This was something that just had to be written instead of our picks which we will do live on the show tonight for the late ones. It goes a little something like this.
Dear MSM and Bloggers:
It has to come to my attention that you crave unhealthy debate with one another. We have seen everyone pat themselves on the back, defend their viewpoint, and then still have the time to take shots at each other all because the story did not twist to their liking. There are some in this business who clearly get that the point of all this is to spark healthy debate. You can disagree with someone without shredding them like a piece of turkey meat with a Ginsu knife. Yes I went there.
For those that think all of the relevant facts came out in the Colin Campbell story, you would be technically mistaken. In the same token, the grandiose conspiracy theories likely have gone too far and steered most away from the issue at hand. The current regime is ill-equipped at times to handle itself in the media. There have been too many cover-ups and this sport does need to put this to bed but when it has run its course once and for all.
Why do the facts keep leaking out slowly rather than all at once? There are so many things right now that I cannot even report on at this time because of confidentiality and respect. That word respect is supposed to be held sacred amongst writers and yet to complain on how you are portrayed as opposed to the merit of one’s work is inexcusable and unacceptable. In fairness, we will poke fun as well but when it is a serious story, it demands all due diligence as well as a look from all angles plausible.
There is no need to mention MSM and bloggers by name here. That would be not only defeating the purpose but putting more spotlight on where it does not belong. Baiting and egging on the debate only makes even more people guilty and foolish in all of this. It is not necessary. Hockey has enough problems. Why on Earth would you go and add to it when your job is to not sensationalize contrary to certain people in this business but to get everything straight?
This is not a holier than thou assessment. This is just fact as it was presented on twitter all day long. Apparently 140 characters gives people the right to stray from their convictions and go all guns blazing on anyone and everyone. The social media landscape does not give us writers an excuse to go full tilt on any opinion that we disagree on. It is meant for healthy debate and yes facts to be presented as opposed to the assumptions that have seemed prevalent not only on the Colin Campbell issue but media access amongst others in the last several months.
The sample that I saw was mostly from twitter alone. If you searched the internet long enough, one could find even more of this “squabble” that takes away on what really is going on. The boat is being missed. The sport of hockey is still in trouble and it is up to the rest of us to wake the world up one person at a time.
The goal always is to report the news first, then debate and rinse, wash, and repeat. There is no sense in overhyping something without presenting all the sides. The problem is when the sides do not agree on anything. That is when there can be no healthy debate. People often dig in because they are too stubborn to give up on their sensationalized story like it is a 1000 pound bar of gold.
Hopefully at some point the MSM and bloggers will fully merge and learn to at least somewhat work together in order to help spread hockey to the masses. Hockey is my religion. My question to the rest of the writers is this. Is it yours?
Sincerely,
Christopher Wassel
Director Of The Program
