I’ve decided to write a column about a column about a column. Well, sort of.
Boston sports fans already know that Civil War Part Deux is upon us. The lines have been drawn, the trenches have been dug, troops prepared and generals appointed.
The Boston sports media are embroiled in a bloody civil war. On one side we have an undisputed world power, The Boston Globe. Their antagonists are none other than sports talk radio WEEI, or as Globe columnist Jack Thomas referred to them, “one of Boston’s lesser media outlets.”
The first shot was fired back in 1999 by Globe Editor Matt Storin. Globe sports writer Ron Borges was a guest on Glen Ordway’s “Big Show.” Word got back to Storin that then-Yankees pitcher, Hideki Irabu, was referred to as a “fat Jap.” What really happened is that Ordway and Borges were discussing George Steinbrenner’s use of the term “fat toad” to describe (Upper-Decki) Irabu. Storin, in an effort to maintain the dignity and class of the sports section, banned sportswriters from appearing on the show.
No biggie.
Ratings on The Big Show are still high and the Globe still has the country’s second best sports section, next to The Daily Free Press.
But all is not quiet on the WEEI front now that the Globe has come back for a second battle. Sportswriters were banned from appearing on WEEI’s “Dennis and Callahan” show because the Globe sees the show as tasteless and offensive. This prompted outrage from hosts John Dennis and Gerry Callahan.
Sportscasters like to talk about the game within a game. The Globe is going through a civil war within a civil war. Pulitzer Prize-winning Globe columnist Eileen McNamara wrote a column condemning her paper’s decision. The crux of her argument probably would have centered around the fact that sports writers are individuals perfectly capable of making their own decisions as to what is offensive (think Dan Shaughnessy wearing a thong, working with Ron Jeremy) and what isn’t. They don’t need to be babied, and they certainly don’t need to be told not to play with little Johnny, who has the mouth of a sailor. But we can’t be sure as to what extent McNamara went to decry her employer, because the column was never published.
I have a major problem with Storin’s decision to kill the column. An editor has to maintain some control over what goes into a newspaper, but what about the First Amendment? Being opinionated and subjective is the lifeblood of a columnist.
The one bone I have to pick with McNamara is the glaring conflict of interest. It just so happens that her husband is Peter May, a Boston Globe basketball writer who used to cover the Celtics. If not for her hubby’s job, would she have even blinked at the matter?
Still, the column should have run. Readers would have been smart enough to take it with a grain of salt. No sooner did we reach a cease-fire than did the Globe unleash the most potent weapon in its arsenal. Just when the matter started to die down, Thomas beat the dead horse a little more with his column on Monday. Now, one of the defenses Storin used for killing the McNamara column was that one columnist already covered the subject, and he didn’t want to rehash an old issue. The very fact that it was written may have been overkill, but its content is curious.
“The ombudsman represents the readers. His conclusions and opinions are his own.”
These words are printed at the end of Thomas’ column, signifying to readers that they are being heard, and their voice is represented. But the column makes you wonder if Thomas’ opinions aren’t influenced by Storin and his minions. Thomas rips McNamara for going on the “Dennis and Callahan” show to criticize the Globe and says she was lucky she wasn’t fired. He labels any sportswriters that appear on the show as “puppets strung among jokes about big penises, fat naked fags and the banging of Korean whores.”
He also accused Dennis and Callahan of invoking the First Amendment to whip listeners into a frenzy and boost ratings.
While I do agree the show can be lewd and crude at times, as even McNamara admitted, this column by Thomas is a farce. I wonder if Storin’s words come out when Thomas’ lips move. You can just see Storin reading the column and giving Thomas a pat on the head and a gold star, saying, “That’s a good boy, Jack.” Maybe Thomas ought to reconsider when he calls the sportswriters puppets. Jack, your strings are showing.
Dan Kennedy, media critic for The Boston Phoenix, said of Thomas’ column, “I thought it was disgraceful — one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in The Boston Globe.” He said Thomas came off as a management toady and that Storin made the wrong decisions.
“A newspaper ought to be in the position of encouraging, not discouraging speech,” Kennedy said.
This is a real embarrassment for the Globe, but take a wild guess who winds up losing out the most in the long run. Sure, the writers will lose out on a nice moonlighting gig where they work little and collect lots.
Sure, there will be sternly worded letters to the editor and even some people who switch to the Herald for their sports fix. But WEEI will continue to be Boston’s No. 1 sports talk radio station, and the Globe’s sports section will continue to thrive.
But the real losers are the fans that tune into WEEI and look forward to the insight provided by Nick Cafardo or Will McDonough. The fans lose out in the end.
Why am I not surprised?
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