Sunday, January 16, 2011

What the state media cartel won’t tell you

Here’s a nifty nine minute video from ESPN’s Outside the Lines, where a panel including Paul Finebaum, Wright Thompson and Bruce Feldman discuss the ongoing NCAA investigation of Auburn University’s recruitment of Quarterback Cam Newton:

What’s Next For AUBURN - ESPN

It's well worth the time it takes to watch the whole thing, but it's also worth noting that ESPN, along with most other major sports media outlets, is discussing this matter as an ongoing probe. Consider also this story from USA Today's Steve Wieberg, covering NCAA President Mark Emmert's address to the NCAA National Convention in San Antonio.


SAN ANTONIO — Cam Newton is done with the NCAA and college football, announcing Thursday that he'll enter the NFL's April draft.

But the NCAA is scarcely done with him.

NEWTON LEAVING: Auburn quarterback declares for NFL draft

Its investigation into a pay-for-play scheme by Newton's father continues. And only hours before Auburn disclosed the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback's decision to bypass his senior season and turn pro, new NCAA President Mark Emmert vowed to work to close a loophole in the rules that allowed him to finish out this season on the field.


Very clearly, the NCAA is not done with Cam Newton or Auburn University. But the state media cartel—al.com and its affiliated newspapers—doesn’t tell you this. In fact, if you pick up any of the three papers affiliated with the website, this is the tripe you get from the Auburn Beat reporter, Charles “All In” Goldberg:


Newton won the Heisman Trophy in December and a national championship Monday, but it was not a perfect season. 

His father's attempt to get money from Mississippi State boosters for him to play there made national headlines. The NCAA investigated, but neither the quarterback nor Auburn has been found [guilty] of any wrongdoing. 

Through it all, Newton kept playing, walking away in his one year at Auburn with stats that no other SEC player ever achieved. 


Goldberg and the rest of the media cartel are doing a grave disservice to its readers by refusing to acknowledge the ongoing nature of the investigation. Their narrative—that the NCAA has concluded its probe and found Auburn and Newton innocent—is both irresponsible and premature. While the NCAA might soon reach the conclusion that Goldberg et al seem to wish for, there is a very high likelihood that Auburn gets slammed with major sanctions and, if the federal probes continue the way they seem to be headed, a few high profile Auburn boosters and officials could be headed to a federal lockup.

The newspapers in the state of Alabama have a duty to keep the public properly informed about matters of such importance to the state. Football in this state is more than a sport. There are few other places in this country with the kind of passionate fanaticism that Alabamians follow their favorite program, and the media cannot continue to mislead the public into  thinking that the Newton case is closed. It isn’t, and there’s not even an indication that it’s anywhere close to being finished.

With regards to the federal probes, the papers should also acknowledge that the FBI doesn’t go on fishing expeditions. They did not wake up on the morning of November 9, 2010 and just decide to go fishing in the Newton recruitment case just for kicks and giggles.

It is anybody’s guess where all of this winds up, but it is really lousy journalism for the state’s papers to not even acknowledge that “this” is nowhere near being over.

Team Jerseys

 

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5 comments :

Anonymous said...

Charles Goldberg and Phillip "Yellerteeth" Marshall are the biggest clowns in the media. I've never seen such lapdogs and can't remember Bama ever having people that were as delusional as those geriatric homers.

Anonymous said...

"Their narrative—that the NCAA has concluded its probe and found Auburn and Newton innocent—is both irresponsible and premature."

I disagree. No where in the article does Goldberg "conclude" that the NCAA is through investigating Newton. Granted, he does not state that the investigation is ongoing but, he does not "conclude" or state that it is over either. Maybe the Tide conspirators have not been sending him the talking points like they have to the NYT,ESPN,Thayer Evans, etc;.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous #2:

When I was in school, the term "investigated" was in past-tense. Now, Goldberg does say that "neither the quarterback nor Auburn HAS BEEN found ..." which doesn't imply conclusion as much as a phrase such as "neither the quarterback nor Auburn WAS found..." would, but using "investigated" in the stead of "is investigating" still implies that the probe is finished. It clearly isn't.

David L. said...

"I disagree. No where in the article does Goldberg "conclude" that the NCAA is through investigating Newton. Granted, he does not state that the investigation is ongoing but, he does not "conclude" or state that it is over either. Maybe the Tide conspirators have not been sending him the talking points like they have to the NYT,ESPN,Thayer Evans, etc;"

As was pointed out above, "investigated" is the past tense of the verb "investigate." Furthermore, stating that Auburn has not been found guilty is premature. The NCAA has made no determination whatsoever that neither the school nor the Newtons were not guilty of wrongdoing.

Goldberg is engaging in shoddy journalism, period. So are the papers affiliated with al.com. I know Auburn fans like to think that this is a big conspiracy theory cooked up by Bama fans and other SEC rivals, but there are too many legitimate journalists at the New York Times, Yahoo! Sports, ESPN and now CBS Sports covering this story.

It is not over, it is not going away, and it is not Alabama's fault that you're in the predicament that you find yourself "all in."

Floridan Blogger said...

Very insightful post, IBCR. Thank you for exposing the very fraud that is the Alabama media.

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