Anonymity screws up a lot of things. In the business of journalism, it ruins everything, unless you are a protected source under shield laws. Anonymous rumor reporting, most famously started by Eklund of HockeyBuzz.com, drew a lot of fanfare for doing something different. His use of a false identity, and the reporting of anything and everything that happened behind the scenes was enticing.
Shame how his reputation continued to falter as his rumor reporting hit the single digit percent of how right he was. This should have been the only lesson to the next wave of rumormongers, but it taught nobody. Incarcerated Bob, Manayunk Mike, NHLSourcesSay, and the enigma of all enigmas, Hockeyy Insiderr, have ruined Twitter this summer. After staying so quiet for so long, they have instantly appeared on the scene, and it's frankly annoying.
I always sided with bloggers. I suppose it makes sense that I would side with the faction I belong to. I've been a blogger since 2008. I remember when we all raged when the New York Rangers decreed that no bloggers will be allowed into the locker room post game. We all raged when the mainstream media, better known as MSM, turned their noses high at us. They didn't understand new media. They didn't understand that those who used it well could use it better than those with established positions.
What I failed to take into account is how much more MSM journalists have to put up with. How much their name is put on everything. If they make a mistake, or conduct themselves unprofessionally just once, they could lose their job, be sued, and find themselves with zero credibility for the future job search, should it come to that.
After learning with that, I couldn't help but want to side with MSM, even if they get annoying sometimes.
Part of that stems from a certain trend that has started with a rumor breaker that only goes by Hockeyy Insiderr. Honestly, his Twitter life goes a little something like that like this. He tweets everything he hears, meaning not everything he says is correct. He then brags to respected MSM members such as Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, among others, and tells them how great he is for being right. If he's wrong, oh, don't worry, he won't suffer a thing for it. After all, he's anonymous. No one can fire him, tell him he is out of line, or anything.
It makes me absolutely sick.
If Dreger or McKenzie made the mistakes that Insiderr has made throughout his entire career as a "trade breaker", then the TSN crew would be devoid of credibility, and perhaps out of a job. I don't think it's anything close to fair that Insiderr can get away with just about anything he wants to, simply because he's anonymous.
Insiderr was a guest on a podcast with another rumor monger named Incarcerated Bob. He revealed he was a 37 year old player who was drafted into the NHL in 1993. Rumor has it he is Alexandre Daigle, or perhaps Adam Deadmarsh. The point is, this shouldn't matter. If he wants to be a real man about breaking rumors, then he should show the world his real face. It's outright sad that his own family doesn't know that he has taken up this self-righteous character.
Additionally, last night, Insiderr broke a rumor posted by someone else that Wayne Gretzky had a heart attack. Not only is this absolutely devoid of ethics without having it confirmed, but it's outright wrong, period. You don't do that if you're a respected journalist. And that's the difference between him and the respected journalists all over the world, working for the common man to know the issues of the world.
This insider, and other anonymous ones everywhere are a blight to actual journalism. I doubt the man behind the Insiderr character has not once had any training in journalism. He thought he could be something special by being anonymous. Kudos to you, you've gained quite a following. But know this. You are no journalist, and you should quit doing this while you're ahead.
Real journalists will be right in the end. #CONFIRMED.
