Keeping Local Reporters Honest
Cappy Gagnon
Cappy's Corner
As a service to Observer readers, I have appointed myself to monitor the daily paper in Riverbend and to correct misinformation. This column is about some recent items.
When the NCAA assessed a two-scholarship penalty against the football program last year, a local sports scribe wrote that "it's only logical to assume" Coach Davie will end his stated plan to issue one walk-on football grant-in-aid per year. The writer stated that the NCAA penalty would therefore hurt only a deserving young athlete instead of the football program. (Granted, this wasn't as bad as their prior story stating we were losing five grants, but, it was a slam nevertheless.) I sent an e-mail to the editor of the local paper protesting the unfairness of this prediction. I told him I knew Coach Davie to be a man of his word. I confidently predicted that Bob would honor this pledge. I asked the editor if his reporter would apologize to Coach Davie. He said he would "look into this." Since the editor must have forgotten, I thought Notre Dame fans might like the final score of this integrity test: Coach Davie - 1; local paper - 0.
While most fans are going to be keying on Arnaz Battle, Tony Fisher, Jabari Holloway, Grant Irons, et. al., I'm going to keep an eye out for linebacker Anthony Brannam, end Joe Recendez and cornerback Dwayne Francis, who are the three most recent players to whom Coach Davie has awarded a football grant-in-aid. I'm also going to keep an eye out to see if the local paper prints an apology to Davie.
Speaking of walk-on's, I was pleased to bump into former walk-on stars Brendan O'Connor and Jonathan Hebert recently. They may have been able to go to someplace like West Muncie Teachers' College and majored in recess, but instead they'll be wrapping up mechanical engineering degrees this year, after submitting themselves as football cannon fodder for three years. Hebert made some impressive special teams and defensive contributions, while O'Connor was an inspirational team member. I have no doubt about the success they will achieve in their lives.
When I heard that Molly Kinder would be trying out for the Irish Guard in 1999, I went to watch the tryouts. She looked pretty good, but fell short of making the squad. Not long after, I happened to see her (at 6-foot-3, with a pretty smile and bright red hair, she's hard to miss!) and told her I thought she looked good in her tryout.
I was very impressed with the attitude she showed. She said she loved the experience. She went out of her way to compliment how the regular members of the Guard helped and encouraged her. I am pleased that Molly made the squad this year. She's going to be a great addition.
Molly got some ink for her trailblazing accomplishment. Unfortunately, the reporter for the local paper brought some of her own baggage into the story. The Guard corps is described as "shrouded in secrecy." Huh? The tryouts are in public, none of the members wear masks, all of their names are readily available, and everybody can see them a mile away. We're not talking CIA here.
Anyway, this reporter couldn't credit Molly for this accomplishment without throwing in a shot at this "secret" organization. The reporter stated, "Two former guards who are living outside South Bend had heard about her selection but had `no comment.'" Anonymous out-of-town sources with "no comment" — now there's an item which needed to be in this story! An editor once said to me, "This story needs more substance. Get me some quotes." If I had brought back a "no comment" from an uncredited source, he would have had me selling apples.
A couple days ago, the local paper assured us that hoopster Jere Macura was indeed back in school. The reporter stated, "Some guessed, that wouldn't happen." Just who was it who "guessed" this wouldn't happen? Yep. The local reporter, hypothesizing, based upon his own "logical assumptions," with no information from any source. This week, Jere told his friends, "I came back because I love Notre Dame."
Reporters are supposed to write stories, not make them up. It's a shame this rule didn't make the local style book.
Among the Notre Dame students back on campus were a couple tall guys named Murphy and Heilman. Both put fortune (three million dollars or more?) and fame on hold, so they could be part of the college experience a little longer. Troy and Aaron showed character and guts. Whaddaya bet that the first time Troy scores fewer than 20 points or sprains an ankle, the local paper will have a story headline like "Murphy should have left."
Tennessee has recruited a dorm room invader (stopped before he could commit the rape he appeared bent upon); Florida State continues to fill up the police blotters in Tallahassee; Cincinnati basketball is still looking for its first degree earner since the 1980s; even Joe Paterno has sold his soul to a felon. Notre Dame, meanwhile, stands accused, by a national swimsuit magazine, of having high standards and a tough schedule. And, it's too much to ask our local key pounders to say something in our defense.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Cappy Gagnon, '66, can't wait to see Molly Kinder come through the tunnel before the Irish knock off Texas A&M. His column appears every other Thursday.
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, August 31, 2000
