There’s a scene in the fabulous David Fincher movie Zodiac when San Francisco police inspector David Toschi expresses a healthy skepticism about a television news report. His partner Bill Armstrong sarcastically retorts: “It’s very real. You know how I know? Because I saw it on TV.”
Television remains our most powerful and influential medium. When information is delivered through video, it carries a certain weight that gives it credibility. As a result, when potential misinformation appears, there tends to be a harsh backlash from fellow media members.
The latest person to be annoyed by hearsay is Alec Lewis, who covers the Minnesota Vikings for The Athletic.
Last week, Lewis criticized the regurgitation of a Justin Jefferson trade rumor. He posted on X: “You can just say anything in this media environment, and no matter who you are someone will believe it and give it life, and there will be no repercussions for being totally wrong. What a time.” He emphasized his point by quote-tweeting a clip of Michael Lombardi discussing the trade rumor on The Pat McAfee Show.
You can just say anything in this media environment, and no matter who you are someone will believe it and give it life, and there will be no repercussions for being totally wrong. What a time. https://t.co/Z6wp11wBcw
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) May 31, 2024
For the record, this all started with Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writing “there was buzz at draft time that the Vikings wanted to move from No. 11 to No. 5, not to pick a quarterback but to get LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, who was picked No. 6 by the Giants. Had that trade occurred, Jefferson would have been traded and Nabers would have been the No. 1 receiver.”
Walters’ “report,” if we want to call it that, was examined in other media circles. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said he’d heard those rumors but added he could not confirm this potential deal was real. Dianna Russini of The Athletic went a step further, writing that high-level sources with the Vikings told her, “That’s simply bogus.”
“Buzz” is a term you used to see mostly in entertainment reporting. It mentions a rumor without taking responsibility for that information. Such as: ‘There’s a buzz that (insert superstar actor) and (insert famous singer) are secretly engaged.” This isn’t traditional journalism. If you can’t verify information, it probably shouldn’t be reported. However, once that rumor appears on a televised platform, it can give gossip an authenticity that it may not warrant.
That’s the power of TV. When Lombardi mentioned the Jefferson rumor on The Pat McAfee Show, it seemed a legitimate possibility instead of pure speculation. To be fair, Lombardi is not a journalist, he’s an analyst. The former NFL executive is paid to give opinions. But Lombardi stated it as if it were a fact. And once discussed on a show that reaches a substantial audience, it’s a rumor that cannot be ignored.
It’s unknown whether Lewis was taking issue with Walters, Florio, Lombardi, or McAfee. However, the Jefferson trade rumor speaks to the blurring of lines between reporting and rumors. (And in the end, any trade here didn’t happen, and the Vikings signed Jefferson to a massive extension Monday.)
Reporters hear rumors all the time. That’s the nature of the business. Rumors can be valuable because they can lead to great stories once you get people talking and can substantiate information.
But you’re supposed to exercise great care and not act like you have eavesdropped on chatter from a sewing circle.
We may never know the truth behind the Jefferson rumor. Walters might be 100 percent right. But by using the word “buzz,” he gives himself an easy out if his information is wrong. That’s not what traditional journalism should be.
Of course, we live in an era where many in the media don’t adhere to the old rules.
Insiders don’t reveal conflicts of interest. Sources sometimes use reporters to advance their agenda. Large media companies are in bed with the leagues they cover. But if we don’t make a clear distinction between rumors and facts, the line gets so opaque that it’s hard to see the truth.
It’s all a good reminder that just because we see it on TV, that doesn’t mean it’s real.
