I've absolutely had enough of this crap.
What crap, you may ask? The crap on popular UK message boards Kentucky Ink and The Cats Pause, calling for the banning and/or firing of Lexington Herald-Leader UK basketball beat reporter Jerry Tipton.
People, YOU are out of line.
So far, only one person/blog has defend Tipton and another has somewhat taken a stand for a guy who has been working UK basketball games since 1981. H-L editor Linda Austin explains perfectly that Tipton did NOTHING wrong in the blog Behind the Headlines. Fellow UK bloggers over at A Sea of Blue do better than most and at least he thinks everything though.
Let me clarify for the non-media types, unlike what Fox News tells you journalism is not about the fair and balanced. It's about the truth. Jerry Tipton is not some crap kid reporter, he's being working for a long, long time and is very, very accomplished.
Jerry Tipton is not suppose to recruit for UK basketball. And everything he supposely asked the parents of two recent UK recruits, are not out of common knowledge.
Tipton "asked" about an arrogant Billy Gillispie and how hard he practices his players? I'm pretty sure Gillispie's "boot camp" was openly talked about by Gillispie himself and the players.
Supposely Tipton asked about Gillispie's DUI's. Highly common knowledge there. Where are we going off the beaten path here? Do you not think opposing coaches haven't used those as talking points when they recruit against UK?
Did these kids not already verbally commit as well?
You know what the problem is? It's people who run their own blogs and websites who are JEALOUS of Jerry Tipton. Jealous Tipton beats them in his writing and on most of the non-recruiting stories (which aren't Tipton's beat either, or else he'll beat them then too). Most of them just want to be Jerry Tipton, a respected member of the press corps that cover UK basketball. A respected journalist nationally.
I don't blame them for being jealous. At our newspaper, we try to beat the big newspapers. But it never fails, how much our very talented beat reporter, Travis Waldron, tries Tipton always gets first scoop on everyone. Tipton's good. It happens when you are around the same program for 20 plus years. Quit being jealous little girls.
So what do they do? They look for ways to undermine Tipton. It's replusive. Because Jerry Tipton does not try to openly show UK in an absolute heavenly light that most blogs and online writers will do (by the way guys, are you sure you aren't committing recruiting violations? That would be worse than Tipton's alledged hurtful questions).
And then fans are calling for Tipton to be fired and for boycotts of the Herald-Leader and of their advertisers? Get over yourselves and your bullshit.
Jerry Tipton did his job. Get off his back. Quit trying to get the man fired. That's the most obnoxious thing to do in sports--call for a man to get fired. Put yourself in Jerry's shoes. What if someone called for you to be fired from your job, when you did nothing wrong.
Jerry Tipton is not UK public enemy number one.
UPDATE: I forgot this part, sorry. Anyway, I do have to agree that sometimes Tipton tries too hard to NOT be a UK homer. Not a fireable offense. The question regarding young players commiting early is completely valid. You can't prove otherwise, when the story is about the young players.
As for the questions regarding Tipton calling Gillispie an "ass" and "arrogant", if Jerry did so, that would be out of line. But you have to remember that Tipton is not you're average, young reporter. He's been around a while and he has a dry approach to him. It could be that Jerry was not airing personal opinion, but it came off that way.
All in all, you can argue about Tipton and his writing all you want. But if you call for someone to get fired and cancel newspaper subscriptions and e-mail advertisers in order to accomplish this purpose, you are out of line. Just think if the spots were switched. Use your mind, use your heart, THINK people.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Jerry Tipton is NOT UK Public Enemy No. 1
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8 comments:
The facts are what you know them to be and the truth is what I believe them to be. The point is that while you and most other UK blogs are politically liberal, please refrain from your diggs on Fox News and any other thing you fear is "republican." These are sports blogs. There is no need for your politics on here.
I didn't mean to make the mix between politics and sports. I was just referencing the Fox News slogan of "Fair and Balanced"
I prefer neither CNN or Fox News, but sorry for the confusion. Thanks for the notice.
With your poor grammar and misspelled words, you certainly don't consider yourself a journalist, do you? Neither should Tipton. He is not a good writer. Surely, whether he is negative or not, young or old, you cannot think he is a good writer! What a joke.
Thanks for the notice with the misspellings. I put the post up in haste, but yes, being that I'm in journalism school, I do plan on being a journalist one day.
Most of the errors should be fixed. Looks like I'm going to have to start editing myself a lot better.
As for Tipton, I don't always think he is the strongest writer, but he reports well and is in the U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Fame. Surely that stands for something?
Look I get he's not working for UK. I am a UK Fan, that means I want to read POSITIVE stoies about my team. Your boy Tipton will not write a good story. I know you've read the Vaught stories and the Bozich stories that get NO mention in the MisLeader. I choose not to read Tipton's negative BS because "Hall of Fame" or not, that's still what it is: Negative BS. For many people, me included UKBB is the ONLY reason to read the HL, so when I think the beat writer has an Ax to grind, why would I subscribe? I WANT to support my local paper. It just no longer supports me. JMO.
And your thoughts are not out of line.
What bothered me are the people who called for the man's job and went crazy with it all.
I believe in free speech and the First Amendment, trust me. And it's everyone's choice on who they read. If you don't like Tipton, there is coverage elsewhere.
I love the conversation and debate, it's what is good about the process.
I'm just not comfortable with people trying to put a man out on the street, no matter how much they dislike him or his writing and his axe to grind against UK.
And as for your comment that your newspaper no longer supports you, I agree and think that has a lot to do with why newspaper sales are declining across the nation.
Hopefully you do get the news you look for out there and if we can provide some of it here, we will.
This isn't a single event. Tipton has been overly negative towards UK for years in his attempt to look "impartial" but the truth is finally coming out.
Tipton needs to be put out to pasture.
Nice work, guys and thanks for the link. It is appreciated.
Tipton is an unusual sports beat writer. His tendency is, as my co-blogger JL Blue put it, to act more like an investigative journalist.
Like any fan, I don't want Tipton's tough questioning to hurt recruiting or paint UK in a bad light. But he has the right to do it his way. That's what the LHL pays him for. We don't have to like it, but the LHL certainly isn't going to fire him for it.
And this whole suggestion made by some that his editor is essentially lying to protect him is the height of conspiracy theorism. Sometimes, you just can't make this stuff up.
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