TRUTH BE SPOKEN !!
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http://www.macarthuradvertiser.com.au/story/2449152/potter-story-nearly-beaten-to-death/?cs=3757
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OR too long journalists have used the line "I won't reveal my sources" to cover up their own inaccurate reporting or, in some cases, the fiction they demanded a byline for.
On Sunday, Wests Tigers coach Mick Potter woke to a News Limited article that stated as of that night, he would be out of a job courtesy of a disgruntled club board of directors.
Predictably, the punchline failed to deliver.
Three days later Potter still has a job — and you can bet that same journalist who demanded a credit for the Sunday "exclusive" does, too.
So who are the ones that suffer as a result of this misinformation?
It sure as hell isn't the journo.
But ask Mick Potter and captain Robbie Farah how they feel about the story.
I'm sure they've both experienced sleepless nights this week.
Ask the other journalists — even those from rival publications — in the coming days, weeks, months and years, about how hard it is to extract information from Potter or Farah.
Rest assured the usually accommodating and forthright Potter, will be particularly on guard when approached by reporters.
When you get burnt like that, the scars don't heal quickly.
Farah can be prickly to speak to at the best of times but how could anyone possibly begrudge him for being anything but icy towards reporters after being accused — again without any solid proof — as the mastermind behind his own coach's demise.
Former player Gordon Tallis claimed on Sydney radio that Farah told him last year "Potter couldn't coach".
It's hardly motive.
Farah wasn't the first, nor will he be the last, to take a pot shot at his boss.
But there's a difference between letting off steam — in what one presumes is a private conversation — and scheming their downfall.
For the record, Farah denied the comments.
There is no doubt that with the increase in corporate dollars, the boundaries between sport and entertainment have become increasingly blurred.
However, the importance of accurate and fair reporting should never be a grey area.
It's in everybody's interests.
