This week ESPN sent out a memo to all its employees warning them against using unreliable sources in their stories.
In and of itself, nothing is unusual about that. After all, everyone knows that there are two cardinal rules of journalism: Get it right and don't plagiarize.
In fact, on last week's episode of the brilliant "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," Danny Tripp, played by Bradley Whitford, put it best when he said of a writer accused of plagiarism: "You might as well have called him a sex offender."
These rules are that important.
But I digress.
The surprising thing about this memo is not, as I said, ESPN's wanting credibility out of its employees and out of its product. No, the surprising thing was that among those unreliable sources was Deadspin.com - a very respected and truthful sports blog that, apart from an Albert Pujols steroid story that was reported as a rumor and was not intended to be taken as gospel, has never had any reason to be distrusted.
Moreover, though, this memo spoke to just how ingrained in our sports fan culture blogs and message boards have become.
Sports news that used to be first heard on TV, now are heard days in advance by loyal message board lurkers. Those same blogs and boards make it possible to spend entire weeks, not days, reading about your team's latest moves. In fact, on message boards, you actually can find yourself becoming friends with the same people to whom you talk sports.
I'll give you an example:
I'm a huge Chicago Cubs fan - I mean, it's really bad. To that end, I am a member of a fantastic message board called North Side Baseball. It's probably too fantastic, as I spend too much time on it. Anyway, the emphasis, of course, is on the Cubs. Many, many Cubs fans post there, as well as some of the team's minor league broadcasters and the Chicago Daily Herald's beat reporter, Bruce Miles. On very sporadic occasions, even Cubs TV play-by-play man Len Kasper drops in. The board also contains a few Cardinals fans, a few White Sox fans, a Brewers fan or two and even a brave Pirates fan.
But the board also has sections where posters can discuss politics, everyday life, vacations, and sell Cubs tickets to one another and other sports such as the NFL, where the discussion, as you might expect, centers on the Chicago Bears. When the board's population isn't dissecting the latest Cubs move - and lately they've had a lot to complain about - they're usually lobbing one-liners at each other or making elaborate jokes. It really is a lot like an extremely large family.
All this has completely revolutionized of the way we follow sports.
Press releases are disseminated through blogs and message boards. Trade rumors are posted in one place rather than fans having to sift through site after site. Public opinion of a key player can change in literally minutes with just one offhand comment to a fan if it's put in a blog or message board.
Is all that change good? That's for you to decide. But no one can deny that it's making the life of a sports fan that much more eventful.
Andy Roberts is a junior telecommunications major and writes 'Who, Me?' for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper.
Write to Andy at ndistops@hotmail.com.
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