Sep
29
Trouble in 140 characters, take two
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Unbeknownst to me, a few hours before I wrote my post on Robert Henson’s Twitter troubles, The Washington Post’s ombudsman Andrew Alexander blogged about the tweets of the paper’s co-managing editor Raju Narisetti, which stirred controversy of their own.
Narisetti, one of top editors at The Post, wrote tweets on healthcare and congressional term limits, personal thoughts that others in the newsroom believed were too opinionated and could hurt the paper’s reputation. One said, “Sen Byrd (91) in hospital after he falls from ‘standing up too quickly.’ How about term limits. Or retirement age. Or commonsense to prevail.” According to Alexander, Narisetti “now realizes that his tweets, although intended for a private audience of about 90 friends and associates, were unwise.” His Twitter account is now defunct.
Sound familiar?
Narisetti’s tweet might seem a far cry from Henson calling booing Redskins fans “dim wits” (especially considering the team’s loss to the Lions on Sunday validating the negative fan reaction). But Twitter, for both, turned from what they considered a semi-“private” social networking tool into a public forum for debate and condemnation. Both, like many of us, forgot the power and scope of social networking sites for stirring and disseminating news.
Perhaps Narisetti should have paid more attention to his own paper’s coverage of Henson’s trying times with Twitter.
Sep
25
Robert Henson: Not just a tweeting twit
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It all started with a tweet.
A hometown crowd booed the Redskins last Sunday during a narrow 9-7 win against the woeful St. Louis Rams. Many players responded to the booing after the game, some more calmly then others, but none so adamantly as backup linebacker Robert Henson. He let his frustration out through Twitter: “All you fake half hearted Skins fan can… I won’t go there but I dislike you very strongly, don’t come to Fed Ex to boo dim wits!!” But now Henson’s wishing he could take those 129 characters back.
While the booing itself would have been news in its own right and certainly echoed loudly through the blogosphere, the player responses would simply have been another part of the story had someone not caught Henson’s agitated tweet. Fans responded, he whipped back winning replies. Within hours, the conversation appeared on fan Twitters, blogs, and postgame shows. Henson had went from anonymous benchwarmer to a vilified pseudo-celebrity. The linebacker’s Twitter account is now defunct, taken down reportedly of his own accord. But the multimedia firestorm his off-the-cuff comment spurred will not soon be forgotten.
Multimedia journalism feeds off frenzy such as this. The story became easily one of the biggest of the week, circulating not only around Washington but nationally. But there is a proper way to handle a story such as this one. And I think the coverage got out of hand.
I’m not talking about those twits out there who initially responded to Henson or even those fans who posted the story on their personal blogs. I applaud The Washington Post for its extensive yet fair treatment of the ordeal, and Dan Steinberg, who proved in his front page article and multiple D.C. Sports Bog posts (like this one) that bloggers can be excellent journalists. I also applaud Redskins.com for addressing the issue rather than ignoring it (cough, ticket controversy, cough, crying grandmother, cough.)
But the continual regurgitation, which can be so funny when it’s about Chris Cooley’s shorts, can seem downright mean with an issue such as this. Yes, Henson made a mistake, and yes, he deserved the negative publicity. But does he deserve this nationally televised rant from ESPN personality Mike Greenberg? Does he deserve his new status as villain in the eyes of fans? I think not. We all live our lives constantly plugged into technology. (How many times have you checked your Facebook today?) If you’re like me, you hardly give a thought to what you post. Henson needed to vent, but he did it to an audience of hundreds of fans and media members. It’s so easy to forget that just by pressing a few buttons your opinions become part of the public forum.
So take a look at the Hogs Haven fan blog’s June interview with Henson, as well as Henson’s heartfelt and composed apology, and recognize that there is a normal guy behind the “dim wit” tweets who deserves a little respect.
Sep
18
Wait… Chris Cooley’s what?
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Right now you’re probably wondering what Chris Cooley’s Shorts is all about. Take a look at the photo to the right – you don’t find those shorts blog-worthy? Fine, you got me. Though I considered it, this blog isn’t all about the fashion statements of the Washington Redskins tight end. But I am not joking when I say the subject of this blog is all in the name.
Now you think I’m crazy. I see. Let me try again. As you may or may not have already surmised given the URL, I’m Kate Yanchulis. A University of Maryland journalism student and, more importantly, a fanatical follower of the Redskins since birth, I have dedicated this blog to the frenzy of online coverage and multimedia journalism that surrounds the team. And I find no better example than Chris Cooley’s shorts.
You can find Cooley’s shorts here. And here. And here. These three stories mark three straight years (2007, 2008 and 2009) that Cooley’s shorts, in various reincarnations, have set the blogosphere alight. And that’s just the beginning. Google Chris Cooley’s shorts and you will get 131,000 results. I find that amount staggering and I actually read this stuff.
Who provides this news and news like it? Who reads it and what do they get from it? That’s what I want to discuss with this blog. I will of course look at the coverage of the Redskins by major media outlets such as The Washington Post, The Washington Times, ESPN and of course by the Redskins themselves. No blog on Redskins multimedia journalism would be complete without them. But I want to focus particularly on news produced and spread by blogs, fan communities, social networking media such as Twitter and YouTube and even by – especially by – the players themselves. (See Cooley’s own blog at ChrisCooley47.blogspot.com.) Alternative news sources play a vital role in the world of Redskins multimedia journalism. If not for their fascination with a certain piece of clothing, this very site would not exist.
So come back to www.KateYanchulis.com and continue to share in the wonder of Chris Cooley’s Shorts.
