Philip Hersh Journalist? | Golden Skate

Philip Hersh Journalist?

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minze

Medalist
Joined
Dec 22, 2012
Why is this man calling himself a journalist. No insight, objectivity or intelligent analysis he is lazy.

On a day where Miki Ando made a comeback

Ashley Cain had a good short program

This is what he tweets

Philip Hersh ‏@olyphil
Not good news for figure skating that the sport's only current great athlete, Kim Yuna of South Korea, sidelined by a foot injury

Don't get me wrong Yuna Kim's injury is important news for the skating world, but for someone who calls him self a journalist to dismiss the efforts of other athletes with that ugly tweet explains why the sport is the way it is in the U.S

People where complaining about TSL, but at least they don't take themselves so seriously.

His tweet was so stupid Lynn Rutherford (icenetwork had to check him)
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
Why is this man calling himself a journalist. No insight, objectivity or intelligent analysis he is lazy.

On a day where Miki Ando made a comeback

Ashley Cain had a good short program

This is what he tweets

Philip Hersh ‏@olyphil
Not good news for figure skating that the sport's only current great athlete, Kim Yuna of South Korea, sidelined by a foot injury

Don't get me wrong Yuna Kim's injury is important news for the skating world, but for someone who calls him self a journalist to dismiss the efforts of other athletes with that ugly tweet explains why the sport is the way it is in the U.S

People where complaining about TSL, but at least they don't take themselves so seriously.

His tweet was so stupid Lynn Rutherford (icenetwork had to check him)

Why is he not a journalist? Do you think the news that the current WC and defending Oly Champ is injured and out of GP-series is not newsworthy? So talking about it is making him non-journalist? I don't get it.

I guess we can debate whether or not he should've labeled Yuna "the sport's only current great athlete", but I'm not too surprised he feels that way about Yuna based on her performance in Vancouver & last WC. Even here, many wondered if Yuna is going to be the one to beat in Sochi.

Also he doesn't just cover FS. He covers other sports that are far more popular in the States than FS.
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
^I suppose the dispute is over his rather biased reporting (which is frequent and nothing new). He's very transparent about his favorites and non-favorites, and is often considered "harsh".

"Journalism" is something people tend to associate with neutral and "objective" reporting, at least "good" journalism. The journalist is not supposed to insert his own personal opinion on the matter. Calling Yuna the "only" current great athlete of (ladies) figure skating is denigrating to other "great" current figure skaters.
 

Alex D

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
^I suppose the dispute is over his rather biased reporting (which is frequent and nothing new). He's very transparent about his favorites and non-favorites, and is often considered "harsh".

"Journalism" is something people tend to associate with neutral and "objective" reporting, at least "good" journalism. The journalist is not supposed to insert his own personal opinion on the matter. Calling Yuna the "only" current great athlete of (ladies) figure skating is denigrating to other "great" current figure skaters.

Hm, I agree with you that a journalist should be a neutral instance, but then again you should give your personal opinion about things. If you dont, your reports and analysis sound flat and un-emotional in my opinion. I always write my personal opinions and feelings down, yes I only work part time (maybe because of that?) but I do consider a good journalist someone that can report about everyone and not just about 1 or 2 athlets etc. but still does have a heart. We journalists are no robots, but human beings and those have a heart ;)

There is nothing worse than a TV broadcast where the guy on the microphone just say "Look a goal was just scored, they skated ok..."
 

minze

Medalist
Joined
Dec 22, 2012
Hm, I agree with you that a journalist should be a neutral instance, but then again you should give your personal opinion about things. If you dont, your reports and analysis sound flat and un-emotional in my opinion. I always write my personal opinions and feelings down, yes I only work part time (maybe because of that?) but I do consider a good journalist someone that can report about everyone and not just about 1 or 2 athlets etc. but still does have a heart. We journalists are no robots, but human beings and those have a heart ;)

There is nothing worse than a TV broadcast where the guy on the microphone just say "Look a goal was just scored, they skated ok..."

I dont have a problem with opinion journalism, but to dissmiss the effort of other athletes is unaceptable. Reporting about Kim Yunas injuries is news but declaring that the sport has no great athletes is lazy journalism
 

minze

Medalist
Joined
Dec 22, 2012
Why is he not a journalist? Do you think the news that the current WC and defending Oly Champ is injured and out of GP-series is not newsworthy? So talking about it is making him non-journalist? I don't get it.

I guess we can debate whether or not he should've labeled Yuna "the sport's only current great athlete", but I'm not too surprised he feels that way about Yuna based on her performance in Vancouver & last WC. Even here, many wondered if Yuna is going to be the one to beat in Sochi.

Also he doesn't just cover FS. He covers other sports that are far more popular in the States than FS.

Did you miss the where I said he should report it my only beef with him is tweet calling one person the only great athlete of a sport .
 

cooper

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
what do we expect? hersh is always been like that.. he's selective and sometimes he's a bandwagoner.. he called out yuna's sp score in his article in 2011 and criticized the judges.. nothing new..
 

cosmos

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 2, 2007
Tweet is not a journalistic media. It is simply a private thing and his tweeting was never a journalistic activity.
 

KKonas

Medalist
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Tweet is not a journalistic media. It is simply a private thing and his tweeting was never a journalistic activity.

Bingo! Tweeting is not journalistic media. And most journalists do have opinions - just like normal people. There is frankly no such thing as a journalist who doesn't have an opinion or preferences. It just depends on how and when or if that opinion is introduced in a straight news article.
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
Did you miss the where I said he should report it my only beef with him is tweet calling one person the only great athlete of a sport .

It's just a tweet FFS. Is he not allowed to enjoy the 1st Amendment and say what he wants on his private Tweet stream? It's not like he wrote that in an article for the Chicago Tribune.
 

RABID

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
^I suppose the dispute is over his rather biased reporting (which is frequent and nothing new). He's very transparent about his favorites and non-favorites, and is often considered "harsh".

"Journalism" is something people tend to associate with neutral and "objective" reporting, at least "good" journalism. The journalist is not supposed to insert his own personal opinion on the matter. Calling Yuna the "only" current great athlete of (ladies) figure skating is denigrating to other "great" current figure skaters.

The thing is this is all still relatively new, this tweeting thing, and I wonder if it is a bit of a no-mans land where we're still working out out if it is fruit or vegetable meaning he is a journalist making a personal comment but which everyone gets to read.:think:
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
You can look at that way: Hersh's Twitter profile is part of his professional brand.

However, Hersh being opinionated isn't new; his blog is full of it.

I do disagree with his assertion that Yuna is the "only great athlete" among all single skaters. However he does provide a good case for his reasoning in his follow up tweet:

@LynnRutherford Yuna's 2010 Oly skates (and 2013 worlds skates) put her in a class by herself. It's like major leagues and Class AA

Yuna has never been off the podium in her entire senior career, even in 2007 and 2008 when she was dealing with some major injuries. That speaks to her determination, athleticism and competitive spirit.

Currently there's no other single skater who has the same track record. Pretty much ever elite skater out there has finished off-the-podium at some point. Even Patrick Chan.

And the fact Yuna came back from a year away and basically gave two very awesome performances to win her second title speaks volumes too.

So I think Hersh has a case to make his opinion, even if I don't agree with it.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
It's just a tweet FFS. Is he not allowed to enjoy the 1st Amendment and say what he wants on his private Tweet stream? It's not like he wrote that in an article for the Chicago Tribune.

tweet feeds aren't private, though they can be personal. :) being private would negate the purpose.
 

chloepoco

Medalist
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Tweet is not a journalistic media. It is simply a private thing and his tweeting was never a journalistic activity.

In today's world, tweeting has become a tool of news organizations. When journalists tweet, or use any other form of social media, they are representing their news organization.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Why is this man calling himself a journalist. No insight, objectivity or intelligent analysis he is lazy.

On a day where Miki Ando made a comeback

Ashley Cain had a good short program

This is what he tweets

Philip Hersh ‏@olyphil
Not good news for figure skating that the sport's only current great athlete, Kim Yuna of South Korea, sidelined by a foot injury

Don't get me wrong Yuna Kim's injury is important news for the skating world, but for someone who calls him self a journalist to dismiss the efforts of other athletes with that ugly tweet explains why the sport is the way it is in the U.S

People where complaining about TSL, but at least they don't take themselves so seriously.

... His tweet was so stupid Lynn Rutherford (icenetwork had to check him)

... And most journalists do have opinions - just like normal people. There is frankly no such thing as a journalist who doesn't have an opinion or preferences. ...

I do disagree with his assertion that Yuna is the "only great athlete" among all single skaters. However he does provide a good case for his reasoning in his follow up tweet:

.... So I think Hersh has a case to make his opinion, even if I don't agree with it.

If anyone wants to judge Hersh, I think the rest of his Twitter conversation with @LynnRutherford (see below) must be taken into consideration along with his original tweet quoted by Minze and the later one quoted by Mrs. P.
To support his opinion, Hersh did offer what I would call "insight" and "intelligent analysis." Others are entitled to their own analyses and opinions, of course.
(IMHO, his tweet was not "ugly" in the least.)

@LynnRutherford
@olyphil Come now - Virtue & Moir, Davis & White, Savchenko & Szolkowy not great? Or perhaps you are only speaking of ladies?
7:09 AM - 26 Sep 13
https://twitter.com/LynnRutherford/status/383231845212499969

Philip Hersh ‏@olyphil
@LynnRutherford I meant great singles skater.
7:10 AM - 26 Sep 13
https://twitter.com/olyphil/status/383232085613219841

@LynnRutherford
@olyphil Okay. Guess assuming Plushenko is past it, and Chan has things yet to prove.
7:11 AM - 26 Sep 13
https://twitter.com/LynnRutherford/status/383232312416022530

Philip Hersh ‏@olyphil
@LynnRutherford Yuna's 2010 Oly skates (and 2013 worlds skates) put her in a class by herself. It's like major leagues and Class AA
7:13 AM - 26 Sep 13
https://twitter.com/olyphil/status/383232778763923456

Regarding TSL, for the record:
- TSL's three tweets yesterday pertained to Yuna Kim, Elena Radionova, and Fleur Maxwell.
- Nothing at all from TSL yesterday re Miki Ando or Ashley Cain.​
 

ElleluvsL

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
I dont have a problem with opinion journalism, but to dissmiss the effort of other athletes is unaceptable. Reporting about Kim Yunas injuries is news but declaring that the sport has no great athletes is lazy journalism

Not only is it lazy journalism, but it is comments like his which are ultimately bad news for figure skating, because why would the general public want to seriously follow figure skating if they are made to believe that there is only one skater worth watching, and a skater who is not going to compete any longer after this season at that.

It is his own personal opinion that he is entitled to have and share, but it is extremely dismissive of the talents and efforts of a number of talented athletes in both ladies and men's singles skating.

Regarding TSL, for the record:
- TSL's three tweets yesterday pertained to Yuna Kim, Elena Radionova, and Fleur Maxwell.
- Nothing at all from TSL yesterday re Miki Ando or Ashley Cain.​

TSL's excitement over Elena Radionova shows excitement and optimism over the future talents of the sport at least, rather than the kind of constant doom and gloom which characterizes almost all of Phil Hersh's tweets and articles about figure skating with the exception of those having to do with Yuna.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I don't know. It's not Hersh's job to promote figure skating, It's his job to sell newspapers.

In any case, Hersh can say Kim is the greatest, just like we we can say Hersh is an idiot. It's all just talk.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
In today's world, tweeting has become a tool of news organizations. When journalists tweet, or use any other form of social media, they are representing their news organization.

Actually there isn't really a slam-dunk consensus in the industry on this. Yes, journalists are representing news organizations on Twitter, but there is debate whether that means the tweets they post should be a reflection of the employer/media outlet/publication.

If you look at a lot of journalist's profiles you'll see a disclaimer that states "Tweets don't reflect my employer's view" or "My tweets/opinions are my own."


Regarding TSL, for the record:
- TSL's three tweets yesterday pertained to Yuna Kim, Elena Radionova, and Fleur Maxwell.
- Nothing at all from TSL yesterday re Miki Ando or Ashley Cain.​

OT: It's also worth noting that they didn't tweet or post on their FB about the Gracie Gold/Frank Carroll partnership being official either, which I find surprising given all the tweets/FB posts regarding this issue in the last few weeks.
 
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