MAINSTREAM MAYHEM: Embarrassing Chicago Tribulations & Other Journalistic Oddities

The biggest crime? Besides sexist, poorly done and unfunny.

A funny thing happened on the way to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Along the way, the blogosphere, who some old guard still sit harrumphing over, juxtaposed with the mainstream media, as once again it is the desperate mainstream that is doing the questionable pieces lately.

As the blogosphere remains creative, exciting and fertile soil thanks to such blogs by Down Goes Brown, Puck Daddy, SBNation, NHL Fanhouse, NBC’s ProHockey Talk, Intent to Blow, Blades of Funny  and hopefully this site…the mainstream has been slipping away into some strange limbo that is neither tasteful, in touch, and the biggest crime of all, not very funny.

Witness the latest MSM hodgepodge as the once lauded Chicago Tribune goes with a poster with Chris Pronger in a skirt.

Philadelphia fans are up in arms. To be honest, they shouldn’t be. Funny thing about some fans of the great Broad Street bullies is that they tend to get all in a huff over every perceived slight, bash, joke or criticism. You are supposed to be the tough ones, kiddies. Buck up.

Meanwhile, Pronger himself could care less. He knows from years of experience not to read the press. The opinion of those in the peanut gallery, though lofty by perception of those in that gallery, really doesn’t mean a whole lot during the heat of battle…wrong or right.

So as those who read the blogosphere to cite to those to who support the new guard: “see, these guys are out of control!” will now shift very uncomfortably as it is once again the mainstream that is tactless, uncouth, misdirected, unfunny, and a shining example of how things have changed. As bloggers have been on a learning curve to stick to some set of ethics, responsibility and ethos are growing up; there is an almost universal MSM disintegration of what was once lofty journalistic integrity.

Sadly, those who sit in judgment will likely shrug this one off as well, sticking to their archaic inclinations. Be that as it may, the Chicago Tribune poster is a cattle-call to what is wrong. It isn’t well-done. Either you go for the jugular or not at all.

How they failed to place the Philly players on the Sex and the City cast is simply beyond me.

And even then, the basic concept they are working with is still cloddishly sexist, catty, editorially negligent (or indulgent) and ultimately not worth the price of the ink nor the  paper it is printer on. There is no sly wink here. No towing the line.

This is now the 2nd piece in as many days that have been pretty weak by the Chicago press, and once again the Chicago Tribune. Our own John Saquella wrote this piece about Dan McNeil.

John wrote: “One wonders why an eminent newspaper like the Tribune would give a loudmouthed bully like Dan McNeil a pulpit to attack the fans of another city.”

Well, sadly we have our answer. Clearly the editors have an agenda now that piece #2 has descended even further down the abyss.

Other MSM Mindbenders…

It isn’t all Chicago. There have been a few articles lately that have made my scratch my head. I am still perplexed by the great Damien Cox’s piece on how the Black Hawks logo is offensive. The Fighting Irish is still laughing, but even more so when Cox who stood on a soapbox seems to gloss over the name and logo, instead focused on the imagery. The team is named after their original owner Frederic McLaughlin’s WWI machine gun battalion, the Black Hawks. This Division was aptly nicknamed the “Blackhawk Division”. Their own name an homage to a Sauk Indian war chief. He fought on the side of the British in the War of 1812, standing against ceding Native American land to the American settlers and government.

I’m all for the questioning of some accepted things, and support some liberal soul searching. This one however is just way past left field and in the stands. One now waits with bated breath if Damien will also protest the movie Black Hawk Down?

“Clearly, no right-thinking person would name a team after an aboriginal figure these days any more than they would use Muslims or Africans or Chinese or any ethnic group to depict a specific sporting notion” – Damien Cox

Oh really?

Moral of the Story

Sadly, some of this team-jaded or cheerleading junk (Cox’s piece not included…at least that carries a fair point and notion, even I think it’s offbase, if not slightly conceited), takes away from what has been an exciting and highly rated series between two excellent teams. This has been a surprising run by the Flyers, and one hell of a series to watch. Too bad some MSM types have lost this point as they get stuck on peripheral issues or players. Good thing there are some blogs to carry up the flag.