I listened to Danny Green's podcast to see if he would have any inside perspective on the Kawhi situation given the proximity to the Raptors and 2019 free agency as a whole. He says he didn't know anything about it and would never get a deal like that because he's a role player.
What was interesting was the tone he and his co-host had about the whole situation. His co-host Harrison Sanford, who also works for ESPN Radio, completely without irony, proudly calls himself a "journalist" but also says he would never want to report anything that hurts the image of those he is covering and characterizes Pablo's reporting as "checking your pockets" or basically snitching.
Sanford:
"This delineates the type of journalist Pablo Torre is and … journalists like me. If I found that out, I'm not reporting [that]. Because I'm not trying to get on Kawhi's bad side, he could give me an exclusive interview! I'm not trying to get on Steve Ballmer's bad side. Because the Clippers are going to exist for the next 50-100 years. I want to be able to walk into that building and talk to people and have relationships that could lead me to other breaking news that doesn't necessarily hurt the image or perception of the people that I'm covering. But then there are the Pablo Torres of the world who are gonna do it anyway."
This is what everyone accuses Shams or Shelburne or others of being, but it's remarkable to hear someone admit it so proudly and seemingly not have any awareness of how it sounds. Their worldview appears to be that the access journalist that never reports anything negative is the good kind of journalist comparatively. Neither Green nor his co-host could seem to comprehend there being any reason to report this other than wanting to be "first" to report some news. Green says if he were a reporter he would have essentially blackmailed Kawhi and the Clippers into giving him special treatment.
Source clip: https://streamable.com/8usl99
43 comments
Someone actually said the thing out loud.
Keep in mind, this is how so many of them feel, and operate on, sadly. They’re terrified of losing their jobs by not cozying up to power and that’s always going to be a bad place for any kind of budding journalist.
But to get someone to just outright say it is always fun. 👍
I don’t blame Harrison for thinking this way considering he works for ESPN. It takes a special and also very courageous journalist to do a story like this. You’re burning all the bridges and making yourself an enemy of the whole league
Pablo is about to be anointed king by r/nba
company men, through and through, these “journalists” are
That’s the thing. There’s no guarantee these journalists would ever be on any side for Kawhi and Ballmer. I’d rather be on their bad side than flip a coin for an exclusive interview.
Literally the opposite of journalism
This is not surprising, which is all the more reason to give props to those journalists who are willing to risk a lot putting their reputation on the line and if they’re wrong, could financially ruin them.
Bro how are these people real. Do they not see how contradictory the things they are saying sound.
This is just true in the world at large at this point, investigate journalism doesn’t exist like it did 20 or 30 years ago. Deadspin sucks now but when they first started out their motto was “sports news without access, favor or discretion” and it seems like now the motto for sports media is “I want to preserve my relationships”
These guys aren’t journalists – they’re just regurgitating what owners/agents/executives want them to say. Once you’re aware of this it’s a lot easier to cope with.
I only want to hear Shams break a trade or a signing; you can miss me with everything else.
Scurred is the term?
This is a well-known phenomenon in journalism.
Remember that when reading the news. Journalists are often more afraid of pissing off their sources and their audience than anything else – even their bosses.
Sometimes this can severely impact the agenda setting (the decision about what gets covered) and the framing (how it’s covered, the images shown, and the agency attached to the coverage) functions of the media.
You might not get the whole story because the journalist either thinks their sources won’t like certain details published, or much more rarely because they don’t believe that their audience will like that story published.
And vice versa. They will cover stories that their sources want them to or that their audience believes is important.
I almost respect this guy for just saying it like it is
Almost
Access journalism is exactly what is wrong with our country right now. All these fake journalists too afraid to upset the rich. All they do is write puff pieces.
Spineless coward
that reminds me of this reporter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hastings_(journalist) who broke some iraq war stories, and other journalists were telling him “you’ll never be able to write another story when everyone ices you out” and he was like “this is the story”. So many reporters are just mouthpieces it’s pointless
“I could get an exclusive interview with Kawhi”
LMAO. Literally nothing more useless. Most boring interview on earth.
Publicly admitting to be a corporate leech is funny.
Id much rather people be honest about who they are then bullshit about it. Not that I like his opinion but this is better than these fake mf’ers
Imagine not wanting to break a huge story because you might possibly, sometime in the future, get an interview with the world’s most boring athlete. ESPN is no longer the world wide leader in sports. They’re the world wide leader in bootlickers.
You call yourself a journalist u pusc LMAO
“Journalism is printing something that someone does not want printed. Everything else is public relations”
George Orwell
What a sack of shit lol
Calling it “snitching” is basically what the whole point of journalism is. What an asinine statement
We live in a post-shame era.
Literally *nothing* matters except your bottom line.
Sad but hilarious. He is a journalist btw, just a bad one.
This goes beyond the NBA and explains journalism at large. Most of these guys care way more about access and being “first” on a story than actually doing real investigative reporting. Thus they end up being PR firms for the very people they’re supposed to be covering.
Who gives a shit if Leonard won’t give you an exclusive interview? Interview someone else.
Ever since Ballmer bought the Clippers ESPNs reporting has always been favorable to the Clippers for no fucking reason.
This guy should just called himself a promoter then. Delusional to think of himself as a journalist lol.
like a car mechanic calling himself an automotive engineer
Real journalists have spines and give basically no fucks to their pocketbook
Dear ESPN,
You’re not journalists. You’re the marketing department of sports.
I wouldn’t call yourself a journalist if you’re afraid of maintaining relationships
Woodward to Bernstein: “Let’s not. Nixon might not invite us to the Xmas party if we publish this.”
“access journalism” has killed actual journalism. in sports, in politics, and just in general.
real journalist are usually hated by the powerful and are seen as annoying and a thorn in the side of many. But they do a service to the general public and make the world better.
The fake journalist are just out there for themselves to get paid.
also worried about a potential exclusive interview with Kawhi? really? that guy barely says anything.
Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.
– George Orwell
This is “only sports” but this mentality is killing our country in places where it matters
I get the instinct to not cross Steve Ballmer. He’s rich enough to bury anyone in litigation even if the story is 100% accurate. But not reporting a story like this for fear of losing access to a player who likely won’t even be in the league in 4 years is flat out dereliction of duty.
That’s not journalism, that’s content creation.
Wouldn’t breaking this kind of story make someone’s career? Im sure thats a bigger boost than getting a Kawhi interview as mic number 2 on Danny Green’s podcast.
Type of guy who wouldn’t report on Trump raping kids cause he might get an exclusive. Fuck these people
Annnnnnnd this is the problem with journalism in general right now. More concerned with access than reporting.
Send him a short message on Instagram and let him know what you think about his journalism. @ hidefsanford