Will the Media Allow Lidle to Rest in Peace?
I didn't want to write about this story at all. The tragic death of Cory Lidle has no place on a blog, and if it weren't to maintain that The Out Route is up on the news, I would have declined to say a damn thing. Blogs shouldn't cover stories like this. They should cover anything else, from trades and firings to Kyle Orton getting plastered at a college party. Since blogs rarely actually break news, it's their harsh comments that separate them from actual news sites. And harsh comments don't have a place here.
At least that was going to be my brief take on this, until I turned on the news.
Well, technically, I was turning on ABC at 7 to watch Jeopardy. Instead, there was a 20 minute "breaking report" about the crash -- the crash that that happened over two hours ago. It was noticeable within three minutes that ABC wasn't reporting anything new. They just cycled the same shit over and over again. Throwing in a different reporter in a different area didn't change the truth: there was no breaking news, they were just using Lidle's death to try to draw ratings for 20 minutes.
I know I shouldn't complain about this. It happens all the time. But it's still bullshit. The man died and left behind a family. He was 34, which may be old for a pitcher but young for a man. Instead of showing a picture of him with the family or pitching one of his good games, it was repeated shots of the fiery crash that killed him and intermittent shots of him pitching a crappy last game for the Yankees. Those are all just blatant ratings grabs.
Even though this is nothing new, it's still disgusting when you really think about it. That's why I'm not going to go into the accident or anything like that. I'm just going to wish the best for his family in this tough time.
Sometimes, the media can be an ugly business, and even as a bloggers, the media's retarded cousin, times like this I feel ashamed.
Tom's take: OK, let me first say that I completely agree with everything Kyle said. Being in a newsroom no more than 10 miles away when the plane crashed and then as details slowly leaked over the hours was a surreal experience. I don't know if being in the news business has desensitized some in the media to events like this, or if it's stemmed from insensitivity, but I heard jokes bandied about the office that were disgusting (by some, not everyone). On Deadspin, someone in the comments said that A-Rod should have been in the plane, because then it wouldn't have hit anything. Tasteless. Joke all you want because you're detached from the situation, or because he was a Yankee. But there's a 6-year old who's father isn't there to tuck him in tonight. That's sad.
At the same time, let's make sure not to be saddened by the event because it was a recognizable athlete involved. A tragedy is a tragedy is a tragedy. And today was a tragedy. Just because we have a face to attach to the incident doesn't make it worse. I'll get off my soapbox now.
Comments
Sad news, and I don't want to make a bigger deal about it simply because a Yankees pitcher was involved. It could help people put things in persepective though: we may laugh about hating the Yankees, but I hope people realize it's just a game. I mean, I kind find myself hoping Jeter gets nailed by a pitch when he steps up, but I certainly don't wish ill on these guys just because of the team they play on. It's a terrible thing to happen to anyone, no matter what they do for a living.
But I also figured the media was making a big deal out of this because most people probably thought at first that it was a terrorist attack.
Posted by: steve-o | October 11, 2006 10:48 PM
Not to hijack the conversation or anything, but I think there are a number of political bloggers who would argue the statement that they rarely break news. Just ask George Allen, Mark Foley, or William Jefferson.
But I agree with the sentiment. What can you do though? We are a callous society. Late night TV hosts joke about pedophelia and nobody thinks twice about it. One of the most watched "news" programs is in fact a FAKE news program that makes its bills by lampooning real, serious world events.
Best wishes to Lidle's family but to dismiss a plane flying into a building in Manhattan five years after 9/11 (regardless of the circumstances) as NOT being newsworthy is not to understand the news.
Posted by: Derek Phillips | October 12, 2006 2:05 PM
I don't think Kyle was saying that the event wasn't newsworthy. I think he's saying that the media tends to overdo things. To report is one thing, to beat us over the head with the same information over and over again is another. Or at least I think that's what he was saying, he could answer that better.
Also, I'm not sure if the fact that it was Lidle resulted in MORE coverage (ESPN aside). I'm not saying yes or no, just asking a question.
Posted by: Tom4 | October 12, 2006 2:57 PM
Oh sure, I agree. The 24-hour news cycle is maybe the best and worse thing that's ever happened to journalism. I'm leaning more toward the worse thing that's ever happened...
Posted by: Derek Phillips | October 12, 2006 4:12 PM
You're right. Bloggers do break news. But those are bloggers who have an inside edge. I was referring to many sports bloggers. Not sports bloggers like St Louis Today's Jeff Gordon who has on field access and stuff, but guys like me, who just read ESPN a lot and try to find the news that slips through the cracks.
Posted by: Kyle | October 13, 2006 8:15 PM
I think a lot of the news is what Tom mentioned in his original post, people just mentioning stuff to keep to date or not get scooped. The media made claims of a distress call about a lack of fuel which didn't show up in any government reports. I think they mention this because it's pretty novel, a famous baseball player crashing a plane in NYC. I just wish they put as much time into investigating the news as they do spitting the news at us.
Posted by: Dave LaMorte | October 18, 2006 6:37 PM