Comments on: In defense of John Tomase* http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/ Media, Baseball, Boston, the Red Sox, Music, Literature, and Mnookins Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:21:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: richsim http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-523885 richsim Thu, 22 May 2008 04:52:49 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-523885 Oops! Ignore previous coding error. To rephrase: lperdue states, inaccurately: "..., as a former journalism and university j-school instructor, I do find fault with Mr. Tomase’s methods. But let’s look at the results. Mr. Tomase managed to out the truth. He’s learned a better way to do it next time." Mr. Tomase “outed” a totally false rumor. The Patriots did not tape the walkthrough. Oops! Ignore previous coding error. To rephrase:

lperdue states, inaccurately:

“…, as a former journalism and university j-school instructor, I do find fault with Mr. Tomase’s methods. But let’s look at the results. Mr. Tomase managed to out the truth. He’s learned a better way to do it next time.”

Mr. Tomase “outed” a totally false rumor. The Patriots did not tape the walkthrough.

]]> By: richsim http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-523882 richsim Thu, 22 May 2008 04:49:29 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-523882 lperdue states, inaccurately: <blockquote cite="Yeah, as a former journalism and university j-school instructor, I do find fault with Mr. Tomase’s methods. But let’s look at the results. Mr. Tomase managed to out the truth. He’s learned a better way to do it next time."> Mr. Tomase "outed" a falsehood. The Patriots did not tape the walkthrough. lperdue states, inaccurately:

Mr. Tomase “outed” a falsehood. The Patriots did not tape the walkthrough.

]]> By: lperdue http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-523667 lperdue Thu, 22 May 2008 02:09:37 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-523667 Flawed journalism or not, the Patriots are guilty as charged. Focusing on Mr. Tomase and his mistakes does not change the facts. To avert your eyes from the Patriots' misdeeds and look, instead, at Mr. Tomase is nothing less than a Patriot's spinmeister's dream. Yeah, as a former journalism and university j-school instructor, I do find fault with Mr. Tomase's methods. But let's look at the results. Mr. Tomase managed to out the truth. He's learned a better way to do it next time. Flawed journalism or not, the Patriots are guilty as charged.

Focusing on Mr. Tomase and his mistakes does not change the facts.

To avert your eyes from the Patriots’ misdeeds and look, instead, at Mr. Tomase is nothing less than a Patriot’s spinmeister’s dream.

Yeah, as a former journalism and university j-school instructor, I do find fault with Mr. Tomase’s methods. But let’s look at the results. Mr. Tomase managed to out the truth. He’s learned a better way to do it next time.

]]> By: Mr Republican http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-520080 Mr Republican Tue, 20 May 2008 00:16:22 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-520080 Seth. You are using flawed logic...let me take you through it with an analogy. You cheated on your wife (which is bad) It was publicly announced and you took the heat, made your apologies, and your wife got really mad...but you stayed together. Your on your best behavior for the next year and your wife is keeping a close eye on you. Rumors circulate that there is a tape of you having sex with a man. Someone tells your wife that they talked to someone and that there is a tape. You deny it. All hell breaks loose. Your wife's family is apeshit. Your frends all call to find out what's up. Your enemies are all gleeful. It turns out that the tape is actually you having sex with the same woman that you have already confessed to...done by her ex-boyfriend in a closet. Your wife is mad because the whole damn thing is back again...even though it was supposedly resolved back then. Half the people move on while calling you an adulter...which you are. The other half think you did have sex with a man, that there just isn't a tape of it. Your actually in a situation worse than you were in before. Seth. You are using flawed logic…let me take you through it with an analogy.

You cheated on your wife (which is bad)

It was publicly announced and you took the heat, made your apologies, and your wife got really mad…but you stayed together.

Your on your best behavior for the next year and your wife is keeping a close eye on you.

Rumors circulate that there is a tape of you having sex with a man.

Someone tells your wife that they talked to someone and that there is a tape.

You deny it.

All hell breaks loose. Your wife’s family is apeshit. Your frends all call to find out what’s up. Your enemies are all gleeful.

It turns out that the tape is actually you having sex with the same woman that you have already confessed to…done by her ex-boyfriend in a closet.

Your wife is mad because the whole damn thing is back again…even though it was supposedly resolved back then.
Half the people move on while calling you an adulter…which you are.
The other half think you did have sex with a man, that there just isn’t a tape of it.

Your actually in a situation worse than you were in before.

]]> By: Jaggy http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-517574 Jaggy Sun, 18 May 2008 01:39:44 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-517574 Seth, You're a good friend to Mr. Tomase and I'm sure he appreciates your loyal defense of him. I'm sure it could not have been easy to put forth an unpopular opinion. That being said, your point about the "hedged" denials is incredibly flawed. You somehow fail to detail the timing involved in when Tomase asked for those quotes from Stacey James, Roger Goodell and Greg Aiello. Particularly of Stacey James. It is something that your friend detailed in his "mea culpa" on Friday - - how he caught him out of the blue him at 9:00 pm on the eve of the Super Bowl with this. Tomase regretted in print Friday how unfair it was to blindside him and organization with a 1 hour deadline to comment. Are you REALLY going to stake your argument on something that Tomase HIMSELF publicly has admitted was grossly unfair? I have read your work in the past and had greater respect for it than this effort. Being a loyal friend is noble. Tossing aside reason is not. Howard Seth,

You’re a good friend to Mr. Tomase and I’m sure he appreciates your loyal defense of him. I’m sure it could not have been easy to put forth an unpopular opinion.

That being said, your point about the “hedged” denials is incredibly flawed.

You somehow fail to detail the timing involved in when Tomase asked for those quotes from Stacey James, Roger Goodell and Greg Aiello. Particularly of Stacey James. It is something that your friend detailed in his “mea culpa” on Friday - - how he caught him out of the blue him at 9:00 pm on the eve of the Super Bowl with this. Tomase regretted in print Friday how unfair it was to blindside him and organization with a 1 hour deadline to comment.

Are you REALLY going to stake your argument on something that Tomase HIMSELF publicly has admitted was grossly unfair?

I have read your work in the past and had greater respect for it than this effort. Being a loyal friend is noble. Tossing aside reason is not.

Howard

]]> By: The dish » Blog Archive » The Boston Herald/Spygate affair. http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-515870 The dish » Blog Archive » The Boston Herald/Spygate affair. Fri, 16 May 2008 23:34:54 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-515870 [...] So, as a friend of beleaguered Boston Herald writer John Tomase, I’ve been wrestling with how I might address the topic without coming off as too biased on John’s behalf. Seth Mnookin spared me the trouble with his excellent post on the subject today: But the vitriol and derision being directed at Tomase is over-the-top. (And getting angry at him or at the Herald is a bad way to displace frustration/anger over the Pats slightly-less-than-perfect season.) He had what he thought was a big story, and he thought he had made the limitations of his story clear in the piece itself. The allegations contained therein logically followed from what was already known. And nobody he interviewed would say, flat out, that the piece was wrong. [...] [...] So, as a friend of beleaguered Boston Herald writer John Tomase, I’ve been wrestling with how I might address the topic without coming off as too biased on John’s behalf. Seth Mnookin spared me the trouble with his excellent post on the subject today: But the vitriol and derision being directed at Tomase is over-the-top. (And getting angry at him or at the Herald is a bad way to displace frustration/anger over the Pats slightly-less-than-perfect season.) He had what he thought was a big story, and he thought he had made the limitations of his story clear in the piece itself. The allegations contained therein logically followed from what was already known. And nobody he interviewed would say, flat out, that the piece was wrong. [...]

]]> By: benpike http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-515593 benpike Fri, 16 May 2008 19:30:52 +0000 http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2008/05/16/in-defense-of-john-tomase/#comment-515593 Interesting comments, Seth. I agree with your drift (if I have it right) that Tomase's editors were solely lacking here and, methinks, are hanging him out to dry, blame-wise. However, the last two ** footnotes, are too significant to leave as, well, footnotes. As you write, "We now know, in fact, that there were multiple sources for the story, although none with firsthand knowledge of the taping." That's a huge factor, not a "we now know" footnote and is probably at the heart of Tomase's screw up; the main cause of it, in fact. You also footnote that "Tomase ... didn’t give the NFL or the team adequate time to investigate the allegations." Nice guy he may be or not, this also shows the now obvious fact: he was in way over his head, journalistically-wise. Lesson for us all: Breaking big, big stories is harder than it looks. Interesting comments, Seth. I agree with your drift (if I have it right) that Tomase’s editors were solely lacking here and, methinks, are hanging him out to dry, blame-wise.

However, the last two ** footnotes, are too significant to leave as, well, footnotes.

As you write, “We now know, in fact, that there were multiple sources for the story, although none with firsthand knowledge of the taping.” That’s a huge factor, not a “we now know” footnote and is probably at the heart of Tomase’s screw up; the main cause of it, in fact.

You also footnote that “Tomase … didn’t give the NFL or the team adequate time to investigate the allegations.”

Nice guy he may be or not, this also shows the now obvious fact: he was in way over his head, journalistically-wise.

Lesson for us all: Breaking big, big stories is harder than it looks.

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