ESPN Fires Employee For Jeremy Lin Headline

[Jive Turkey]

If it were a bunch of fat white kids, it would be funny though.

Oh, those wacky fat whites

 

[deep]

I think he blurted the first word that came to his mind. Replay that situation and he might have said idiot. Lord knows I've said things without thinking I've immediately regretted.

the Mel Gibson defense

 

[yolland]

Speaking of that ESPN headline writer, the blog over at Poynter (a nonprofit journalism institute) spoke to an ESPN VP about how the incident occurred:

According to ESPN, [the headline] appeared on the mobile website around 2:30 AM Saturday and was taken down about 35 minutes later. The headline linked to a story by Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com about whether the Knicks’ loss to the New Orleans Hornets had exposed weaknesses in Lin’s game.

Anthony Mormile, vice president for mobile content at ESPN, said the Bristol-based editorial team for the mobile sites consists of eight people who usually work two per shift. After 2 AM, one editor is often catching up on the “back end,” updating content for sports that aren’t in season and taking care of other editorial loose ends. The other editor is generally handling the “front end” of the site, loading up “experience carousels” with headlines, summaries and links to articles. (Because cellphones offer less screen real estate than desktop computers, the mobile editors often write different headlines.) Mormile said that, on Saturday night, the front-end editor—28-year-old Anthony Federico, who had six years of experience on the mobile team—liked Begley’s column and decided to spotlight it for the mobile site, sensing that the conversation had shifted from the Knicks’ loss to potential holes in Lin’s game. As Mormile noted, Federico “created more work for himself” in doing so, and, by deciding to feature the Lin story on the mobile home page, “in theory, he did absolutely 100% the right thing.” Unfortunately, his choice of headlines unraveled all that. Said Mormile, “Anthony had no concept, no awareness that could be construed as a potentially explosive headline.”

Rob King, senior vice president for editorial, print and digital, said that, as things now stand, the Web and mobile sides of ESPN’s house are technologically different and generally work in parallel, not together. On the Web side, King said, lead content packages and headlines go through a copy desk before they’re pushed live, and a copy editor is always there when a home page editor is working. But the mobile team doesn’t have “that level of oversight…you had one person making a move that a lot of people could see.” Mormile says the mobile editors generally double-check each other’s work, providing at least an informal safety net. But the other editor on Federico’s shift was busy supporting ESPN’s Bracket Bound app, which is getting a lot of usage in the run-up to March Madness. Federico pushed the headline out himself—and, when Mormile was alerted a little after 3 AM, Twitter “was blowing up with people putting up screen shots and condemnations.”

One potential factor in the severity of the punishments: Earlier in the week, racial sensitivity regarding the Lin storyline was a topic in the company’s monthly editorial board meeting, and ESPN issued a memo to all its content groups urging staffers to be cognizant of how Lin was discussed—a directive that was revisited in a Friday staff meeting. Anyone who had followed other media outlets’ Lin coverage understood the need for caution: MSG had shown a fan-made graphic of Lin emerging from a fortune cookie; the New York Post celebrated a Lin buzzer-beater with the back-page headline “AMASIAN!”; and Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock had apologized for a sophomoric, racially tinged tweet about Lin. Not long after discussing the need to avoid such missteps, however, ESPN had a flurry of its own to deal with.

Mormile said Federico “was devastated, but understood” the company’s decision...Mormile praised Federico as “a good, good kid,” and called the mistake “a momentary lapse of judgment that ended up being an egregious error.” Many journalists have been saved by the sharp eyes of others and some luck; sadly, Federico had neither on his side. But, even at mobile speed, a headline writer has time to deliberate, and learning how to step back and assess one’s work is a critical skill.

 

[deep]

DANGER ZONES

"CHINK": Pejorative; do not use in a context involving an Asian person on someone who is Asian American. Extreme care is needed if using the well-trod phrase "chink in the armor"; be mindful that the context does not involve Asia, Asians or Asian Americans. (The appearance of this phrase with regard to Lin led AAJA MediaWatch to issue statement to ESPN, which subsequently disciplined its employees.)

DRIVING: This is part of the sport of basketball, but resist the temptation to refer to an "Asian who knows how to drive."

EYE SHAPE: This is irrelevant. Do not make such references if discussing Lin's vision.

FOOD: Is there a compelling reason to draw a connection between Lin and fortune cookies, takeout boxes or similar imagery? In the majority of news coverage, the answer will be no.

MARTIAL ARTS: You're writing about a basketball player. Don't conflate his skills with judo, karate, tae kwon do, etc. Do not refer to Lin as "Grasshopper" or similar names associated with martial-arts stereotypes.

"ME LOVE YOU LIN TIME": Avoid. This is a lazy pun on the athlete's name and alludes to the broken English of a Hollywood caricature from the 1980s.

"YELLOW MAMBA": This nickname that some have used for Lin plays off the "Black Mamba" nickname used by NBA star Kobe Bryant. It should be avoided. Asian immigrants in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries were subjected to discriminatory treatment resulting from a fear of a "Yellow Peril" that was touted in the media, which led to legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Asian American Journalists Association releases guidelines on Jeremy Lin media coverage | The Cutline - Yahoo! News

 

[INDY500]

Asians are crap drivers.

 

[maycocksean]

^Is that a stereotype? A joke I don't get?

I've never heard this before.

 

[Jive Turkey]

A stereotype

Poor sheltered sean

 

[maycocksean]

It's like I've been on a remote tropical island for more than ten years. . .

Wait a second. . .

 

[maycocksean]

Seriously though, what that reveals is how absurd stereotypes can be. Even though I spent from 1998-2009 on the aforementioned island, an island with a very large Asian population and have traveled extensively throughout Asia, the idea of that Asians--as a race--drive poorly never occured to me.

In fact, in Manila, you better know what you're doing behind the wheel or you'll get yourself killed quick. I always thought the Filipino drivers there were amazing! But then maybe the crazy-ass driving there supports the stereotype? I don't know

 

[coolian2]

speaking for here, asians are downright awful drivers. the again, so are the white people, the pacific islanders, the indians, the arabs....it's like you have to be a particular level of fuckwit before you get beind the wheel.

but that's barely different from anywhere, and neither here nor there.

 

[cobl04]

I spent two weeks in Thailand and I don't think there were any road rules.

 

[corianderstem]

Is that how you ended up spending two weeks in a ditch?

 

[cobl04]

No, that was the full moon party

 

[maycocksean]

I spent two weeks in Thailand and I don't think there were any road rules.

Yeah, I found that too when I was there. Just like in Manila.

Is that the nature of the stereotype--that Asians are "crazy" drivers, i.e. don't signal, cut in front of you etc.

Or is it more about ineptness behind the wheel.

Do they drive too fast, too slow?

Help me, I want to stereotype too! (J/K)

 

[Jive Turkey]

Inept.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

speaking for here, asians are downright awful drivers. the again, so are the white people, the pacific islanders, the indians, the arabs....it's like you have to be a particular level of fuckwit before you get beind the wheel.

I was going to say the same thing. I swear, drunk people must be giving out licenses sometimes, that's the only explanation I can think of for why some people are allowed to be on the road.

 

[maycocksean]

Inept.

Really. . .

Wow that's just not been my experience.

 

[maycocksean]

I was going to say the same thing. I swear, drunk people must be giving out licenses sometimes, that's the only explanation I can think of for why some people are allowed to be on the road.

What gets me is the asshats who see you put on your blinker to change lanes and speed up so you can't.

Would that be an "Asian" habit?

 

[cobl04]

A bit of both. There'd be just as many inept white Anglo drivers as Asians.

I always hated going to my Melbourne-based uni campus because there were a lot more Asians there than at my Geelong campus and it was hard to get a park. Once I waited like two minutes while an Asian did like a 70 point turn, putting his foot to the floor at every instance.

 

[Diemen]

I always hated going to my Melbourne-based uni campus because there were a lot more Asians there

Umm...

 

[Jive Turkey]

hahaha at least he's not bullshitting us, I suppose

 

[cobl04]

FUCK. How To Word A Sentence Poorly 101. What a great day I'm having.

There were a lot more people, at that uni. Which made it hard to get a park. There were more Asians but that is completely irrelevant to the point I was trying to make...

 

[PhilsFan]

Old people are clearly the worst drivers.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

FUCK. How To Word A Sentence Poorly 101. What a great day I'm having.

Sean, ooh, yeah, those people are definitely annoying.

I remember a friend of mine in high school had a major pet peeve with people forgetting to use turn signals. She actually had a bumper sticker on her car that said, "Visualize using your turn signal."

And then of course there's the people who either don't turn on their headlights at all or who blind everyone on the road with their lights.

 

[Vincent Vega]

Yeah, I found that too when I was there. Just like in Manila.

Is that the nature of the stereotype--that Asians are "crazy" drivers, i.e. don't signal, cut in front of you etc.

Or is it more about ineptness behind the wheel.

Do they drive too fast, too slow?

Help me, I want to stereotype too! (J/K)

It's the same here in Iraq. It's a very common thing for countries outside the developed world to have no one going by any sort of traffic rules. It's like every person in a car thinks he's the only one on the road. Sometimes mixed with the mentality of "I am king" which e.g. in Germany you almost only find in drivers of Merceded, BMW or Audi.
But the police drives the same, so it's hardly going to stop.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

also, i read the ESPN guy's apology today, and i guess i was a little harsh at first. he does seem really contrite and enormously embarrassed.

Did you read what he posted on Twitter? It was all about the good things he's done in his life. That really made me feel badly, and I certainly don't believe in crucifying someone for a one time mistake. If he didn't have a consistent pattern of this type of thing then it could have been an innocent mistake. I still believe in eliminating that language and those stereotypes, but I do think there's leeway for some innocent human error. Unfortunately there have already been several instances surrounding Lin, and he has dealt with it going back to Harvard. And probably privately going back much earlier in his life.

 

[Irvine511]

yeah, i read the whole Twitter thing.

i work in "media" and i am accustomed to deadlines and rush jobs (though admittedly i'm not in news, so i imagine it's even tighter), so i can see how you can make mistakes.

but to use "chink" right in the midst of um "Linsanity" ... it seems hard to believe how anyone would miss that. it's like *really* blatant.

anyway, the guy did take it down within 30 minutes and now has to find a new career and seems to feel awful, so ...

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

but to use "chink" right in the midst of um "Linsanity" ... it seems hard to believe how anyone would miss that. it's like *really* blatant.

Exactly, it does seem hard to believe

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

but to use "chink" right in the midst of um "Linsanity" ... it seems hard to believe how anyone would miss that. it's like *really* blatant.

exactly. i mean hell, i was half asleep when ian first told me about all this, and at the time he didn't know what the headline was, just that it'd been racist. i said "oh god, he didn't say 'chink in the armour' did he?" but i guess what matters in the end is the guy's genuinely apologetic. at the very least, it's refreshing to see someone who screwed up and actually is sorry, rather than the "i'm sorry i offended you" bullshit people love to use now.

 

[INDY500]

Old people are clearly the worst drivers.

There is a takeoff on Willie Nelson's "Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain" called "Blue Hairs Driving In My Lane" that speaks to this.

So I'd say old Asian drivers are the worst.