May 08, 2008
Buzz Bissinger Backpedals To Sanity
By Robbie GilliesAfter Bissinger's rant on HBO's CostasNOW, many were critical of the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. In spewing profanities at Will Leitch about the detriments of blogging, Bissinger severely undermined his position. He has since realized the error of his ways and said that and much more to (what's this??) a blog. He was interviewed by The Big Lead and came across as a much more intelligent and level-headed person.
On April 29th, Bob Costas hosted a round table discussion on five different media-related topics. In his second segment entitled "The Internet and Impact of Bloggers", Costas had on his panel deadspin.com editor Will Leitch, Pulitzer Prize winner and writer of the book "Friday Night Lights" Buzz Bissinger, and for some reason Wide Receiver Braylon Edwards. Costas began the discussion by addressing Leitch. He mentioned that the problem with blogs is not that everyone has a voice, but, "The reasonable criticism is of the tone of gratuitous potshots and mean-spirited abuse. That's the reasonable criticism." Leitch started to give his response when Buzz Bissinger jumped in with, "I'm just going to interject because I feel very strongly about this. I really think you're full of s***. Because I think that blogs are dedicated to cruelty. They're dedicated to journalistic dishonesty. They're dedicated to speed..." and Bissinger continued to attack Leitch by raising his voice and spewing profanities throughout the segment.
Bissinger hadn't realized how he had been perceived until he started reading the e-mails that were pouring in.
The majority were predictably vindictive — d***head, horsef***er, douchebag, windbag, ugly, stupid, etc. But what struck me far more is that many of the emails were smart, not laced with personal invective, and made cogent points about sports blogs and the Internet. It was also abundantly clear that I had disappointed people who had been fans of my work. That hurt terribly. They were also right.
And those e-mails were a microcosm of the blog world. Sure, many are vindictive and stupid, but of course others are smart and make "cogent points".
Bissinger didn't back down from his stance, but the way he went about expressing it.
I am a man of passion and my passion truly got the better of me. I should have considerably toned it down, in particular in terms of my treatment of Will Leitch. Without going into details, I have taken steps to remedy that. I have also publicly apologized on several radio shows that have been widely disseminated. Those apologies are sincere, just as my passion was sincere if terribly misplaced. I treated Mister Leitch like the worst kind of blogger.
It's nice that Bissinger is owning up to his mistakes, because I think many people would've appreciated a civil debate about the merits of blogs. But, there seems to be bigger issues at stake, namely the dumbing down of sports by many media sources, not just blogs.
Too many sports blogs are vile beyond belief. Too many ESPN commentators and radio talk show hosts are equally vicious for the same reason–they think it will amass them attention, which will lead to increased viewership and listenership. On the other hand, one thing I have learned from this whole mess is the danger of making sweeping generalizations. As I have just answered, there are some very good information-based sports blogs out there written by bloggers who clearly have excellent sources, just as there are some ESPN commentators who think before they talk and some marvelous radio talk show hosts who know their information inside and out and also have real sources.
So, basically, blogs are in the same boat as television and radio. Many people are spouting off because the more outrageous the claim, or the more controversial the statement, the more viewers it will attract. But, there are still many doing a good job of writing and reporting about sports.
Buzz no longer comes off as an ignorant bitter journalist, his answers make a lot of sense and his outburst might be one of the best things to ever happen to blogs. It brought a lot of attention and dialog to an ever-growing field that can no longer be ignored. It brought about discussions throughout the blogosphere and mainstream media on where exactly blogs fall within the landscape of an ever-changing media. After an initial outburst by some bloggers (similar in tone to Bissinger's), it triggered some very thoughtful, well-written pieces from countless bloggers, showing that the mainstream media is not the only place to find great sports commentary.
