Clueless writing about our sport

[tandfman]

I've been meaning to do this for a long time. I regularly come across news articles that are hopelessly uninformed about some aspect of our sport. My reaction is usually just to shake my head in disbelief. But some of these examples of journalistic ineptitude are so egregious that they ought to be preserved for posterity, in order that others may share in the astonishment.

So here's one to start the thread. Please feel free to contribute other examples, but let's keep this to real howlers, not minor factual errors or things that are incorrect because of a technicality.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201312190846.html

RUNNERS Gerald Phiri and Titus Kafunda have been picked to represent Zambia at the International Associations for Athletics Federation (IAAF) 2014 World Indoor Championships to be held in Holland.

I hope they don't buy these guys plane tickets to Amsterdam. The meet is in Poland, not Holland.

[Marlow]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

I regularly come across news articles that are hopelessly uninformed about some aspect of our sport. My reaction is usually just to shake my head in disbelief.

You are a dissembler, prevaricator and scoundrel! You are not the LEAST surprised at the most horrific journalistic blunders concerning our sport. You have experienced them as the the rule, not the exception, and have come to EXPECT it! :twisted:
The most common one involves the breaking of some record (or being a record-holder), when in truth, the athlete in question did/is no such thing. :roll:

[lonewolf]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

A recurring annoyance is referring to the Sprint Medley as Spring Medley.

[gh]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

There's a term for typing "spring medley" but I can't recall what it is. It's when your brain is so committed to typing a common word that when you type a similar one, you type the more common one without realizing it.

There are def. instances of spring medley having made it into the pages of T&FN.

In at least some cases, has nothing to do w/ clueless writing. It's brain betrayal.

[KevinM]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

I've been meaning to do this for a long time. I regularly come across news articles that are hopelessly uninformed about some aspect of our sport. My reaction is usually just to shake my head in disbelief. But some of these examples of journalistic ineptitude are so egregious that they ought to be preserved for posterity, in order that others may share in the astonishment.

Unfortunately it's not limited to track. I see errors almost any time I read stories related to topics about which I am smarter than the average bear (e.g., track or my professional field).

[Blues]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

Because of personal interests, one of my "favorites" is when some sports media articles that are intended for the general public discuss PED use and repeatedly state that because an athlete was tested numerous times (or recently) during in-competition testing and didn't test positive, it serves as adequate proof that the particular athlete doesn't use or hasn't used PEDs... I saw this in various media sources quite a few times during the past year.

[KevinM]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

Because of personal interests, one of my "favorites" is when some sports media articles that are intended for the general public discuss PED use and repeatedly state that because an athlete was tested numerous times (or recently) during in-competition testing and didn't test positive, it serves as adequate proof that the particular athlete doesn't use or hasn't used PEDs... I saw this in various media sources quite a few times during the past year.

Unfortunately you see that assumption on track and field fan message boards as well.

[Daisy]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

In at least some cases, has nothing to do w/ clueless writing. It's brain betrayal.

And don't forget autocorrect that can changes things without you noticing.

[booond]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

In at least some cases, has nothing to do w/ clueless writing. It's brain betrayal.

And don't forget autocorrect that can changes things without you noticing.

And the T and G are above one another so fat-fingering the keyboard is an answer for that issue. What isn't an excuse is not editing your work. It is obvious that most Internet writing is not edited, even at the largest sites.

[Marlow]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

And the T and G are above one another so fat-fingering the keyboard is an answer for that issue. What isn't an excuse is not editing your work. It is obvious that most Internet writing is not edited, even at the largest sites.

As a TOE I am used to immediately proofreading whatever I write, even here, yet invariably I find an error some time later. Nature of the beast.

[pickle47]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

Wait a sec! You're telling me that the guys/gals at T&FN type the word SPRING more often than the word SPRINT, thus making it their brain default? :mrgreen:

Cads and imposters!!

[Gabriella]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

My bug bear isn't the occasional athletics writer who covers many sports for a paper, it's the specialised publications and general poor quality journalism and statistics.

The IAAF articles are so often full of cliches, it's like there's this set format that they follow for every article or meeting review. There's never any proper analysis or observation of an athlete's performance, it's always about the time/mark and statistics. I can go straight to the results page if I just want to know the results of a race, but I want to see some analysis from the so called experts. When they do previews, they discuss the main contenders (only ever detailed when it's a given who will be fighting for the top medals) and when it comes to bronze or outsiders it's like they have just looked at the top ten list and go "athlete A scored B in June and is an outside chance of a medal. Athlete X also did Y in July and must be considered". Oh really? :roll:
The ability to write creatively and provide a proper analysis just seems to have been lost over the years, on the IAAF site itself and in some UK publications.

Also, many of the athletes bios on the IAAF site are wrong. Many SBs are missing or incorrect from their progression tabs on an athlete.

[Marlow]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

The IAAF articles are so often full of cliches, it's like there's this set format that they follow for every article or meeting review. There's never any proper analysis or observation of an athlete's performance, it's always about the time/mark and statistics. . . .The ability to write creatively and provide a proper analysis just seems to have been lost over the years,

Watch any of the (dozens of!) NFL analysis shows and you see the thread-bare paucity of new material. I see it in most T&F reporting also. It's hard to be original, but, yes, it can be done. It's not like the poor baseball scribes, covering the night game, and facing a deadline 5 minutes after the game!

[tandfman]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

How about this for clueless writing:

http://athleticsillustrated.com/editori ... -olympics/

You don't have to read beyond the URL--a serious piece that's hard to take seriously when you see that the writer thinks that the 2018 Winter Games are going to be held in Tokyo.

[shivfan]

Re: Clueless writing about our sport

Clueless writing about our sport...the many misleading articles in the British and American press about Jamaica and drugs.