new condo?"

My point still stands -- he told ESPN that he was separated. If he didn't want ESPN to know, he should have said, "No comment."

I think Sports Illustrated said it best about this story. "Who cares."

But your railing against a reporter whose job is to cover the New England Patriots.

You also seem to be missing the point that you can respect someone's privacy and still report on relevant news. The story itself was neutral. There were no opinons offered on WHY  the split happened. There was no finger pointing. Just a simple story.

You read divorce stories all the time. You see them on TV. Divorce has been newsworthy since Henry VIII. I see no foul to call on this one.

Inserting opinion would be another level of disrespect.  That would be advocacy journalism, a completely different thing than a pure report.  The fact is, the guy split from his wife over a year ago, and they feel like dragging it into the media now?  Right before training camp?  Players and coaches split from their wives all the time, you never hear about it because it's not relevant.  Why now, why him?  It is not Len Pasquarelli's job to report on the Patriots specifically, it's his job to report on the NFL as a whole and this has no relevance to football, especially given that it happened before the 2004 season.