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Go UT Vols?! Whatever.

Oh. For. Crying. Out. Loud. Some flacks really don't get it. Textbook case: The sworn image-protectors of the University of Tennessee's football team.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, UT has suspended the media credentials of News Sentinel sports reporter Dave Hooker. Why? Hooker had the audacity -- oh, the nerve, I tell you -- to interview an injured football player without first checking in with the university's sports information office.

Turns out the player, who suffered a possibly career-ending injury last month, was in big demand by several local news organizations. UT essentially told everyone it would trot out the player for interviews when possible.

Hooker didn't play by the university's silly rules and scored an exclusive phone interview with the player -- clearly a sign that the hard-charging reporter's work is trusted and respected on some levels -- that appeared in a story published Oct. 5.

UT's reaction is so ridiculous it's hard for me to know where to begin to criticize it.

"Your action has caused not only the UT Athletics Department but also your colleageus to doubt your ability or willingness to follow accepted guidelines for access to Tennessee student-athletes," UT Associate Sports Information Director John Painter wrote in a letter delivered to Hooker. 

I'd love to know who these "colleagues" of Hooker's are. Fellow reporters are really doubting his ability and willingness to follow "accepted guidelines?" Good for them! Any self-respecting journalist more interested in delivering timely and compelling information to the public than in being controlled by a bunch of spinmeisters should doubt his or her ability to follow the spinmeisters' edicts. I'd worry about those journalists if they didn't. (Thinking it's wrong to break the UT's rules when it comes to speaking with student athletes there? Quick word of advice: Don't brag about that on your resume.) 

Let's hope UT officials choose their words very, very carefully when discussing this matter (and you know they will) with the student athletes they clearly consider children incapable of speaking for themselves. Wouldn't want to tell those "kids" they don't have the right to speak with whomever they choose... (Note to said kids: If anyone tells you to clam up if you haven't run everything through one of the university's flacks first, please, please, please give me a call. And if any university official in any way punishes you for speaking your mind without first clearing it with one of the campus' image consultants, keep my number on speed dial.)

In this case, a player clearly chose to speak about matters very important to him to an audience that clearly cares about him -- and with a tenacious reporter who gets a big thumbs up from me (for what it's worth).  

A quick addition to this post: Never thought I'd see the day that this business writer actually tracked with a bunch of sports writers. See their reaction to this mess.

 

 

Published Wednesday, October 11, 2006 4:22 PM by christinetatum
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Comments

# re: Go UT Vols?! Whatever.

Thursday, October 12, 2006 7:48 PM by Bill Becher
The answer is simple. The  Knoxville News Sentinel should stop covering UT football until the credential is restored.

# On the hook at UT

Friday, October 13, 2006 1:58 PM by Random Mumblings
The Knoxville News Sentinel (where I work) and sportswriter Dave Hooker are making news this week in a flap with the University of Tennessee over the suspension of his credentials for acting like a reporter. See: Romenesko: here and here.Editor...

# re: Go UT Vols?! Whatever.

Monday, October 16, 2006 8:30 PM by Christine Tatum
I chatted Friday with Bud Ford, the University of Tennessee's associate athletic director for media relations, and Dave Hooker, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reporter. A few interesting things to note from those conversations:

  • A source from within the UT's athletics department helped Hooker score his exclusive interview. The university looks even sillier given that someone under its own roof worked with the athlete in question to arrange a conversation with Hooker.

  • The UT is sanctioning Hooker because he broke "the rules," set up to "be fair to all media," Ford said. Apparently, the UT actually expects reporters to play along with a silly, little system by which it makes players available to all media at the same time. "Just trying to level the playing field for everyone," Ford told me. "Mr. Hooker broke the rules, and so he has to pay for that." Wow. I suppose I understand what the university says its intentions are -- but why any reporters worth their weight in salt would politely stand around waiting for these handouts doesn't compute with me. Then again, I have never been a sports reporter. Someone, please enlighten me.

  • Hooker handed over a recording of his conversation with the player to university officials to debunk falsehoods, he said. Hooker told me the university's earliest accounts of what went down involved major spin that had him accosting the student athlete in a parking lot. Not at all true, he said. The student worked through a friend, who is also a good source to Hooker, to arrange a phone interview with Hooker. When UT officials started blathering about some brusque parking lot encounter, Hooker said he provided a tape of the converation because, "I had nothing to hide and wanted to make sure everyone could hear for themselves that (the player) took my phone call."

  • After hearing the recording Hooker provided university officials, Ford accused Hooker of taking advantage of the player. Ford noted that Hooker did not expressly identify himself as a reporter who was working on a story when he chatted with the player. Hooker told me that he's been covering this athlete since the athlete was a recruit and that they have spoken numerous times. The player was also expecting Hooker's call, knowing that the reporter was working on a story.

  • HIPPA has nothing to do with this mess, contrary to Ford's insistence that it does. Ford said the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act "has thrown a wrench into everything." He cited Hooker's actions as a threat to the player's privacy protections under HIPPA. What Ford didn't seem to understand is that anyone can give up their rights to privacy by discussing their own medical condition -- as this athlete did.

    • # re: Go UT Vols?! Whatever.

    Thursday, October 19, 2006 7:33 PM by Ryan Gray
    Yes, the real issue is the "source" the reporter used to set up the interview. It's not the first time I've seen (as in experienced personally) a public information officer come down on a reporter for not going through "proper channels." Basically what we're seeing is UT unable to punish their media person who broke internal rules so they're making the reporter pay.
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