Re: ESPN suspends writer for criticizing "First Take"

[TMC]

On Mar 14, 4:01 pm, David <dimla...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/espn-bill-simmons-twitter-suspe...
>
> ESPN Suspends Bill Simmons From Twitter After Criticizing Network
> by Jordan Zakarin
>
> ESPN has suspended star commentator, writer and editor Bill Simmons
> from posting on Twitter, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
>
> The network was angered by tweets Simmons sent out criticizing an
> interview featured on its talk show First Take, which saw commentator
> Skip Bayless engage in a heated argument with star Seattle Seahawks
> cornerback Richard Sherman. The interview drew buzz online, largely
> for Sherman's repeated attacks on the outspoken Bayless, and Simmons
> leveled his criticism at the network for airing the interview at all.
> Deadspin initially reported the suspension.
>
> "I am not defending this segment," he wrote, adding a link to the
> video. "I thought it was awful and embarrassing to everyone involved.
> Seriously."
>
> Simmons then added: "But what bothers me about the reaction to that
> segment is people saying Richard Sherman 'won.' Nobody won. Everyone
> lost. Including ESPN."
>
> ESPN's social media guidelines forbid its employees from criticizing
> the network online.
>
> The most pertinent guideline reads: "Keep internal deliberations
> confidential. Do not discuss how a story or feature was reported,
> written, edited or produced; stories or features in progress;
> interviews conducted; or any future coverage plans."
>
> The suspension, which was limited to Twitter, began Tuesday and will
> end Friday. Simmons runs Grantland, the network's pop culture website,
> and has continued to write on his Facebook page during the past few
> days.
>
> Simmons' reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2013/march/the-bill-simmons-twitter-suspension-hides-espn-s-real-problem.html

Yesterday the news broke that Bill Simmons was suspended from Twitter
by ESPN for a few days after his public criticism of First Take.

The immediate reaction volleyed back and forth and around in circles
between several interpretations of the importance of the news...

-Simmons got what was coming to him for criticizing a colleague.
-Nobody is bigger than ESPN, even Simmons.
-ESPN was suppressing free speech to protect Skip Bayless.
-Embrace Debate is a red herring.
-3 days away from Twitter is probably a good thing.
-Who gives a sh*t?

Let's be real - telling someone not to tweet for three days shouldn't
even count as any kind of real punishment. ESPN might as well have
told Bill Simmons he couldn't have his ice cream unless he also ate
his fruits and veggies. It's not even a slap on the wrist. It's a
firm pat on the shoulder with a stern paternal glare. There's no real
consequence, ESPN just had to give him a brief, enforced vacation from
Twitter for breaking one of their rules and hoped it was short enough
that nobody would blab or notice.

Unfortunately for Bristol, someone did blab to Deadspin's John Koblin
and "ESPN SUSPENDS BILL SIMMONS" headlines were rampant. While
#FreeSimmons didn't quite turn into #FreeBruce, the episode is not a
good look for ESPN no matter how you spin it. It gives the impression
that there's no room to speak freely about concerns over the network's
downward spiral and exposes the "Embrace Debate" concept as the fraud
it is. After all, how can ESPN gleefully promote Richard Sherman
calling Skip Bayless every name in the book but run the opposite
direction when Bill Simmons offers tepid criticism of the same
premise? It creates a cognitive dissonance in the minds of ESPN's
viewers and followers that is all too common these days. Criticism of
Skip Bayless is apparently only a good thing when it increases ratings
and feeds into the carnival sideshow that is further cementing its
status as the worst show produced by ESPN in its 30+ year history with
each passing day.

But with all that said, we missed the forest for the trees with the
real importance of Bill Simmons' Twitter suspension.

The central issue for ESPN isn't their biggest star and "spiritual
leader" talking out of turn and aiming a couple critical tweets at
Skip Bayless. It's the fact that ESPN's spiritual leader was so
offended by the atrocity that is First Take that he had to speak out
publicly. The Sherman-Bayless debacle was so unseemly, such a black
mark on ESPN's brand, that Bill Simmons had to say something to send a
message, probably knowing he'd be asked to stay off Twitter for a few
days before he sent those tweets.

Bill Simmons taking a few days off Twitter does nothing to address the
real problem at ESPN - the slow and steady decline of ESPN's
reputation. "Embrace Debate" is no longer confined to First Take,
it's infected ESPN's other studio shows like a noxious gas with no end
in sight.

Suspending Simmons for violating ESPN's social media policy is like
trying to save a sinking boat by throwing water overboard with dixie
cups. ESPN is doing nothing to plug the hole and address the real
problem. The hole is First Take. And it's a sinkhole that is rapidly
swallowing ESPN's credibility.

The criticism of First Take isn't about being a "hater," it's about
wanting and demanding for ESPN to be better than our lowest common
denominator. It's about expecting more from a company that likes to
call themselves the worldwide leader in sports than diving into the
gutter with awful content that makes Maury look refined and
sophisticated. That was the message Bill Simmons needed to send to
everyone in Bristol and beyond.

In December, ESPN President John Skipper said he wasn't concerned with
the tidal waves of criticism affecting ESPN's brand in an interview
with SBJ:

“The brand’s never been stronger. We care most about our brand with
fans. We have no choice but to worry about our brand with our friends
in the media and with advertisers and with business people. ... If you
do the old concentric circle thing, of course the stuff that happens
inside the figurative Beltway, happens first then it moves outward. We
never want to wait until it gets to the edge. It hasn’t gotten to the
edge. Am I concerned it’s getting there? No. But am I concerned enough
to try and react and do things differently? Yes.”

Thanks to the embarrassing Sherman-Bayless debacle and Bill Simmons'
Twitter drama, the damage done to ESPN's brand is closer to the edge
than ever before.