Sodo Oh No

The blogsphere is in uproar about the Andriesen column in the PI today. It's not that big a deal. I think every sports reporter has a contractual obligation to write at least 1 "suck up" column each week. These suck up columns let them fawn over some part of the organization they cover in a wholly transparent attempt to get a chip in the big game that they can cash in later on in the season. I'm quite sure Andriesen will write several more of these columns in the next 4 months. Then he'll expect some return loving around the trade deadline to "scoop" the rest of the beat writers.

It's classic Finnigan / Gammons school of journalism. It's a way for lazy thinkers to try and get ahead. Instead of applying time working up independent analysis and investing in their craft they choose the easy route. It's a lot easier to parrot a corporation's PR staff then it is to gather independent data, analyze it, derive conclusions and present the information to the public. It's why investigative reporters are held in much higher esteem than the majority of sports writers. It's why I like reading Rob Neyer a lot more than Peter Gammons.

Take the Andriesen article for what it is, pure suck up drivel spewed directly from the M's mouth pieces, brought to you by your local rag, with edititorial control provided by your friendly advertisers.

In you want information stick to the net.

posted by John @ 9:27 AM