In my first day back to the Bruins grind, I was faced with a test yesterday. There was a player outside talking to a member of the Bruins organization about something personal that happened over the summer. The conversation could have been held in an office or private room somewhere inside the practice rink I'm sure. But the few people outside probably didn't seem like a threat to the player. They were talking at a normal volume, so maybe it wasn't exactly a secret, even though I have yet to see it in the media.
This part I didn't share in yesterday's recap out of respect for the player's privacy. I don't think it's my place to break news that he probably doesn't want to be made public. And I most certainly don't want to be the one to break it.
On the other hand, I would have quite a scoop if I relayed what I heard. I would be the only one with the story. I can only imagine what it would do for my website.
But it's a line I'm not willing to cross at the moment. Maybe I'm too respectful. Maybe I want to remain a little anonymous too.
I did ask myself if it was a different team, player and situation, would I still withhold the information I knew. The answer was yes. I think that part of the day has to be considered as the fan portion for me and not necessarily the blogger. Although sometimes the area between the fan and blogger becomes a little gray.
I would love some input on about this subject. If you were in my situation, would you tell to inform others or simply to have a scoop? Would you simply save it up your sleeve for a rainy day?
6 Comments
Just me but I'd keep it to myself. Respect privacy of others and don't cross the line for personal gain.
Or maybe contact the B's media relations explain the situation and see if you can get permission from the player to publish whatever it is.
1. Posted by Ernie | September 12, 2008 2:05 PM
Hey... I run Hub Hockey and have to say that keeping the news to yourself, even though hard, was the right move. You might have got a lot of hits and attention, but the trust of the team you love would have been lost. Plus, even if the player never hears about your blog or you, and never knows what you did for him. At least, you will always know you did the right thing, and thats all that matters.
But if you do want to use the info. then I would honestly do what Ernie said, and get in contact with the team (fan relations) if you ever plan on using the information.
2. Posted by Chris | September 12, 2008 2:23 PM
My first thought is to congratulate you for at least giving this some thought; far too many in the blogging community would run to their keyboards with this, whether they knew the whole story or not.
Secondly, I would say that if I was in your shoes and wanted to run the story, I'd try to verify the facts with another source prior to doing so, much like a journalist would. It's far too easy to jump to conclusions based on incomplete or inaccurate information.
3. Posted by The Forechecker | September 12, 2008 2:26 PM
Thanks for the comments guys. I figured it wasn't my information to share. Had I been the one having the conversation with the player, then it would be a different kind of question.
If it's meant to get out, I'm sure it will. I wouldn't want to give up details that weren't supposed to get out.
I rather get the majority of my hits from the photo gallery anyway. ;)
4. Posted by Jaci | September 12, 2008 6:06 PM
Jaci, I think you did the right thing by keeping it to yourself. I don't think a player's private life is any of our business unless the player chooses to make it so.
If you had run with it, my guess is that you would have enjoyed the attention for awhile, but not felt so good about yourself once things died down. In the short-term, you lose some attention. In the long term, you hang onto character and integrity. Good choice.
5. Posted by Brian | September 15, 2008 12:10 PM
Brian, you hit the nail exactly on the head. That's exactly how I felt. I rather keep my character and integrity than gain attention.
6. Posted by Jaci | September 16, 2008 3:04 PM