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{"id":1346,"date":"2013-06-29T07:11:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-29T07:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/06\/what-are-commentary-boundaries-at-espn.html"},"modified":"2013-06-29T07:11:00","modified_gmt":"2013-06-29T07:11:00","slug":"what-are-commentary-boundaries-at-espn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/06\/what-are-commentary-boundaries-at-espn.html","title":{"rendered":"What are Commentary Boundaries at ESPN?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Jason Collins\u2019\u00a0<\/span>coming-out party<\/a>\u00a0was a historic and controversial story, feel-good for some, an abomination for others and an \u201cuncomfortable conversation\u201d on \u201cOutside the Lines\u201d that still resonates in ESPN conference rooms and in the ombudsman\u2019s mailbag.\u00a0<\/span>

More than one ESPN manager told me it was \u201ca learning experience\u201d and then couldn\u2019t come up with what had been learned. How about this: The tricky trifecta of religion, race and sexuality exposed not only the fault-lines in \u201cOTL\u2019s\u201d preparation but the inconsistent performance of ESPN journalism in general. The old story won\u2019t die because it brings up too many unresolved questions that we will be addressing in my scheduled 18 months as ESPN\u2019s fifth ombudsman.\u00a0<\/span>

\u2022 What are the boundaries of sports talk, and on which shows?\u00a0<\/span>

\u2022 What is the distinction between a reporter and a commentator? The lines seem to blur sometimes.\u00a0<\/span>

\u2022 How can ESPN balance the varying sensibilities of its audience? There are people who want the network to provide a safe haven from the real world. But Barry Blyn, vice president of consumer insights, tells me that he is finding in his research a \u201chunger for more challenging news.\u201d These people want information, they want to understand their world, including the world of their games.\u00a0<\/span>

\u2022 ESPN\u2019s resources are substantial, and as it continues to hire more experienced journalists, will it match their ambitions with a company will to give them reporting and commentating room?\u00a0<\/span>

\u2022 If it does, there will be another, more complex balancing act. What happens when ESPN\u2019s \u201cpartners\u201d \u2014 the teams, conferences, leagues whose games it airs and analyzes \u2014 are made uncomfortable by tough reporting?\u00a0<\/span><\/span>

<\/span>Read the rest here<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"