At 06:04 PM 12/11/96 -0500, Dave Wollstadt wrote:
>Why is Joe McLaughlin such a sourpuss? I don't recall reading any column by
>him that didn't sound like it had been written after someone stepped on his
>toe, or some other part of his anatomy.
 
This true.  To date, I haven't seen a postive column written by Mr.
McLaughlin, especially in relation to the hockey program (not that a lot of
people are writing good columns about the hockey program).
 
>First, all Cronin said (at least as reported by/complained about by
>McLaughlin) was that Hannigan had become a friend and that he had kept his
>confidences. Honorable people keep confidences; dishonorable people accept
>information given in confidence and blurt it out to friends. (They're called
>rumormongers or backstabbers.) Honorable reporters keep confidences;
>dishonorable reporters accept information given in confidence and put it into
>their news stories.
 
This is central to how I feel, and that is that a good reporter tries to
make friends with as many people as he/she can.  The key for the reporter is
not to stay away from making friends, but make as many as you can without
compromising your objectivitity.
 
Friends is a loose term.  It could mean that a reporter is amiable with
someone on a given beat, or that they talk off the record about issues on a
given beat and that person is telling sensative information.
 
If the reporter then stabs the party in the back by reporting on that
information, sure he'll have a good story.  The Supreme Court has been very
wishy-washy on how binding the term "off the record" is (is it a contract or
just a promise made to be broken?).  However, one good "scoop" will also
turn into a bunch of dead-ends if the reporter tries to get information from
that source again.
 
I wonder if Larry Mahoney, the hockey beat reporter working under
McLaughlin, is "friends" with Cronin and/or Shawn Walsh.  After all this
time, I'd find it hard to believe that Mahoney doesn't have his own secrets
about the Maine program that he's elected not to print.
 
>Second, Hannigan is not a reporter--at least that's not his primary role in
>relation to Cronin and UMaine hockey. Hannigan is a play-by-play announcer
>for the radio station that covers the Black Bears. I certainly don't expect
>him to adopt an adversarial role in announcing the games, or in interviewing
>the coach and players before and after the games. I don't expect him to be a
>cheerleader for the coach or even for the team, but I see nothing in Cronin's
>comments that indicates that Hannigan didn't do his job as a play-by-play
>announcer properly and effectively.
 
Hannigan is the play-by-play man, which isn't necessary journalistic in
nature, but he also does "Hangtime" show on WZON, which is more journalistic
in nature and thus I think can be considered a reporter, or certainly a
member of the mainstream media.
---
Deron Treadwell ([log in to unmask])