***Two weeks ago, Matt and I sent off a series of ten questions to Edmonton Journal writer and blogger David Staples. David was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to answer those questions, and they are provided below (Christmas preparation and our general slothfulness prevented them from being posted sooner). The transcript has been formatted for this blog, and a few editorial changes concerning spelling and/or grammar were made with David's approval. Matt and I have some follow-up questions for David, which we will ask in the comments section. We encourage others to ask David questions, or to make comments of their own. Thanks again to David for doing this with us.***
1) First off, please tell us a bit about yourself.
a) Were you born and raised in Edmonton?
I'm from Devon, Alberta. I moved to Edmonton in 1985.
b) What is your educational background?
Devon High School, grad 1980; Carleton School of Journalism, grad 1984; Southam Fellow at the University of Toronto, 1996.
c) How long have you been a reporter?
Since I started writing for the Carleton student paper in 1981. So that's 26 years.
d) How long have you been with the Edmonton Journal?
I started in May 1985, but did a short stint at the National Post in 1998.
e) What do you usually write about/cover?
From 1992-2004, I was a general interest columnist. As a reporter, I've covered major crimes stories, done investigative work on social issues and done numerous personality profiles.
I co-wrote a book on the 1992 mass murder at Yellowknife's Giant Mine and wrote a book on anti-smoking zealot Barb Tarbox.
I've explored the criminal mind through numerous court cases and profiles of murderers and serial killers, including Clifford Sleigh, the Sand brothers, James Roszko, and Michael White. I've also profiled admirable people, artists, architects, politicians and sports figures, including major profiles on Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Barry Fraser, John Muckler, 'Badger' Bob Johnson, Valery and Sasha Kharlamov, Jari Kurri, Esa Tikkanen, Paul Coffey, Cal Nichols, Kevin Lowe, Patrick Laforge and Craig MacTavish.
f) What are your favorite sports?
NHL, NBA, English soccer.
g) What are your favorite teams?
The Oilers and Manchester United.
h) How long have you been an Oilers fan?
Since 1972. I was there on opening day at the Coliseum in 74 or 75, whenever that was.
i) How much have you written about the Oilers, and hockey in general?
I've written about hockey mainly through major features on personalities, but have also done work on player-owner relations. I do this kind of story once or twice a year. Also, along with Tom Barrett and Cam Cole, I investigated and wrote the story on Grant Fuhr's cocaine addiction. I've never covered the Oilers as a beat reporter.
j) What sports sites do you read daily?
The Journal's Oil Country; Red Rants, a Manchester United blog; Hoopshype, the top NBA site; and, more recently, Oilogosphere blogs and boards.
2) You have been writing about the Oilogosphere for a couple months now, both on your blog and in the Edmonton Journal. What got you interested in the Oilogosphere?
I did a blog last year, The Cult of Pop, which was extremely wide-ranging. I found myself having to write about too many areas, and it was taking a lot of time to become expert enough to write well on so many topics (as light as they were), so I dropped it. In that blog, I wrote now and then about hockey, and this September, I found myself wondering what it meant that Sam Gagner had made the team at age 18 and was doing OK. What was the career trajectory for this kind of player? This isn't the kind of story our regular sports department does right now, so I started The Cult of Hockey with the idea I would post once or twice a week. Being an obsessive person, though, I'm blogging every day, and have permission to devote roughly one hour each morning of my actual work day to work on the blog.
I found out about the Oilogosphere last year when I did a piece on Chris Pronger. I had a Google Alert on Pronger and started to get reaction pieces on my Pronger piece from some Oilogosphere writers--mainly comments about my utter lack of worth as a journalist for not being hard enough on Cal Nichols, that kind of thing.
What are the things that you like about it? What are the things you dislike about it?
I like the strong writing and thoughtfulness on Battle of Alberta, the critical insights of Tyler Dellow at mc79, the wisdom and depth of knowledge of Lowetide, the wit of Hot-Oil and Covered in Oil, and the inventive use of stats at Irreverent Oiler Fans. Now, I've yet to fully comprehend all the new statistical information about hockey I've been discovering at sites like Behind the Net. Much of this information is compelling, but, so far as I can tell, it has yet to be stated in a way that is useful to most hockey fans.
How do your colleagues at the paper feel about your interaction with the blogging community?
Many reporters here love my blog and many come up through the day to talk Oilers with me. It's like they think I am some kind of expert, rather than an obsessed fan who likes to shout out his opinions, which is what I am.
I don't know what the sports guys think of my blog, other than John Mackinnon, who is a blog-savvy fellow himself, and interested in many of the same questions about sports as I am. John thinks I'm way, way too obsessed with the 1980s Oilers, which is true enough, but who asked him anyway?
I'm an early adopter here when it comes to the Internet. Frankly, I'm convinced it's not just the future, it's a big part of the present. This paper is making strides to get with the program, but not everyone here is aware of the imperative to strike out, as soon as possible, on the 'Net and to learn the new set of skills it takes to be relevant here. That said, I'm more convinced than ever that there's a place for the Journal and other media outlets on the Net. Our research, writing and news judgment skills apply directly to this world.
3) The Edmonton Journal is one of the owners of the Edmonton Oilers. This raises questions as to how the newspaper and its staff can truly be an independent, objective body reporting on issues relating to the franchise. Is there a conflict of interest? If not, why? What has the Journal done to eliminate any potential conflict? Can you please explain the set-up the Journal has as it relates to the Edmonton Investors Group, in particular the EIG’s Board of Directors and the voting procedures? [ed. this question was posed prior to the most recent offer by Daryl Katz to buy the Oilers]
I've not talked to our former publisher Linda Hughes about this, but my understanding is that when Cal Nichols was working hard to get investors, he put a lot of pressure on the Journal, just like he did every other business with money, to do its civic duty and buy into the Oilers.
In the newsroom, when we heard this had happened, we all hoped we might get the odd scoop from being part owners, but so far as I know, this has never happened. That's because Linda was smart enough to completely separate the Oilers stuff from the newsroom, just as most business matters are separated from the newsroom.
So a bigwig fellow in our business department, I'm not sure who, is our contact with the Oilers. Once a year, he goes to general meetings. He is not on the 10-person boards, so he is no insider. He abstains from all votes, as I understand it, as a nod to the Journal being impartial. He gets the chairman's message from Cal Nichols, whatever that is, and no one in the newsroom, so far as I know, hears about it. I suspect he doesn't find out much from Nichols, save for the general direction of the team. Nichols himself isn't much involved with day-to-day operations of the team, and we have nothing, zilch, zero, to do with that.
The Journal has been part owner of the team for a decade now, but in the newsroom, this never comes up. No one talks about it, thinks about it. It's a non-issue, and we report on the team as we would if our parent company, now Canwest, didn't own any stake in it at all.
4) Edmonton has a reputation for being a difficult place to play hockey. Part of that reputation comes out of a belief that the players face tough media scrutiny here. Yet to many, the hockey media in Edmonton do very little in terms or scrutinizing or criticizing the team, management and ownership. Do you think it’s the media’s job to hold the team and the organization to account?
The mass media here must treat the Oilers as an entertainment, as a political player, and as a civic obsession. So, yes, we have to ask questions about the team in regards to business and political matters, everything from ticket prices to arena-building issues. The Oilers are a uniquely public business, the beneficiaries of indirect public subsidy and the holders of a public trust, this hockey team being the single biggest part of Edmonton entertainment culture.
If so, do you believe the hockey media in this city do so?
On some issues we could do a better job, but this doesn't come down to our intent so much as it comes down to our own competency. For instance, I was rating Lowe's skill as a GM earlier this year, and made a passing comment that he signed a top player in Souray. This was my own incompetence at work, as I hadn't yet studied the Souray signing in depth. Now that I've had a chance to do that, I'm more critical of the signing.
Of course, it's not our job to ask every single tough question that every fan wants asked, and we're not suck-ups, jerks and cowards if we fail to do that. If anyone reading this thinks the media should ask the tough questions to Lowe, I'd tell them to stop whining, pick up the phone and call Lowe, or e-mail him, and ask him their tough questions on their own.
We're not doctors or lawyers here in the media. We're not professionals. You don't need a license to ask anyone questions in this society.
We in the media are just gadflies, and anyone can do that job--me, you, anyone--and if people aren’t happy with the way we're doing the job of asking tough questions, then I encourage them to do it on their own. And, of course, some of you guys are doing that, but many of you could do more, such as starting to interview people directly rather than relying on mass media types to do this work.
There’s a bit too much passive aggressive whining on the Oilogosphere about the mass media. So, again, before anyone complains about the mass media again, why not try to contact the Oilers directly and see if you can get an answer?
Do you believe they ask the tough questions? Do you think the hockey media in Edmonton get an unfair ride from critics, in particular critics throughout the Oilogosphere (including BoA)?
I used to be really critical of beat reporters myself, but I'm not so much any more, not now that I've seen up close the big entertainment machine that the NHL is, how tough all the travel is, how tough all the deadlines are, how tough it is just to crank out that copy on a daily basis and deal with the players and the coach and the Oiler bosses.
You go to the press box, it appears like those guys don't even get to watch the game they are so busy writing throughout the action. It is a quiet, serious place, that press area.
This is a difficult job, not a dream job, certainly not my dream job. So, yes, I think there is way too much uniformed criticism of beat hockey writers. That said, reporters can get too tight with their subjects in all aspects of journalism, and that can happen covering a hockey team, too. So it's important for reporters to be aware of all aspects of the various issues out there and find out all they can about these issues.
Sometimes beat reporters don't do this, but sometimes they don't have the time to do it, either, so I always keep that in mind when I'm tempted to judge them. They live their lives at a terribly difficult pace.
5) More and more teams are posting transcripts, podcasts, and videos on their own sites; put another way, teams are providing fans what they want them to know directly. The logical niche for a reporter who spends a lot of time around the team, then, would seem to be providing fans with the other information; the stuff the team might not be keen to have the fans know. However, there are some issues there too: traditionally reporters have been pretty discreet about this stuff, as the "price of access". Is there a future for the team beat reporter, and if so, what kind of value will they be providing to their readers?
The future of beat reporting is going to be inside information, talking to sources, finding out things other don't know. The future is aggressively making calls and getting answers. Whoever does this best will get the most readers.
The future will also be to sift though all the information out there and put together a package of information that the average fan can digest in about five or ten minutes.
And the future will be to get close enough to the athletes to write about them in a moving and human manner, because we all have a hunger to understand more about the human experience, especially as it is distorted and changed by the experience of big time NHL hockey.
6) Who are the unnamed "sources close to the team" that journalists like Jim Matheson use? I'm not asking you to give away the game here, but if you were to take Matty's equivalent in another NHL city, who is he getting his information from? Is it the GM? The guy who empties the GM's garbage? Someone in between, like an assistant GM?
I don't know who Matty's sources are. I will let you in on one trick, though. Say you are reading a story about a player wanting to be traded, and the main thrust of the story is attributed to "sources say." My advice is to check down further in the story, see if the player's agent is quoted. It could well be that part of the interview with the agent was off-the-record, and this is the "sources say" part, while the rest was on the record.
And regarding "leaks" in general: are leaks from an NHL team generally info that the GM actually wants to keep secret, or is it info that the GM wants the public to know, but wishes to pretend is confidential (for whatever reason)? This I don't know.
7) Kevin Allen, president of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, has repeatedly informed us that professional journalists are accountable in a way that bloggers are not. However, major daily newspapers in NHL cities print rumours and speculation all the time that end up being false.
Well, since we work for publications which are more easily the targets of lawsuits, we are accountable in that very important way. We have to be careful about what we write because it could cost tens of thousands of dollars if we defame someone. This is not a small issue, and I'm sure the first time a blogger on the Oilogosphere is sued -- and this could easily happen as people write unsubstantiated defamatory stuff here all the time -- then bloggers will realize just how accountable they are as well.
But, from bitter experience, newspaper reporters already know all about this issue.
We are also accountable to our editors, many of whom believe strongly in responsible journalism. Now, some of you guys also believe in responsible journalism, but that's not imposed upon you from above, that would be an admirable personal trait that you have somehow acquired. Many, many reporters also believe in responsible journalism, too. So, if they reported a trade rumour, they would present it as a rumour, not something to put much weight on. From experience, I know if Matty starts writing about a trade rumour, that is smoke that is worth paying attention to, because Matty is close to the fire (NHL managers and agents). Otherwise, I disregard trade rumours.
Are you aware of any professional hockey journalists or editors who have been fired, demoted, reassigned, or otherwise reprimanded for printing false information?
No. Not at the Journal. I've heard of Canadian journalists fired for plagiarism, though.
An outsider's impression is that since two or more people are people are involved in printing false information in the MSM (Main Stream Media), that absolves the individuals involved from suffering consequences. Is this impression wrong, and if so, why?
I'm not sure what kind of false information you mean. I'd need an example to answer this.
8) I know of only one hockey blog that made a name for itself by printing dubious and uncorroborated speculation, and even it has evolved a lot, away from straight rumour-mongering. Given the blogs truly are free to publish whatever speculation they please, without the constraints of an official editorial policy, why do you think this is?
Well, I think that blogs that publish rumours quickly lose their appeal. In the end, we all only have so much time, and we're not going to waste our time on useless information that never goes anywhere. I started to read Eklund, for instance, and even wrote a blog post about one Eklund rumour. I will not do that again, I suspect, and I never read Eklund anymore. Why would I waste my time on rumours he himself admits are almost never true? So if people want to write about rumours and such stuff, that's their business, but their business will dry up unless they become credible sources of real news.
9) Name five things you would change about the NHL if you were the league’s Commissioner. Changing nothing or less than five things is acceptable.
• Shrink goalie equipment back to 1980s levels.
• Go back to each team playing the other teams at home and away at least once per season.
• Get rid of the point for a shootout or overtime loss. If you lose, you lose.
• Commit to the Olympics into infinity.
• Institute mandatory drug testing where the testers show up unannounced, even in the off-season.
• Crack down on boarding, the least called offence in the NHL right now.
10) And finally, some more general questions.
a) Who is your favorite current Oiler?
Ladislav Smid.
b) Who is your favorite current non-Oiler?
Sidney Crosby.
c) Who is your all-time favorite Oiler?
Wayne Gretzky
d)Who is your all-time favorite non-Oiler?
Yvan Cournoyer
e)What is your greatest hockey memory?
Henderson scores!
f) What is your worst hockey memory?
I was in on a breakaway on my supposedly no-contact senior league team, got slashed from behind in the face, had my front tooth knocked down my throat. And I got the penalty when I attempted to take revenge.
g) Who is your favorite sports writer?
New York columnist Jimmy Cannon of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, who, according to Ernest Hemingway, wrote to end writing.
h) Who is your favorite non-sports writer?
Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
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