Tom Davis wrote:
Guys,
To those of you who don't understand what the article is trying to convey, that is simply a matter of 1) misunderstanding or 2) a difference of opinion.
Only one or two people misunderstand, and I think it's because they didn't read the article carefully before they watched the video. I think the majority opinion is that, while this episode might be newsworthy and worth reporting, the way you did so was unprofessional and worse than mediocre.
I'm a physicist and I don't know much about journalism or writing. But I think each section of the article, including the headlines of each subsection, could have been better written in one of two ways:
1. As written, I think the article teaches us more about the journalist than the athlete. It might have been an interesting article if you had taken it further in this direction.
2. As an impartial report without any of the editorializing.
As it stands, the editorializing makes the writers come off as despicable and I don't see why it's necessary in most places. Some of Webb's actions speak for themselves, so let them (I personally don't think it's a big deal). But there are several ways in which it becomes clear that it's the journalist who has the problem, and this should either be fleshed out, or the article needs to be rewritten.
We're all human.