Morrissey Gets it Half Right
Today Tribune columnist Rick Morrissey called for the Tribune to sell the Cubs. While I applaud the gesture, I want to express two reservations: 1. He couldn't do it without taking a few cheap shots at people who rightfully object to the Tribune's conflict of interest, and 2. Funny how it took a World Series trophy to wake the guy up. Would Morrissey ever have written today's column if the Sox didn't win that trophy? Maybe, but I gotta wonder. Last October it became clear the Tribune invested in the wrong Chicago baseball team. A lot of cracks have been showing in the Tower's foundation since then. It's never a surprise to see rats jumping off a sinking ship. It would have looked a lot classier, Rick, if you took the leap last year.
Also, Morrissey has a few misperceptions that we need to straighten out. This Sox fan doesn't think Cubune reporters take direction from Tribune CEO Dennis Fitzsimmons. I believe that, for the most part, reporters try to be fair, especially in the Sports Department. But I have seen evidence that the groupthink in the Tower colors the way many of its reporters perceive the world, the way they write about it, and the way they portray it to the rest of us. And I do think the arrogance in the Tower prevents them from acknowledging when they're wrong. Furthermore, I know they have a real conflict of interest, not just a perceived one.
For example, when Morrissey wrote on Jan. 31 that this is still a Cubs town and those 1.75 million fans at the Sox ticker-tape parade were really Cubs fans incognito (apparently wearing Sox gear for the day), he helped to reinforce a perception of Cubs dominance that his employer helped to create, a perception that it is in his employer's financial interest to maintain. That may not have been his intention, but he did it just the same.
The Cubs are worth an estimated $500 million to the Tribune. Not only does Morrissey have a general financial interest in his employer's financial health, he also has a specific financial interest in his employer's profit sharing plan. He has a real financial interest in the Chicago Cubs, yet he covers baseball. That's just wrong.
Trying to hide in the ethical shadows between real and perceived, Rick, that's just weak. But let's say you did only have a perceived conflict: you're still in the wrong. Take a look at any standard journalism ethics policy, including the Tribune's own (see the sidebar to the right). Real or perceived, it doesn't matter. You shouldn't be swimming in this vile soup in the first place.
You don't lose the argument with your readers because we're tenacious conspiracy theorists, you lose the argument with your readers because you're always already in the wrong. As long as the Tribune owns the Cubs.
You've called for a change in that state of affairs. Bravo. But you still haven't grasped the moral and ethical imperative behind it. Until you make that leap, Sox fans won't take you seriously
Also, Morrissey has a few misperceptions that we need to straighten out. This Sox fan doesn't think Cubune reporters take direction from Tribune CEO Dennis Fitzsimmons. I believe that, for the most part, reporters try to be fair, especially in the Sports Department. But I have seen evidence that the groupthink in the Tower colors the way many of its reporters perceive the world, the way they write about it, and the way they portray it to the rest of us. And I do think the arrogance in the Tower prevents them from acknowledging when they're wrong. Furthermore, I know they have a real conflict of interest, not just a perceived one.
For example, when Morrissey wrote on Jan. 31 that this is still a Cubs town and those 1.75 million fans at the Sox ticker-tape parade were really Cubs fans incognito (apparently wearing Sox gear for the day), he helped to reinforce a perception of Cubs dominance that his employer helped to create, a perception that it is in his employer's financial interest to maintain. That may not have been his intention, but he did it just the same.
The Cubs are worth an estimated $500 million to the Tribune. Not only does Morrissey have a general financial interest in his employer's financial health, he also has a specific financial interest in his employer's profit sharing plan. He has a real financial interest in the Chicago Cubs, yet he covers baseball. That's just wrong.
Trying to hide in the ethical shadows between real and perceived, Rick, that's just weak. But let's say you did only have a perceived conflict: you're still in the wrong. Take a look at any standard journalism ethics policy, including the Tribune's own (see the sidebar to the right). Real or perceived, it doesn't matter. You shouldn't be swimming in this vile soup in the first place.
You don't lose the argument with your readers because we're tenacious conspiracy theorists, you lose the argument with your readers because you're always already in the wrong. As long as the Tribune owns the Cubs.
You've called for a change in that state of affairs. Bravo. But you still haven't grasped the moral and ethical imperative behind it. Until you make that leap, Sox fans won't take you seriously
posted by Chicago Cubune Watch permalink
