University of Denver hockey coach George Gwozdecky spoke to Mike Chambers, The Associated Press and 9News on Monday before practice.According to Chambers, Gwozdecky insinuated that The Denver Post, specifically Chambers, incorrectly and irresponsibly reported on Jesse Martin’s C2 fractures before the school finally put out a release at 8:16 p.m. Sunday [read Chambers' Blog for entire article].
25 comments:
Here is what I posted at the Denver Post web site:
Mike:
You are doing a tremendous job reporting this story from excellent sources. You have been more than fair to DU in your reporting, and your readers appreciate the way you stayed on top of it for us with speed and accuracy. This is a big story, and Gwoz should be the one giving you the benefit of the doubt for doing your job and passing along the information you had.
With all the HIPPA laws and student privacy concerns, I am sure DU needs to be very circumspect when updating medical information on a student athlete, and my guess is that Gwozdecky needs to cover for his employer on some aspects, but he should be more understanding of the speed of the news cycle and your priority to get information to readers faster than the school is able to do so. DU waited a long time to post the update, and I'm sure the excellent DU SID Erich Bacher likely had some additional management approvals he needed to get before he sent it out the release.
Martin was injured during a game that was nationally televised. It wasn't exactly a state secret that he left the arena in a very distressed state.
My guess is this retribution is related to the "Bleeding Crimson In Search of Gold" article that appeared in the Denver Post last week.
Gwoz has been here many years and Chambers has been covering DU for many years. It is easy to get Gwoz upset with you and he and Chambers have had a looong history. Just another in the long line of Gwoz/Chambers catfights....meow....
Really? How about wanting to run things past Jesse’s family before printing it in the paper or putting it out on a blog? That might be to slow to sell newspapers or order a big get well card. I’m sure Jesse’s family appreciates the support and prayers from fans. Giving them a bit of time to digest things before being quoted doesn’t seem like a lot to ask.
Idiotic DU politics and privacy crap. Stupid.
Great work Mike!!!
I am with Mike on this. Mike Chambers' job is to report the story with speed and accuracy. That's his job. Period. His access to sources and his judgement were correct in this instance. He should not have waited for DU to put out a release, and DU almost certainly was put in a tough spot with Hipaa and all that so you can understand why DU was slow on the draw, and why they might feel a little burned by Mike.
As for the "retribution" - I don't know. Seems that Mike has been a real advocate for Gwoz' side of the coaching salary negotiation. If anything, Mike's stance has been anti-basketball and pro-hockey. If DU or Gwoz was upset at Mike, they should have done expressed it in private, not in public.
Mike does not report to DU or Gwoz - he's there to get the job done for his paper and he did it well.
Mike is also not responsible for "running things by the Martin family', although it would appear that he had full cooperation and assistance from the Martins in writing the story as it happened. Jesse Martin is a public figure - an NHL drafted athlete in a revenue sport.
Mike ran with the story he had, exactly as he should have.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/sports/2010/11/01/du-hockey-writer-accused-of-making-stuff-up/13685/#disqus_thread
To the person who posted about Mike Chambers not asking the family permission before quoting them, read his recent blog.
The father of Jesse Martin contacted Mike. As a fantastic reporter, a huge DU fan and as a friend of the Martin family, I am sure that MC had permission and the blessing of Martin's family to report what was said over the phone.
I like that we had an update before DU released their statement. I think the fact GG called Chambers out in front of TV reporters shows a bit of a power trip.
But, what is most important is that Jesse is recovering.
Hipaa laws and student privacy laws are not idiotic - they are there to protect medical privacy rights. I'm sure DU followed the law to the letter, and Gwoz is well aware of what he could and should not say. I don't blame Gwoz or DU for taking their time to get the announcement right.
But Gwoz/DU can't blame Mike for doing his job.
I am completely with Mike Chambers and Puck on this one. Mike has been with DU for a very long time. George was tactless by calling Mike out in front of AP and TV cameras.
Chambers did a great job using his reliable sources, reporting skills and fantastic relationships. After hearing of Martin's injury, I was looking for updates. Waiting until DU released their statement after 8pm would have stressed me out.
My thoughts and prayers are with Jesse and his family. He sounds like an amazing kid.
All I know is that Mike did a great job of covering this anxiety-filled event. Everyone in the Pioneers and Sioux communities and many other hockey fans were very concerned about Jesse`s condition. With apologies to all DU alums with law degrees, controversies like this are traceable to lawyers. Mike has enough to worry about with the Denver Post`s lawyers. He can`t be concerned with the red tape surrounding the university`s policies. Mike, thank you very much for getting us the updates as quickly as possible.
I defend Chambers on this one. Privacy is not what a Journalist should respect. Get the news, tell the news and don't deal with stupid coaches remarks.
Well, Chambers did state that he was friends with the Martins. Maybe Terry Martin was in need of someone to talk to, Chambers happened to be of those people and Mr Martin thought he was talking to a friend who was not going to be doing the reporter thingy at that time.
Chambers isn't known for always having the best judgment: Elevator, bloodied guy from U of Minnesota, Final 5 ... Anyone remember that?
Having read all the fans post lets remember just one thing. That it is the Denver Post just one article short of the National Enquirer. All in all the Post probably wont be around another 5 years unless they change their way of thinking.
People - this is pointless and doesn't matter. ALL that matters is that we have a Senior Denver player in a Minnesota Hospital room, who should be in Colorado with his teamates, getting ready for the most-hyped and electric series of his last year of playing college sports. Instead, he will miss the series and is unsure of if and when he'll play again. I hope Jesse gets to see the games live on TV - because I know every player on the ice - including the CC guys - will be thinking about the one person who should be there with them both nights.
Mike has always been a big supporter of D.U. hockey. His articles on D.U. hockey have given much exposure to the team. There are seats filled with new fans because they learned about D.U. hockey from Mike's articles. D.U. owes Mike a big thank you not a whine about him over riding their beaurocratic system. His printed information on Jesse was cleared through Jesse's father.With that ,Mike has a reporters obligation to print it. He was just doing his job. The D.U. legal crap is nonsense.
I have ordered the banner for fans to sign before and during the game Friday night. Please stop by the table at the North Entrance to Magness and sign it. I will be sending it to Jesse on Saturday morning. The banner is 2'x 8' so there is plenty of room for everyone to send best wishes
to #14.
msb--If we could get a P.A. announcement befoe cthe end of the first period on what and where the banner is we would get more signators.
Main event:
Jesse keep getting better!!
subplots:
Mike keep reporting.
Gwoz keep coaching.
DU beat cc!!!!
postwhorearoo- do you ever leave the computer?
msbdu - we'll post the signing location.
Sounds like Mr. and Mrs. Martin were upset and reached out to Mike Chambers to get some information. Mike “used them” to get an inside scoop. That may sound sleazy but that’s the life a journalist.
Why do think the Martins were upset? I doubt Mike was sleazy and he wasn't using anyone. I am sure he was clear with the Martins that he was on the record for the Post, and using their feedback and information for his evolving story.
All Mike was doing was filling a 24-hour void in the news cycle on a big story. Had DU come out with a press statement earlier, he would have run with that, but DU likely had to consult with university leadership and perhaps legal counsel, given the privacy issues invloved these days, and that takes time.
Menawhile, you've got a whole fanbase that is desperate for news on a player we care about.
Who is more important – Jesse and his family or the fans who want to know?
Chambers has a job to do. Like it or not he is selling newspapers. It’s not about the feelings of the Martin family. If Mike wants to keep his job he has to get the story out before anyone else.
For those that don't know the sequence of events, as I understand it.
Chambers was in Grand Forks covering the series for the Denver Post.
Chambers received a text message from Martin's family on Saturday night that Jesse was going to be OK.
Then as more information came in overnight to the family the prognosis worsened. The family texted Chambers about it.
Chambers awoke the next morning to find out the bad news.
While he was traveling from Grand Forks to Minneapolis the news was even worse and at some point the possibility of surgery was mentioned.
At 3 PM MST on Sunday Chambers texted me to keep us informed. He didn't have to do this, but I'm glad he did.
No matter what you think of Chambers or Gwozdecky or they way each handled this matter, this is the biggest news story to strike the Pioneer hockey program since winning the National Champiosnhip in 2005.
Unfortunately, the story is very sad and has touched many people. Everyone wishes Jesse Martin the speediest of recoveries.
Big story or not, Jesse and the Martin family should have been put first. My prayers are with them.
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