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L’Affaire McFarland and The Media

Posted by Sailor Ripley on December 26th, 2008 under Football, Recruiting

I don’t write at length here very often as I’m not much of a writer, which I will now go to great lengths to demonstrate.

This paucity of creative talent on my part is why we pay the big talent guys like Trips Right and Scipio Tex in beaucoups wampum. Chooky gets paid in blotter acid, CTJ in sportsmanship trophies and Doperbo in anything from the Clos Vougeot appellation. I’m sending it this week, Doperbo, I swear.

For me, like many of us, the Sooner / Horn pissing matches that often bubble over in the comments are of little interest. They are repetitive, pedestrian and unfortunate byproducts of a very intense rivalry, offering far more heat than light. Texas fans know the OU football program is the sine qua non of the University. For me personally there isn’t much debate after that. I don’t have the time or inclination to re-program a Jim Jones disciple.

My interest in this McFarland thing centers more on the world of media, so I wanted to expand on some of Trips thoughts and throw out some quick thoughts.

This guy, Thayer Evans, is ostensibly a writer for the New York Times covering college sports.

Thayer Evans

Thayer Evans is a freelance writer who has been contributing to The New York Times for more than two years. Evans also writes for the Houston Chronicle as well as other newspapers and magazines. He played college basketball at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, an NAIA school in Bartlesville, Okla.


Bartlesville, Holla!

As I scan his blogography of late at the Grey Lady Internets division, it seems he’s pretty much writes about OU. And only OU. I never would have thought the NYT would have an OU beat writer.

Boomer Sooner?

Not that the NYT has ever pretended to be any sort of impartial voice but having this guy reporting the news seems disingenuous at best. Scanning page one reveals every article has an OU slant.

Does anyone really think that an article comparing and contrasting Texas and OU in a recruiting battle written by this guy was conceived and framed in an unbiased way?

To me this is another small example of why newspapers in general are circling the drain and the little blogs that could are seeing more readers. In a world of (arguably) high-quality content atomizing across the web, physical distribution might ain’t what it used to be. What does that mean long-term for the newspaper of record, Mr. Sulzberger? More Sooner fans writing sports? Not a great strategy.

Also, Thayer, paisano, if you want to attribute something to an Internet rumor, then link it up. Otherwise, you can’t be taken seriously. If you’d like to have a discussion with us, we’re game. I can only surmise that he’s attributing much of this to the story that appeared here, so “credit” where credit’s due.

Also, I’ll put a hundy on Trips Right to clean your clock in a game of of 1 on 1 hoops. Make it, take it. You get the rock first.

Lastly, the Carnival mega media empire is continuing its expansion and we’ll be launching a Sooners blog soon. Let me know you’re interested!

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25 Responses

  1. CrazyJoeDavola said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 12:31 am

    From a “new media” perspective, the Sooners played this one perfectly. They had this mapped out for at least few months, and it paid off handsomely.

    I love the way the guy uses McFarland’s class paper as a source. I’d say that’s some pretty egregious journalism from a NYT-sponsored endeavor, but …

    Also, I don’t think “sine qua non” means what you think it means here. So says the dude with a Classics minor.

  2. Show Horn said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 12:33 am

    I am certain that Mr. Evans is cowering behind his keyboard right now without the courage to respond to your respectful request.

    He surely used the material posted on this board to embolden his preconceived notion that Texas is dirty and OU is all that is holy and righteous.

    Now let him come out of his hole and defend his article in the light of day and his apparent fandom of Oklahoma University.

  3. Facebook User said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 12:56 am

    CJD – I know what it means and while the point is exaggerated for effect, the intent is right on.

    Show Horn – He’ll see a few links over. Perhaps he’ll stop by. That is after all the way we roll here in the “new media”.

  4. ponderos said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 6:20 am

    The funny thing is it’s clear that the McFarland family let this Evans kid break the recruiting story in the NYT, scooping the OU recruitniks who cover that world for a living.

  5. guest said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 7:25 am

    someone should create a facebook for Thayer Evans.

  6. Levander Williams said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 7:30 am

    I’m quite taken with the irony of fans of the flagship university of Oklahoma – the reddest of the red states – lining up to extole the virtue and credibility of a story in the New York Times because it happens to cast a positive light (and ignore well-established truths long since established) on their particular constituency.

    Does the Times deliver to Norman?

  7. beowulf said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 7:35 am

    I’ve never felt less disappointed about losing a once coveted recruit than this nerdy little Momma’s boy. Trash to trash.

    It has been obvious for weeks that this family had their hands out. The racist remarks and innuendoes from them solidify my acceptance that they need to be a part of the OU scene. I wish him and them nothing but harsh experiences and life’s trials and tribulations.

  8. RansomStoddard said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 7:40 am

    That Evans pansy looks like the fat, pasty goofball we all spent hours beating up in junior high.

    I just hope this McFarland thing doesn’t distract us from focusing on tOSU and kicking their asses.

  9. Bob in Houston said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 7:43 am

    Sailor: As far as “bias” goes:

    Few writers go into a story to be convinced of the correct tack. Some of this may occur, but generally there is an idea or an assignment, the sources are either already known or (somewhat) readily available. The writer calls and talks, or follows around if there is time (as it appears here).

    I hardly would call a contractor with a dull ax the reason that large newspapers are struggling. It’s not like Evans called Pinch and asked if he’d like a hit on the Longhorns.

    I don’t know who’s in charge of NYT sports these days, or who’s editing, but if there isn’t anyone from around here, my guess is that it was looked at more as a feature on a good football player rather than an attempt to blindside UT. I doubt that anyone at the NYT gives a flip about McFarland either way.

    But since I am sure Evans knows the impact of what he was slinging, he owed Mack a phone call.

  10. exuLt said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 7:53 am

    Evidently they need fish wrap and bird cage liner in lower Manhatten, too.

  11. mr. horn said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 9:28 am

    Any suggestion that the NYT has an anti-UT, pro-OU bias is absurd. But I would be hard pressed to believe anyone at the paper did anything other than a cursory review of this “sports feature.” All the article purported to convey was what JM and family said. I have no doubt they said it. End of analysis by the NYT.

    If Thayer cared about doing a decent job (to say nothing of doing the decent thing) he would have sought to corroborate or fact-check some of their statements–particularly the ones that don’t make any sense and the ones that slam a high-profile and highly respected program (and also LSU).

    The guy is an obvious hack. The NYT doesn’t care. The McFarland’s are pissed that Mack called them out privately and want to go on the offensive. Frankly, it’s a smart strategy for them. Lets face, they will be a great fit at OU.

  12. Mockingbird said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 10:50 am

    Agree with Mr. Horn.

    McFarlands family is just hitting back.

    If the rumors of Mack’s staff documenting and filing complaints with the NCAA/BIG 12 are true, then they’ve already been outflanked.

  13. JustAGuy said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 10:52 am

    I do agree that that NYT could care less about whether or not this story involved UT, OU, USC, LSU, but instead that it feeds into a bigger cultural stereotype. The belief that the Eastern Colleges at the intellectual epi-center of this county and that elsewhere the resources of schools are being wasted on bloated, out-of-control athletic departments, coaches who make more than twenty tenured professors, and all to pursue marginal students for the athletic abilities. Unfortunately, in allowing this the NYT grants Evans credibility by allowing him to post this crap with the perception they agree. They want hits on their site and aren’t worried about credibility, Evans takes any step to be the next generations Skip Bayless, and in the end the only thing Mack can do about it is focus on beating Ohio State.

  14. Stuck in MN said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 11:04 am

    The Mack Brown curse will be strong with this one.

  15. Facebook User said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 11:11 am

    Bob –

    Let be a bit more clear for you.

    I don’t maintain that Thayer is the single, harbinger of doom for newspapers across the country. He’s not a cause, he’s a symptom.

    Newspapers (including the NYT) are laying off people willy-nilly because their salaries are too high to be supported by their continually falling revenues. These are people who ostensibly have training, expertise, talent, etc.

    Replacing these people are the Thayers of the world.

    That the NYT could employee this person’s services and allow such a shoddy, inaccurate piece of journalism to emanate under its masthead is very telling.

    The Internet is the cause. The Thayer is the effect.

    mr. horn – agreed. The “NYT” couldn’t care less about UT/OU football. Again, the point is the quality of reporting is falling in conjunction with the quality of the reporter and the quality of the reporting process (editors). Garbage in, garbage out.

  16. JustAGuy said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 11:11 am

    I don’t follow recruiting intimately, but I do have to think that this again is a case of being better off apart much like a woman I was positive was the one when I was younger, was crushed when it needed, and now damn glad of it.

    Aside from Darrell Scott and Rhett Bomar can only think of any recruits or their family who seemed more than happy to throw a parting shot?

    Most likely Mack and Texas could have done some things better, maybe Shipp did more than open the bank vault, and there might be some truth in what the McFarland’s said.

    My biggest issue with the article is that there is no way to verify anything said by the information given by the family and that the author is given validation by allowing to make such comments under the umbrella of the NYT.

  17. Facebook User said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 11:42 am

    Now Deadspin takes a crack at it, proving that lazy thinking exists in the blogosphere as well.

    Hi Dashiell.

    Oh, and I wonder if someone reading this article might decide they want to take a look at Texas’ booster situation. Someone who isn’t looking for free drugs, that is.

    Are you kidding me? We’re in a discussion about Texas and OU. And Texas is being chided for its boosters? Unbelievable.

  18. Bob in Houston said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 12:03 pm

    Sailor, the journalism world is and always has been replete with stringers. For the NYT and other “reputable” newspapers, it can be a way of judging if the writer is worthy of a full-time position, if one is available, or of covering an area not regularly covered (the more likely case here).

    I’d guess that nine out of 10 readers of this story don’t attach any significance to it. On this board, the obvious focus of the author on the Sooners and his willingness to print the family views unfiltered show that this piece is not what it seems to be on the surface.

    What I’m saying is that internet or no internet, the NYT got what it wanted, but not because it set out to twist the truth.

    I agree that the internet, with its limitless ability to provide space, does allow sites like this one to give appropriate context to the situation.

    If Evans is a Sooner hack, it will become clear in due time (avoiding “sooner or later”). It will be a speed bump for a while for Mack in terms of recruiting, but it also will give him a great opportunity to talk about what Texas will and will not do. That’s not so bad.

  19. Facebook User said:

    December 26th, 2008 at 12:17 pm

    Bob – I don’t think you and I are in much disagreement.

    The web has altered every aspect of this debate by cannibalizing print’s classified and display advertising but opening up a vast new communication medium unencumbered by physical printing and distribution costs and with a potentially different set of rules.

    This blog (and possibly many others), are keeping the discussion alive, creating more page views for this story on their site and potentially turning the writer into a revenue producing hero. The only question is at what larger cost for the NYT.

    “Putting out a newspaper without promotion is like winking at a girl in the dark — well-intentioned, but ineffective.”

    Interesting times for sure.

  20. DBH said:

    December 27th, 2008 at 5:09 pm

    Two points:

    1. The lack of journalistic integrity at the New York Times has a lot to do with the company being in the toilet. They’re going to get theirs soon enough, so fuck ‘em.

    2. I’m glad we missed on this year’s recruiting drama queen. I happened to be at the state track meet last spring and saw him compete in the discus. I was thoroughly unimpressed with his attitude and demeanor. I noted a distinct lack of intensity. I’m glad he’s going to be blowU’s problem.

  21. TheBeeve said:

    December 27th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

    Is this guy actually published in the hardcopy edition of the NYT or is he just another blogger? From my googling, while he is credited with both NYT and Houston Chronicle bios, I couldn’t find anything but blog entries for the last few years. If anything, it appears he’s all that is wrong with “new media”. “New” is not “improved”. While we want the MSM to adapt to the times, just putting their moniker on this kind of crap is dreadful. I’m guessing a complaint letter to the editor would bring you a “What in the world is he talking about?” reaction.

  22. Staghorn said:

    December 28th, 2008 at 10:53 am

    Beeve,

    At least this most recent article was in the print edition and was WAY up at the top on “most emailed” story on the right banner section on the NYTimes.com site the following day.

  23. Doperbo said:

    December 28th, 2008 at 2:18 pm

    You underate yourself considerably Sailor. What you’ve put together here is masterful. It’s lazy guys like chooky who don’t post more we have to worry about.

    :TechnoViking Finger Pointing and Slowly Backing Away

  24. Jim said:

    December 29th, 2008 at 3:20 pm

    I’m sorry, but a man who has a “hairdo” will never, in my opinion, be a journalist.

  25. ponderos said:

    January 10th, 2009 at 3:11 pm

    Hearst has put the Seattle P-I up for sale. If they can’t find a buyer, they’ll go to online-only. Interesting because they could take part of the print production costs and maybe do some innovative stuff online. If they do, I wonder if we’ll see more major papers go softcopy only.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Seattle-PostIntelligencer-is-apf-14021451.html

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