Deadspin Can’t Have it Both Ways

As most of the sports media (and the national mainstream media for some reason) focused on the recent embarrassing sex scandal involving ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips and his subsequent termination from his network; an interesting side story has developed involving Deadspin and the practice of public relations.

A.J. Daulerio, Deadspin’s co-creator and editor, announced last week that because an ESPN public relations representative had lied to him and cost him the opportunity to scoop other major sports media outlets on a big story, he was going to embarrass the network and its brand by posting every rumor and innuendo about any of ESPN’s on-air personalities that’s ever floated Deadspin’s way.

“It’s probably about time to just unload the inbox of all the sordid rumors we’ve received over the years about various ESPN employees,” Daulerio wrote. “Chances are, at this point, there’s some truth to them . . . So, Bristolites (ESPN is based in Bristol, Conn.), strap in — it’s going to be a long day.”

The specific incident that upset Daulerio occurred in early September when he contacted ESPN about rumors that Phillips was going to be fired in the very near future for his involvement in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 22-year-old production assistant. Daulerio claims that a PR representative for the network denied to him that there was any truth to the story and said there was nothing to report.

The rumor, of course, was true and became both a national news and sports story…that was not broken by Deadspin.

Now, whether or not ESPN had misled or even flat out lied to Daulerio will most likely never be publicly known for sure.

ESPN does have a reputation for its on-air personalities and talent getting into awkward and embarrassing situations because of inappropriate sexual conduct (a recent incident involved the network’s now former baseball analyst Harold Reynolds and a sexual harassment complaint which resulted in his termination and his subsequent lawsuit against the network).

As a result, ESPN PR is most likely very reserved and extremely careful when dealing with allegations of sex scandals involving its employees – more so than most media outlets. However, it goes without saying that a public relations rep should never lie or intentionally deceive a member of the media – under any circumstance.

So let’s assume that ESPN PR did lie to Daulerio and prevented him from breaking the kind of juicy sports-related gossip that has made Deadspin America’s highest trafficked blog.

Does that justify him waging a personal attack against ESPN, threatening its brand and image?

As the person in charge of a prominent sports media outlet, was Daulerio acting in Deadspin’s best interest when he made public his gripe with ESPN? Daulerio has already taken a step in executing his sworn vendetta, posting an unflattering story about ESPN radio host Erik Kuselias (click here to read).

Deadspin, it seems, likes to play both sides of the fence when it comes to journalistic ethics and responsibilities.

On one side Deadspin wants to be respected and treated fairly, demanding the same courtesies as any reputable media outlet. But on the other side it allows itself some slack in the ethics department, leaning on the fact that Deadspin is just a blog and people shouldn’t hold it to the same high standards they would other known media sources. Its motto, after all, is: “Deadspin: Sports News without Access, Favor, or Discretion” (not exactly “All the New That’s Fit to Print”).

Daulerio said as much himself to the New York Times last week. “Do I bend the rules a little bit? Of course I do. We’re still a blog at the end of the day.” (click here for the full NY Times story.)

So is Deadspin a legitimate and dependable Web site for sports-related stories? Is it important to Deadspin that its readers believe its content and trust the facts it puts forth?

Because if Deadspin is just a blog and should be excused for bending the rules, why would Daulerio and the rest of its staff expect other media outlets (like ESPN) to afford them the same respect and professional courtesy it affords proven and trust-worthy media outlets?

How can Daulerio expect the rest of the media industry to treat Deadspin fairly and as a legitimate source for sports news and stories when it doesn’t hold itself to the necessary journalistic standards?

You can’t have it both ways. And even if Deadspin did pride itself on accuracy and journalistic integrity, engaging in a game of public revenge because you were misled by a PR rep is not only unprofessional it’s immature.

Daulerio’s actions indicate that Deadspin is entitled to some sort of standing or stature in the sports media industry, which it is certainly not. Deadspin has to decide if it’s just a blog that posts random thoughts and half-truths whose only goal is to amuse its readers, or a real source of facts and sports-related stories that are presented as legitimate and trusty-worthy blocks of information.

Again, it would be a horrendous error in judgment and an incredible lapse of professional standards if ESPN deliberately deceived Daulerio. Not because he represents Deadspin, but because a PR rep should never lie or disseminate false information to anyone.

Of course there are times when a PR rep does not or simply can not be completely honest when asked a direct question by the media. Throughout any successful PR reps career, situations will arise when you have to protect your client or organization by NOT releasing the real-100%-truth right at a particular moment…especially if you’re caught off guard (which happens to even the best PR reps).

But you can always spin a situation to delay for time and develop a proper game plan to perhaps mold the truth to best reflect your client or organization (or hurt it the least) when you eventually release the truthful information.

The practice of blogging and its plight to be respected as a legitimate source of information and trusted news has come a long away in the last few years.

Since its debut in September 2005, Deadspin has certainly changed the landscape of sports media and is a pioneer in the evolution of the blogosphere (sports or otherwise). So it would be a shame if its reputation was irrevocably damaged by a silly and petty act of revenge – at the same time, also damaging the reputation of the entire blogging industry.