Monday, February 26, 2007

年後大雜燴:DJ、Sam Smith

*Dennis Johnson猝逝
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現任NBADL Austin Toros隊教練的前波士頓後衛Dennis Johnson猝逝,令人感到意外。如果沒記錯的話,DJ在NBA生涯早期曾鬧出吸毒新聞,不知和這個有沒有關係。

無論如何,DJ在綠色王朝中扮演極為重要的角色。一般球迷的焦點總是集中在Big Three: Larry Bird、Kevin McHale、Robert Parish身上,DJ和Danny Ainge的貢獻無形中遭到忽略。其實在Scottie Pippen之前,DJ大概是守魔術強森守得最好的一名球員,連魔術自己也不會否認。

同時,DJ在緊要關頭投進致勝球的抗壓力,也沒有話說,可惜從未大紅大紫,這可能也是NBA的現實面。當年波士頓能夠笑傲東區,DJ和Ainge兩人都能雙挑控球與得分後衛,而且身高都不矮(6-3與6-5),是很重要的關鍵之一。

*Sam Smith惹怒部落客
芝加哥論壇報的知名專欄作家Sam Smith,日前的一篇文章惹怒了眾多部落客。讀者問題是這樣的:
What blogs do you read for sports, basketball or the bulls? How much do you trust their analysis/inside information? ...(略)

他在答覆中表示,他從不讀部落格,也對部落格衝擊到傳統媒體的現象感到不解。就個人而言,他認為他數十年來在NBA圈打拼,建立人脈,不時的與受訪者保持接觸、問問題,他很難相信部落客穿著睡衣在地下室中寫出來的文章,會有多少可信度(credibility)。
I like this question because I don't read any blogs. I find it interesting the way the national political campaigns (my first love and job) have hired people to interact with the blogosphere. You may say I'm old, out of touch and cranky, and I probably would have to agree. I'm also probably resentful on some level as I see this unsubstantiated, personal opinion passing for journalism and weep for America and the world. People do seem to read this stuff and equate it with what we do at The Tribune or other media and don't make much distinction.

How is it I can work for decades developing contacts around the NBA and traveling regularly around the NBA and talking with the decision makers and some guy in his basement in his underwear is writing something that has credibility? As close as I can figure, these bloggers are the electronic version of the neighborhood tavern. You used to go in and hear people wailing about sports or politics and offering opinions on all the major issues. We did our man in the street interviews when such issues came up. Now, these people we used to ask for opinion started these blogs and are supposed to be experts. How can that be? I never see any of them, I never hear the coaches and general managers and players I talk to saying they talked to them. So where do they get their information?

People often doubt the traditional media, but we are out asking questions, developing sources of information and interacting with the participants. What are these bloggers doing? I'm fortunate on some level to be getting close to retirement because if these blogs are credible sources of information, there's no point in spending all the time on the road that I do.

這個回應當然引來眾多部落客的反擊,例如這個:Sam Smith Has Poked the Wrong Dog with the Wrong Stick

身為一個前體育記者和部落客,我想自己對兩邊的心情都有所體會。媒體身在第一線,當然直接了解較多的新聞事件和成因,甚至是小道消息。部落客多半基於現有的事實去作評論或整理。

其實最重要的是,雙方都應該對彼此有所尊重,更重要的是媒體人要能深切了解到網路世界和web 2.0現象,確實已經改變了journalism。媒體人應該作的是隨著時代腳步前進,而不是拒絕承認世界已經改變。如果blogging真只是不值一提,它不會在政治、企業、媒體等各方面促成如此巨大和迅速的改變。

至於bloggers,無病呻吟、亂放砲、看到黑影就開槍的自然大有人在,但在茫茫blogsphere中確實不乏好手。他們不是第一線的記者,並不代表他們分析、整理的能力比記者還差;在很多情況之下,情況甚至相反。

==
(Update)
greeleytrib.com的發行人Chris Cobbler,在這篇文章裡主張所有的記者都應該開始成為部落客,理由是部落格可以迅速與讀者互動,同時掌握讀者喜好。
Blogging helps you better understand your audience. The hallmark of any blog is the ability for readers to post comments to what you write. By having this regular conversation with readers, you learn what hits and what misses.

For newspapers that are rapidly becoming irrelevant to a growing number of people, this is a huge issue. If you write post after post that garners no response, then it ought to be telling you something. In print, we’ve been able to kid ourselves for decades that every reader is savoring every word of our prose. Online, it’s painfully clear what readers do and don’t care about.