Bad Image
Monday night the Rams defeated the Patriots of George Mason to win the Colonial Athletic Association's tournament at the Coliseum. The NCAAs await. Truly, March is mad.
. . .
Two important rules should govern those seeking to mislead the public: (1) Don't misrepresent anything that is checkable; and (2) everything is checkable.
VCU failed to follow those guidelines in producing a media guide about its basketball team. The cover carries a photo of player Eric Maynor. Inside the guide a similar photo appears. The cover photo has been retouched to remove a large tattoo on Maynor's arm. The inside photo shows the tat.
Remarkably, VCU athletic director Norwood Teague sees nothing unremarkable about this. "I've never even thought of it" as misrepresenting the facts, he said. "We remove them all the time." Indeed, another photo of Maynor appearing on VCU's Web site also was retouched to remove his tattoo. The aim, apparently, is to improve the team's "image."
To some, this might seem much ado -- but to journalists, who would get fired for pulling such a stunt, it's a big deal. Altering pictures without clearly stating that the photo has been changed (to, e.g., a "photo illustration") is a definite no-no. It smacks of Soviet-like historical revisionism. What's next -- misrepresenting the school's win/loss record to improve its image, too? Maynor's tattoo is not nearly so offensive as is the decision to airbrush over the facts.
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I see nothing in VCU’s reported public relations activities that warrants the criticism hurled at it by the RTD editorial. After all, it is PR, not journalism, and the goal of PR is to enhance the client’s (VCU’s athletic program) image among members of the public.
What is especially troubling to me, is that the RTD has attempted to initiate an unnecessary controversy while it increasingly fails to adequately cover legitimate local news. More and more, the paper is a compilation of news stories, often by AP writers or writers for other papers or syndicates and frequently a day or so in age. Seldom are significant local stories that find their ways into print thoroughly investigated and reported at the depth we should expect. The Times Dispatch, unfortunately, is becoming less and less relevant, and the in-depth investigation and reporting of important local news necessary to an informed citizenry has nearly disappeared in both the print and broadcast media.
I thought the editorial was interesting. I had no idea that the VCU website folks go ‘round removing tattoos from basketball players. That seems like an irrational obsession with looks. Its a basketball player (!)—either people appreciate the job he does or they don’t.
Your ethical indignation and the ensuing editorial tantrum is hereby duly noted. Now we suggest that you start taking deep breaths, ingest your meds and generally lighten up.
Geez, The RTD was so good to VCU yesterday and now this? Digging their own grave…
News Flash! The VCU men’s basketball media guide is a marketing tool. The journalistic standards you attempt to place upon it do not apply.
Perhaps if you channeled your efforts toward eliminatig airbrushing of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models you might find a more sympathetic readership.
This is a tempest in a teacup.
“Soviet-like historical revisionism” Are you serious? Is this an Onion article? OR maybe you’re just a George Mason fan… hmmmm
Surely there is something in the world or area that deserves editorial comment more than this. Point taken, but really, is this the best use of the space? Not even uninformed bloggers go to this level.
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