A.G. Gancarski
In the wake of the Jacksonville Jaguars loss to the New England Patriots and referees Sunday, emotions ran high.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry — a major booster of the team — was no exception.
https://twitter.com/lennycurry/status/955292535957741568
“Media talking/writing heads that think sports are “silly” because it is “only a game”—- pound sand. These guys work their tails off, like u tell us you do. And risk All, unlike you. They represent the daily grind of most folks,” Curry Tweeted.
The statement was remarkable in that most every member of local media was cheerleading the Jags on social media, raising questions as to who was the straw man being attacked in the Tweet.
As early as Monday morning, reporters who weren’t in a position to publicly opine on this Tweet were messaging feverishly and privately, saying that Curry had no clue about the pressures that media members are under.
Indeed, from death threats to sexual harassment and threats, reporters in television, print, and other media deal with risks that Curry’s tweet discounted.
Some media members made their feelings known publicly.
Melissa Ross, the award-winning host of WJCT’s “First Coast Connect,” responded with crispness.
https://twitter.com/MelissainJax/status/955586830065459201
Curry’s Tweet also attracted the attention of journalists in the Duval Diaspora; namely, NPR stalwart Al Letson, who parlayed work on Jacksonville’s late-1990s spoken word scene into a career as one of the most thoughtful commentators of his generation.
Letson let loose with an epic thread.
2/ But your tweet represents a turn in American politics where Politicians try to separate journalist from the people. Frankly, it’s not cool. pic.twitter.com/QU3d0p7v50
— Al Letson (@Al_Letson) January 22, 2018
Letson wasn’t done.
“Look at the journalist in Jacksonville, who they are and what they do. You may not appreciate them because they push you, but for democracy to work, they must do their jobs. And in Jacksonville the journalist who every day grind it out, are loosing their jobs with the TU shrinking, smaller presses struggling, and wages being low. When you are trying to get it right, to tell the story for citizens to make informed decisions, and worrying about if you’ll have a job, I’d say that’s pretty close to the daily grind of most folks,” Letson tweeted.
Letson then launched into a critique of Curry’s priorities, saying that football “is just a game. Funding our kids future is not. Lowering the rate of AIDS infection on the Northside is not. Ppl getting tickets for walking across the street is not.”
“If our identity is only wrapped around a sports team… Then who are we? What we value in a stadium matters less than what we do outside the stadium.”
Numerous local journalists — including many on the City Hall beat — RTd Letson’s words.
Curry has beefed with the media before, of course. He defended Pres. Donald Trump‘s declaration of withdrawal from the Paris Accords, a global agreement designed to mitigate climate change by lowering carbon emissions.
More recently, he offered an omnibus critique of the local paper’s headlines.
Florida Times Union @jaxdotcom ,News Headlines should be based on facts That said, not surprised your headlines,are at times ,without balance and facts. It’s become a recurring thing.
— Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) January 13, 2018
One comment
Frankie M.
January 23, 2018 at 11:37 am
Talk about a sore loser. It’s a game. Players get paid alot of $$ to play a children’s game. They’re not out there protecting or serving overseas unless you count kneeling in London. They’re playing a game. Lighten up Lenny. Then again he’s entitled to his wrong opinion.
Comments are closed.