The Los Angeles Times reported on May 4 that the Dodgers do not have enough money to cover payroll through the end of the month, further complicating matters for owner Frank McCourt in his attempt to regain control of the Dodgers.
If McCourt does not meet payroll, Major League Baseball would cover the costs and then be entitled to seize the team and put it up for sale.
McCourt contends that the payroll would not be an issue if commissioner Bud Selig would simply approve a media rights package with Fox that could be worth in excess of $3 billion, with an up front payment of $300 million.
“That is a transaction that is now completely negotiated, ready to be signed, and ready to be closed,” he said. “It’s the series of delays in allowing us to close this transaction that has created the problem here.”
According to MLB executive Rob Manfred, Selig will not accept or reject the Fox proposal until after trustee Tom Schieffer finishes his investigation into the Dodgers’ finances.
“It will be a thorough investigation,” Schieffer said. “I would anticipate it would be longer than two weeks.”
McCourt can either seek another loan, similar to the one he got from Fox for $30 million, give up possession of the team, or sue MLB, which remains a strong possibility.
Since the LA Times broke the story, every other news outlet, including ESPN, were forced to follow. The Times’ headline reads, “Dodgers don’t have funds to meet payroll.” It’s a very basic headline that nonetheless draws the reader because of its unusual nature. The subhead is somewhat redundant and really gives the reader no new information.
The LA Times lead is 26 words long and identifies the who, what, and when. The nutgraf attributes the information in the lead, and the story includes a quote from Tom Schieffer. The majority of the story is written based on tips from anonymous sources, which might not be considered conventional journalism but is a common practice in sports reporting.
ESPN’s story followed the LA Times. “Reports: Dodgers lack payroll funds,” said its headline.
ESPN went with a 24 word basic news lead that includes the who and what. The second paragraph (nut graf) gives credit to the LA Times for breaking the story.
One thing ESPN includes in its story that the Times does not is reaction from McCourt. The owner joined an ESPN Radio program to tell his side of the story.
Although ESPN provided a more complete, well-rounded account, the LA Times was the one who broke the story and therefore deserves the majority of the credit.
No comments:
Post a Comment