We have heard the term “state media” thrown around a lot in recent years. It was CNN’s favorite insult to hurl at FOX News during the Trump years. While FOX certainly banged the drum for the 45th president, that administration was more shaped by FOX’s opinions than vice versa.
Right now we are dealing with actual state media. As Russia continues its assault on Ukraine, news coming from government-owned media outlets like RT and Sputnik paints a wrong and rosy picture of how the war is going for the aggressors. It is pure propaganda that some nations have outright banned. Here in the US, we have left it up to corporations to limit their reach.
Some sports media outlets operate like state television. How could they not when they are owned by the leagues or conferences? At the end of the day, they exist not to break news but to read and write press releases.
DeShaun Watson is the sun at the center of the sports universe right now. We have speculated for nearly a year about what a trade for him might look like. Teams bided their time last year after 22 women accused the then-Texans quarterback of sexual misconduct, but as soon as a grand jury failed to indict Watson on any charges, it was game on and the Cleveland Browns sealed the deal last week.
It is going to be hard for sports radio to talk about Watson. How much talk of the claims against him is too much? Avoiding that conversation entirely isn’t right either.
A friend that does radio in a market that DeShaun Watson chose to shun asked me what a good rule of thumb for finding that balance was. After a weekend of pondering, all I could come up with was to avoid letting yourself become state media.
Adam Schefter sent out a poorly worded tweet after the grand jury chose not to indict Watson. Social media jumped all over the ESPN reporter for a post that read as if it came directly from Watson’s legal team.
I give Schefter credit for acknowledging that the criticism was fair, but honestly, I don’t know what else he was supposed to do. The tweet really did read like something that had been dictated to him. It was state media for Watson.
Now, as we sit back and wait for punishment to be handed out from the NFL, we need to be wary of the same thing. Just because Watson wasn’t found guilty or even indicted by a court, does not mean there are no grounds for punishment from the league. Remember, long ago players and fans signed off on the idea that the burden for punishment in the NFL was lower than what is and is not legal. In order to protect the shield, everyone agreed to let the commissioner be the judge, jury, and executioner when it came to suspensions.
I don’t have a lot of faith in the NFL Network when it comes to dealing with this next phase of the DeShaun Watson story. We just saw Calvin Ridley get suspended indefinitely for betting on games, something that is legal and that the league fully endorses and there was no mention of that odd fact on any of the league’s state media outlets.
By the way, I’m not saying that I don’t see the problem with active players betting on games. I am just saying the NFL is choosing a very stupid thing to break out an indefinite suspension for. We all know that won’t be in the cards for Watson, and therein lies the problem and the basis for my guidance.
This is going to be hard for Roger Goodell to get right. We have already seen the Cleveland Browns get ripped apart for their statements on the due diligence the team did as it made its decision on DeShaun Watson. What self-respecting journalist, host, or commentator would want to be accused of carrying water for them or for Roger Goodell when he announces that this only amounts to a four-to-six-game suspension?
Understand what I am saying here. I am not telling you that the only way to talk about and cover Watson is from the point of view that he is a bad guy that is undeniably guilty and should be buried underneath a prison. Maybe you aren’t a journalist or even a host that wants to get caught up talking about what is right and wrong when it comes to DeShaun Watson, Roger Goodell or anyone else. That is perfectly acceptable. I am telling you to watch for pitfalls and don’t let yourself inadvertently get caught up in anyone’s PR push.
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
