Jennifer Kirk lands writing gig with Los Angeles Times | Golden Skate

Jennifer Kirk lands writing gig with Los Angeles Times

visaliakid

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Jan 23, 2004
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Congratulations to Jennifer Kirk - She lands writing gig with Los Angeles Times

Quoting from The Fabulous Forum (The who, what, where, when, why — and why not — of L.A. sports)

"Jennifer Kirk, who finished third at the U.S. figure skating championships in 2004 and fourth in 2005, will write a weekly blog for The Times providing insights into the skating world during the final months leading into the Vancouver Winter Olympics."

Way to go Jenny! :clap:

Her first article here!
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
:rock:

With your permission, Pete, I think I'll move this announcement to the Edge where it will attract more views and comments. (OK, I :love: Jennifer kirk -- what can I say? :laugh: )
 

lcd

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Nice job. Will be interesting to see whether her decision to tackle some of the more sensitive topics will continue or whether the broader audience of a national paper will limit the range. Here's to hoping she keeps her edge.
 

visaliakid

Final Flight
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Jan 23, 2004
Country
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:rock:

With your permission, Pete, I think I'll move this announcement to the Edge where it will attract more views and comments. (OK, I :love: Jennifer kirk -- what can I say? :laugh: )

Thanks Mathman... I can never decide which is the more appropriate place to put such articles...lol.

I left some comments on her first article at the LA Times blog site. I encourage everyone to make a point of commenting regularly there with each of her new articles, to show the Times she has a strong following.
 

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Great for Jennifer! :) And this is just the beginning, she obviously has the talent to put pen to paper & write in such a way that people are naturally taken in, want more, et al. She has a wonderful future in front of her. :thumbsup:
 

jcoates

Medalist
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
Congrats to her as well.

On a related note, did anyone catch the rather harsh dig directed at Kirk by Phil Hirsch on his own blog regarding Jennifer's skepticism about Cohen withdrawing from TEB? Subtle it wasn't...

( http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2009/10/sas.html )

"Failure is something Kirk is familiar with, having slid to 17th- and 18th-place finishes in her two world meet appearances and quitting a year before the 2006 Olympics; Cohen, by comparison, has an Olympic silver, two world silvers, a world bronze and no finish worse than fourth in five world and two Olympic appearances."

What a jerk. Totally classless.

This occurs in the 6th paragraph of his article. Not the best way to start off when referencing a new colleague. Perhaps he should pull back the fangs considering all the difficult circumstances Kirk had to contend with while she was competing.
 
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Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
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Jun 27, 2003
someone's probably feeling the heat of not being the most popular journalist on the subject at his newspaper...
 

hrmsk8ngnutt

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
Congrats to her as well.

On a related note, did anyone catch the rather harsh dig directed at Kirk by Seymour Hirsch on his own blog regarding Jennifer's skepticism about Cohen withdrawing from TEB? Subtle it wasn't...

( http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2009/10/sas.html )

"Failure is something Kirk is familiar with, having slid to 17th- and 18th-place finishes in her two world meet appearances and quitting a year before the 2006 Olympics; Cohen, by comparison, has an Olympic silver, two world silvers, a world bronze and no finish worse than fourth in five world and two Olympic appearances."

What a jerk. Totally classless.

This occurs in the 6th paragraph of his article. Not the best way to start off when referencing a new colleague. Perhaps he should pull back the fangs considering all the difficult circumstances Kirk had to contend with while she was competing.

I agree - really uncalled for and just plain mean. Especially since Jenny has been honest about what she dealt with while competing.
 

yelyoh

Medalist
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Jul 26, 2003
Country
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Did you mean Seymour Hirsch or Phil?. The former is usually a very good writer and mostly engages in political revelations and such so I can't see him taking an interest in Fsing. Phil can be a bit of a sh-t so if it were he it would not surprise me. Anyway GO JENNY!!!!!!!!
 
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Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Yeah, it was Phil Hersh. Stuff like this is really inexcusable:

Unlike Kirk and those who sent comments, I had the advantage (and responsibility) of raising it the way a real journalist does --

Well, Phil, "unlike Jennifer Kirk" you're ugly and your mom dresses you funny.. :laugh:

I think Mr. Hersh is peeved because he was the loudest in urging Sasha to return and in predicting that her return would be a great thing for skating. When Sasha announced her decision last spring Hersh was the first in line to say "I told you so." In fact, wasn't it Hersh who spilled the beans beforte the USFSA could make an official announcement?
 

cassieandcheetah

On the Ice
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Jul 14, 2007
I hope you guys don't end up hating me, but I decided to log on to come to Mr. Hersh's defense. Yes, it's obvious he's sort of a mean-spirited guy, he plays favorites and never pulls any punches in talking about the athletes he doesn't fully respect, but I understand how as a legitimately trained journalist he's peeved by what Kirk said of Cohen. The truth is, Jenny wrote the stuff about Cohen quitting based on speculation alone. She assumed that cohen was not going to compete based alone on her withdrawing from TEB, something that would have been okay to write on a personal blog, but on Los Angeles times? I honestly think it was just a bad call on her part. And even on her personal blog, which I have read many times, she said stuff about athletes based on her interpretation/speculation/opnions alone, and I found her entries a bit embarrassing to read at times because it was so plain obvious that she was writing them without having done enough research and her claims came across as immature and poorly pout together, and I often felt like her claims lacked substance/thoughtfulness/consideration for other athletes. I think at this point, as Hersh points out, it is wrong of Jenny to speculate without having spoken with the athlete herself, and I wouldn't be surprised if Cohen came back to compete at a later time.




Yeah, it was Phil Hersh. Stuff like this is really inexcusable:



Well, Phil, "unlike Jennifer Kirk" you're ugly and your mom dresses you funny.. :laugh:

I think Mr. Hersh is peeved because he was the loudest in urging Sasha to return and in predicting that her return would be a great thing for skating. When Sasha announced her decision last spring Hersh was the first in line to say "I told you so." In fact, wasn't it Hersh who spilled the beans beforte the USFSA could make an official announcement?
 
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Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
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Dec 28, 2006
Wow good for her. I guess somebody at the LA Times noticed her blog. Now I have a good reason to buy that paper!
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
The truth is, Jenny wrote the stuff about Cohen quitting based on speculation alone. She assumed that cohen was not going to compete based alone on her withdrawing from TEB, something that would have been okay to write on a personal blog, but on Los Angeles times?

This is the entirety of what Kirk wrote about Sasha's withdrawal in her LA Times article.

Until late last week the biggest story surrounding this week’s event was the comeback of 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen. Unfortunately, Cohen issued a statement Friday announcing her withdrawal from Trophee Bompard, citing tendinitis in her right calf. Cohen has spent the last three years away from competition and struggled with her jumps in recent performances. Despite her injury, Cohen says she still plans to compete at her second Grand Prix event, Skate America, next month.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
as Hersh points out, it is wrong of Jenny to speculate without having spoken with the athlete herself, and I wouldn't be surprised if Cohen came back to compete at a later time.

I thought Hirsh was too tough on Jenny and it felt personal rather than professional to me.
But that is exactly how Jenny seemed to treat Sasha in her True/slant article.

I don't know this for a fact but it feels like there is no love lost between Jenny and Sasha and probably a big case of jealousy and more...........
(Jenny was previously critical about Evan and there is a back story on that one).

I like Jenny's True/slant articles and as already seen in her first column for the L.A. Times she will probably tone it down a bit when writng for a wider audience.

If Jenny was trying to get back at Sasha for something I can understand it but I don't respect her as a journalist for that type of behavior. But hey, Jenny is just getting started and I wish her luck and will continue to read her blog/columns.

Hirsh should know better since he is by far the more experienced journalist.
But who says they have to get along - and what is an Olympic year without feuds, fights, harsh words, false accusations and a lot of cheating.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Jenny's cynical about everyone on her true/slant blog...

it's amazing.. Johnny Weir is a hero on here for telling it 'like it is'... but since Jenny's a pwetty ice pwincess, she's not allowed to be just as blunt...
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Here is why Hersh is in the wrong.

The topic is Sasha's withdrawal from the Eric Bompard event. In writing an opinion piece about that topic, it is fair game to accept Sasha's statements at face value or to be suspicious of them. It is fair game to believe that Sasha is a hero even to attempt a comeback, or to hold the opinion that it was all a big publicity stunt.

However -- in writing an article about the unlucky start to Sasha's comeback season, of what possible relevance are statements like, "Jenny Kirk knows failure?" What does Jenny Kirk's competitive career have to do with an opinion piece about Sasha Cohen?
 
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