How ESPN Manufactures A Bullshit Story

[AUChizad]

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How ESPN Manufactures A Story: Colin Kaepernick Edition

By pulling out of its partnership with Frontline, ESPN reminded us, yet again, where its newsroom stands. It's second fiddle to the company's business interests. So, let's show you what the flagship show of ESPN's newsroom does in lieu of participating in a documentary that the NFL is afraid of. It's a story that the NFL could only be thrilled with. Watch the video above and let's take you step-by-step through how ESPN contrives and then covers a story that doesn't even exist.

When word broke that ESPN was unexpectedly and belatedly ending its involvement with PBS's Frontline on a pair of documentaries investigating… Read…

Step 1: Ron Jaworski goes on SportsCenter Wednesday at a little after noon and says something absolutely ridiculous: "I truly believe Colin Kaepernick could be one of the greatest quarterbacks ever."

Step 2: SportsCenter replays that clip less than an hour later. "Strong words from Jaws!"

Step 3: A reporter at 49ers camp asks Colin Kaepernick, "Ron Jaworski said today he thought you could be the greatest quarterback of all-time, the best quarterback ever. How do you deal with praise and stuff in this off-season and what not?" That full question—and Kaepernick's response—are later broadcast on SportsCenter.

Step 4: Steve Levy goes on the 11 p.m. SportsCenter and talks about what Jaworski had to say.

Step 5: Steve Young comes on SportsCenter to do a spot on Jaws's opinion.

Step 6: San Francisco's ABC affiliate does a segment dedicated to it. ABC and ESPN are both owned by Disney.

Step 7: SportsCenter replays Jaws's hot take several times overnight. SportsCenter anchor Jonathan Coachman reports that Kaepernick is "humbly appreciative of all this greatest ever-talk." All this greatest ever talk.

Step 8: The AP writes up a story about Jaworski's take. (So does SI.)

Step 9: ESPN picks up the AP story.

Step 10: ESPN puts the AP story on the front page of ESPN.com with the headline, "Jaworski praises Colin Kaepernick."

Step 11: ESPN Radio's Mike Golic plays the clip and dedicates one of his first segments to it on Thursday morning.

Step 12: A topic for the morning SportsCenter. "Jaws made a little bit of news yesterday!" Jaworski comes on with Adam Schefter to talk about what he said. And then Jaworski says that Kaepernick answered the question—that is, a question from the reporter about Jawkorski's take—perfectly.

Step 13: Jaws goes on another edition of SportsCenter. "I'm going to stick to what I said!" he said, laughing hysterically.

Step 14: Jaworski goes on First Take to talk about it with Skip Bayless. "You put it on Tebow," Jaworski tells him.

This is the effect that ESPN has. This is the effect it has on the sports world. Create a meme, report it out, repeat it all day, and let the rest of the media world re-report it, which ESPN then re-re-reports. Wash, rinse, etc.

Let's consider the source here. Ron Jaworski is, occasionally, one of the good guys. He's an Xs and Os dork. He knows football. But he's also a good company man. He gets caught up in this crap all the time due to the fact that he's a good company man. Two years ago, The New Yorker profiled Jaworski's-then boothmate Jon Gruden, and stumbled upon this:

[Townhallsavoy]

Ooh!  Ooh!  Let me try!

Step 1 - ESPN on their bottom scrolling headline ticker which provides zero details or credibility "breaks" in with a news story - "Cam Newton reportedly requested $180k to play football at Miss State."  It scrolls four or five times in a row and then goes away only to be rescrolled once every two minutes. 

Step 2 - Paul Finebaum while speaking to Jim Donnan reads the headline aloud on his radio show.  The rest of the segment involves discussing the headline.  Radio shows across the country do the same.

Step 3 - On a later ESPN show, a face is placed in front of the story.  Joe Schad has inside sources that have confirmed that Newton was seeking $180k to play football at Miss State. 

Step 4 - SportsCenter replays the Joe Schad interview in less than an hour later. 

Step 5 - Multiple college football "experts" who just had their hair and make up finished discuss the implications and history of such allegations.  They speak in a formal academic tone and imply that with this news breaking, it's all assured that Cam Newton will no longer be eligible and Auburn will be punished. 

Step 6 - Send a memo to all ESPN employees that states - "Do not question anything about 'anonymous sources' in Joe Schad's reporting.

Step 7 - Local Alabama radio devotes 100% of their shows to discuss the Cam Newton allegations.  They use Joe Schad's interview as definitive proof. 

Step 8 - ESPN uses local Alabama radio shows which are using ESPN's reporting to report that local Alabama radio shows have anonymous sources that link Cam Newton to a pay-for-play scheme.

Step 9 - College Football Live devotes segments of their daily show to discuss how different Auburn's team will be if and when Cam Newton is benched. 

Step 10 - Multiple national sports writers use Joe Schad's style of "anonymous source" reporting to defame Newton's character and assume that because they just made Cam Newton look like a bad person that it confirms that Joe Schad's anonymous sources were correct in accusing Newton of participating in a pay-for-play scheme.

Step 11 - ESPN picks up the national sports writers' stories that defame Cam Newton's character and assume that Newton's poor character, which is based on anonymous sources, confirms his pay-for-play scheme participation does in fact confirm Joe Schad's original story featuring anonymous sources which claim that Newton participated in a pay-for-play scheme request at Mississippi State.

Step 12 - Multiple interviews daily from the morning shows to the ESPN radio shows discuss Newton's poor character and Auburn's potential punishment from the NCAA. 

Step 13 - The AP writes multiple stories regurgitating everything ESPN and the national sports writers wrote using anonymous sources.

Step 14 - ESPN releases new breaking information that AP writers have discovered that Newton requested $180k to play at Miss State, which was based on anonymous sources originally reported by ESPN journalist Joe Schad.

Step 15 - The entire fucking country now assumes that ESPN's reporting based on anonymous sources are 100% accurate despite not one shred of evidence actually reported.

Step 16 - Cam Newton wins the Heisman and Auburn wins the BCSCG.

Step 17 - ESPN brings in Paul Finebaum to discuss the story.

Step 18 - The NCAA exonerates Auburn and Cam Newton.

Step 19 - Paul Finebaum is hired to be an ESPN radio host that represents the SEC and sometimes will feature Joe Schad on his show.

Step 20 - No one apologize.  The entire country believes that Cam Newton and Auburn are dirty.

[jmar]

Step 17 required a sacrificial lamb, Finebaum's good buddy Mike Bianchi to take the anti -Cam side.

[Townhallsavoy]

Want to see this in action? 

In a few minutes, Sportscenter will feature a segment titled "Should Manziel Play?"

So based on a story released by ESPN based on mostly anonymous sources, ESPN will discuss whether or not ESPN's own story is enough to convince Texas A&M to sit Manziel just in case ESPN's anonymous sources are correct enough to warrant the NCAA to rule Manziel ineligibile.