What is wrong with ESPN??

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Well that's one of my biggest gripes. That ESPN is singled out. But at the same time I understand Pain and Brud's point that ESPN is the big dog.

But regardless, my frustration is really irrelevant to what truly matters, as is how the media covers it or how viewers react to the coverage.

One thing to think about is that I am pretty sure the local DC coverage of this is far more forgiving and compassionate than the national coverage. ESPN represents the national coverage to most people so those of us local to this see the discrepency in the way things are presented. I do agree that maybe ESPN is being unfairly singled out.

[dgack]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Well that's one of my biggest gripes. That ESPN is singled out. But at the same time I understand Pain and Brud's point that ESPN is the big dog.

But regardless, my frustration is really irrelevant to what truly matters, as is how the media covers it or how viewers react to the coverage.

Honestly Smooty the only reason I single out ESPN is because of the stories that have come out in the past few years that make it sound like a frat house. If you're going to judge athletes for off-field indiscretions, you better be beyond reproach yourself.

And if all of those allegations are all false, as ESPN legal would have you believe, you'd think they would understand the damage that hearsay and saucy implications can do.

But in the end it's all about sellin' newspapers... (figuratively speaking)

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

ESPN (while NFL Network continues to replay GameDay and Total Access) has been covering Sean Taylor the man (both the good and the bad) through all its platforms (tv, radio, online) all morning long.

The complexity of Sean Taylor adds to what makes all this so tragic and compelling.

Sorry if I seem harsh but I don't understand the need to bash ESPN at every turn. And maybe, definitely actually, I take it too personally. But you'd be the same if I spent my time talking about how you constantly fail at your jobs.

SS we've bantered about our media experience so I somewhat understand what you're feeling. ESPN is big dog and the big dog gets blamed for everyone elses bites sometimes.

One of the reasons I got out of the field is because of coverage like this. While a small part of his life, his past legal and on field troubles have (presumably) nothing to do with this tragedy and really shouldn't be mentioned in any stories related to this. If it were Pac Man Jones that this happened to, it would make more sense and a correlation could be made more readily but as it stands it's just another example of the media going to the negative in order to spice up a story.

I know it's probably not the right time for this but, I can't help to think there is a sterotypical undertone to some of the comments from the media, 'This is the circle he surrounded himself with. He hung in violent crowds so why should we be surprised this happened. He had gun incidents in the past so this can't be so unexpected.' One incident automatically lumps him in with the image of a 'thug' that the media perpetrates consistently. Sean wasn't Tank Johnson, he wasn't Pac Man Jones, he wasn't Chirs Henry..

This was a man who had one incident, had removed those people from his life, had moved on as a man and a father who died protecting his family. Let's see if ESPN, NFL-N or anyone else has the courage to honor him for being home, asleep at 1:30am, with his girlfriend and child in the room, not at a nightclub or a strip bar and he did what any real man would do if he had to, he died protecting his family.

I hope the Redskins PR staff is taking note of those (Bayless, Wilbon, etc) who have run to the negative so immediately and bar them from Redskin Park forever.

[FRPLG]

My feeling is that all of the negative stuff in his past is completely irrelevant to this. He wasn't shot in a night club or at some crack house. He was at home asleep with his fiancee and baby girl. Then some piece of crap cuts his phone lines breaks in and shoots him dead. Whether he had past legal trouble or not has no bearing here and the fact that he had become a better man, a man to look up to means he deserves to be remembered that way and ESPN seems to be doing a pretty shitty job of remembering him the way he should be remembered.

[irish]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

My feeling is that all of the negative stuff in his past is completely irrelevant to this. He wasn't shot in a night club or at some crack house. He was at home asleep with his fiancee and baby girl. Then some piece of crap cuts his phone lines breaks in and shoots him dead. Whether he had past legal trouble or not has no bearing here and the fact that he had become a better man, a man to look up to means he deserves to be remembered that way and ESPN seems to be doing a pretty shitty job of remembering him the way he should be remembered.

Unfortunately I think we will soon find out that some of the negative stuff in his past is directly related to this incident. IMO, this has all the earmarks of a revenge hit.

He had become a better man but I'm sure those that did this to him didnt care.

[sportscurmudgeon]

Let me say something in defense of ESPN here.

They have a story on their hands today that they are not accustomed to covering. Star athletes in the prime of their careers and in the middle of their seasons just don't get killed [maybe murdered with pre-meditation?] very often. In fact, I'm trying to think of a previous case with all of those factors in it. I can't come up with one that has all of the factors. ESPN is "feeling its way" in its coverage here...

There was more "info" to report in the T.O suicide nonsense and the Ben Roethlisberger accident stories because there were more "publicity folks" involved and fewer "police folks". When the police are investigating a homicide - particularly one that has all the earmarks of being a "really high profile case" - they tend to play their cards very close to their vest. So, ESPN - and the rest of the media - cannot come up with new info on any regular basis. And ESPN does have lots of time to fill on the air...

So, what does ESPN have at its disposal to talk about. It can show Sean Taylor playing football at Miami and in Washington. They can show his highlight plays. They can show his teammates/coaches saying what a wonderful person/player he was. [They even have to be careful there lest someone criticize them for "intruding on the grief" suffered by those players/coaches.] Then what? Remember, ESPN has lots of time to fill on the air...

What else is "background info" here? That's the sordid stuff that seems to get folks riled up here. But there isn't all that much more that ESPN has at the moment.

And if they just mentioned his killing and then ignored the story, people here would be angry at ESPN for snubbing Sean Taylor and/or the Redskins and/or ...

No one is really to blame for the coverage of this tragedy so far because there just isn't enough factual info yet to make it into anything meaningful.

And for those of you who are angry at ESPN's coverage, just wait until Nancy Grace and Larry King get on the story.

[irish]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

SS we've bantered about our media experience so I somewhat understand what you're feeling. ESPN is big dog and the big dog gets blamed for everyone elses bites sometimes.

One of the reasons I got out of the field is because of coverage like this. While a small part of his life, his past legal and on field troubles have (presumably) nothing to do with this tragedy and really shouldn't be mentioned in any stories related to this. If it were Pac Man Jones that this happened to, it would make more sense and a correlation could be made more readily but as it stands it's just another example of the media going to the negative in order to spice up a story.

I know it's probably not the right time for this but, I can't help to think there is a sterotypical undertone to some of the comments from the media, 'This is the circle he surrounded himself with. He hung in violent crowds so why should we be surprised this happened. He had gun incidents in the past so this can't be so unexpected.' One incident automatically lumps him in with the image of a 'thug' that the media perpetrates consistently. Sean wasn't Tank Johnson, he wasn't Pac Man Jones, he wasn't Chirs Henry..

This was a man who had one incident, had removed those people from his life, had moved on as a man and a father who died protecting his family. Let's see if ESPN, NFL-N or anyone else has the courage to honor him for being home, asleep at 1:30am, with his girlfriend and child in the room, not at a nightclub or a strip bar and he did what any real man would do if he had to, he died protecting his family.

I hope the Redskins PR staff is taking note of those (Bayless, Wilbon, etc) who have run to the negative so immediately and bar them from Redskin Park forever.

I just dont see how one can say that ST's off field troubles can not be mentioned when talking about his life. Those things were part of his life. So were the gun incidents, the violent crowds and his recent turn around. For better or worse it was all his life.

I dont think any of us really know what ST was because he wouldnt tell us.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by irish

I just dont see how one can say that ST's off field troubles can not be mentioned when talking about his life. Those things were part of his life. So were the gun incidents, the violent crowds and his recent turn around. For better or worse it was all his life.

I dont think any of us really know what ST was because he wouldnt tell us.

If this happened to Favre, would there be such a focus (or at all) about his past drug addiction or his hard partying ways when he was a younger man? I'd be shocked if it was made mention at all. Certain aspects of the media make their name and revel in negativity and exploit it when it's convenient to their story or overall agenda.. This is what I see in the national coverage.

[irish]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

If this happened to Favre, would there be such a focus (or at all) about his past drug addiction or his hard partying ways when he was a younger man? I'd be shocked if it was made mention at all. Certain aspects of the media make their name and revel in negativity and exploit it when it's convenient to their story or overall agenda.. This is what I see in the national coverage.

I think if BF died of a drug overdose or at a party the focus would be there. Favre's partying days were years ago now and the addiction to drugs he had a prescription for was even maybe 5 years ago. Most of the ST things were barely 2 years ago and most of those were negative. If ST had a past of singing in the church choir and helping little old ladies across the street then that's what the media would be talking about but for better or worse he didnt have that kind of past. The media is only showing his history, the good, bad & ugly.

[Dlyne8r]

Actually, Mike Terico (sp?) is doing a very respectable job right now on ESPN Radio on Sean Taylor. He, and whoever it is on air with him, are even talking about the absurd crime rate in Miami. Terico has mentioned several times the loyalty of Redskin fans and how they fully support the team whether or not they've ever met one of the players. Good job Mike, and to some degree, ESPN Radio (except for Colin Cowturd).

[12thMan]

You better believe these media outlets are scouring our boards to get some sense of how the fans feel.

[redskins5044]

i sent to email to epsn. i went on espn.com and clicked on contact us and sent the email about the show today

[BrudLee]

SmootSmack, I'm sure it isn't personal. ESPN is the most visible portal for sports news in the world. They (you) have tried to put on up-to-the-minute Taylor information. Unfortunately, in the case of some of the on-air talent, the words have been less than comforting.

As for bashing ESPN at every turn, they're the biggest dog on the block. In "real" news media, no one cares about how slanted MSNBC is, because they're third place. Everyone cares about how slanted Fox News is, because they're in first.

[dgack]

You guys have to remember that these are ESPN talking heads we're talking about here, guys. With all due respect, SS, how many sexual harrassment suits and stories have come from those guys? Harold Reynolds, Sean Salisbury, Mike Tirico, Berman... all of these guys have been linked to fairly skeevy "off-the-field" activities, yet they have no problem taking a holier-than-thou angle on a guy like Sean Taylor who is dead.

And, to be frank, if Sean HADN'T had a fiancee and a daughter, I can guarantee you the media reports would have been even more harsh. That's just life as an American media celebrity, though. We love to build up idols and then bring them down when they fail to perform or amuse us any longer.

Call it the gladiator mentality.

[dgack]

Originally Posted by dgack

Harold Reynolds, Sean Salisbury, Mike Tirico, Berman... all of these guys have been linked to fairly skeevy "off-the-field" activities, yet they have no problem taking a holier-than-thou angle on a guy like Sean Taylor who is dead.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that any of the above-mentioned ESPN "analysts" are saying anything negative about Sean. Just that ESPN has plenty of skeletons in its OWN closets. Unlike most NFL players, however, huge media conglomerates are able to afford to pay lawyers and other damage control specialists to keep the majority of this stuff out of, well, the media