We Are All To Blame

(Boulder-CO) I happen to stumble on an article late last night that I just have to share with the rest of you. Apparently, Le Anne Schreiber, "The latest integrity filled journalist to take a crack at being ESPN’s ombudsman", is seemingly blaming blogs for ESPN’s inaccurate reporting.

Quoted as saying, "Since undertaking this job I have become familiar with the world of the sports blog. Ninety percent of them have no compunction about putting out any kind of rumor. Doesn’t matter the source or how reliable it is. They just toss it out there because they are not journalists. They are not responsible and don’t claim to be. They are just tossing out what might be of interest to the water cooler group.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Not journalist?

Well, in my book, bloggers are a group of talented, entertaining, informed, and intelligent sports fans/writers who are are just as capable of connecting the imaginary dots as those affiliated with the World Wide Leader (not to mention sometimes even MORE perceptive than the WWL).

But what is important in all of this is how blogs like mine and others covering all different kinds of sports are having an impact on the mainstream. Sure, there are those sites out there that are scoped in the good natured humor that sometimes sports have to be taken with, but others are serious sports columns that stay up late after the games to deliver a perspective way before the print hits the page for the local daily paper. And it is with these serious and credible- source citing- sites that often times the writing on the wall gets put out into the blogosphere way before there is anything actually brewing in the team's front office.

Furthermore, Schreiber goes on to say, "People will return to ESPN dot com to see what they have to say about those rumors. That is what pressures ESPN to make sometimes premature claims. The idea that you do not trade in rumors has virtually gone by the wayside in this form of journalism.”

Then my only question for Schreiber is if we (bloggers) are not journalists than why do you read us? You must pay attention to what is written on blogs for a reason, right? And if that reason is to stay close to what the water cooler group is talking about then either:

A) The WWL has lost its connection with the sports fans it was originally geared towards.

or...

B) You're not giving bloggers (i.e. sports writers who have taken it upon themselves to publish their own thoughts via their own formats) the due credit for either entertaining, informing, and/or discussing possible outcomes for the future of their respective teams.

But either way, to blame bloggers for ESPN's inaccurate reports is just a way to sidestep the blame for their own mistakes, or should I say, lack of prudent and comprehensive journalism.