Tiger woods and media conspiracy of silence.....

[andyandy]

it seems like pretty much half of the female population of the world has come out as having an affair with Tiger Woods, which surely begs the question, why did this story not break in the conventional sense, ie a kiss and tell? Instead it almost needed the build up of inuendo and speculation following the car crash for it to be broached....surely there were people in the media who knew about this long before the story broke?

Do journalists in America really have morals about breaking these kind of stories? That they would sit on something that would be a huge story because of the personal damage it would do? Or is it a case of not wanting to be sued? Or is it something of a corporate media tie up with (probably) the world's most corporate sportsman?

on an associated note, the british press are now resticted in reporting about Tiger woods due to our rather strict libel laws......is that good or bad? After all whose business is it really, beyond satisfying the purient interest of the general public?

what do people think?

 

[commandlinegamer]

on an associated note, the british press are now resticted in reporting about Tiger woods due to our rather strict libel laws......is that good or bad? After all whose business is it really, beyond satisfying the purient interest of the general public?

English press. I don't think there's an interdict in Scotland. Thanks to Jaggy Bunnet for this link from another thread:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/feb/22/lawrence.ukcrime5

From which I quote:

Scotland is a separate legal jurisdiction and injunctions obtained from the High Court in London are ineffective there. To stop publication north of the border, a court order would have to be obtained in the Scottish courts.

It's easy to say it's nobody else's business or that all he had to do was keep his pecker in his pants. What I think it boils down to is that if you're in the public eye, everything you do is potentially news; it's just a matter of spin.

As far as the US media keeping a lid on it initially I don't know. Given his squeaky clean image, maybe they just played it cool, waiting for corroboration.

 

[332nd]

I imagine that it's a combination of the media waiting for conformation and his being a nice enough guy that the people who knew didn't want to see him fall.

I mean when I was in grad school my roommates (male and female) and I unleashed a rain of debauchery on the UCONN liberal arts department that was never heard before and will never be heard again but few outside of those directly involved knew about it and no one saw the need to talk.

 

[Gazpacho]

Is it conspiracy paranoia to point out that the following are within the realm of the possible?

- Sabotaging a car
- Recruiting ne'er-do-wells to talk to the tabloids for money
- Using tabloids to prime the pump for more "credible" news organizations
- Promising to stop it all if the subject posts a prepared statement on his web site.

These aren't on par with holographic airplanes or lizard people, are they?

 

[Eos of the Eons]

Meh. He and the kids and the impending ex missus will all be fine. It's not like he killed somebody or is a pedo.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

it seems like pretty much half of the female population of the world has come out as having an affair with Tiger Woods, which surely begs the question, why did this story not break in the conventional sense, ie a kiss and tell? Instead it almost needed the build up of inuendo and speculation following the car crash for it to be broached....surely there were people in the media who knew about this long before the story broke?

Do journalists in America really have morals about breaking these kind of stories? That they would sit on something that would be a huge story because of the personal damage it would do? Or is it a case of not wanting to be sued? Or is it something of a corporate media tie up with (probably) the world's most corporate sportsman?

on an associated note, the british press are now resticted in reporting about Tiger woods due to our rather strict libel laws......is that good or bad? After all whose business is it really, beyond satisfying the purient interest of the general public?

what do people think?

The "original" affair story was being reported by the National Enquirer a week(?) or so before the crash. Which I suspect is what got the wife asking questions.

 

[Eyeron]

Because he's black. Any white folks who criticize any black person is a racist regardless of the criticism.

 

[I Ratant]

It's one of the noisiest conspiracies of silence I've heard and heard and heard........
Ambitious talented black guy with a white wife rises to the peak of a profession, and his dick shoots him down.
Why would that be news?

 

[Eddie Dane]

I know some journalists and editors.
They know some (sex) secrets of politicians. Affairs, visits to prostitutes and such.
They talk and gossip, but never make it a story.
I guess it would not be appreciated in the Netherlands, there is a cultural difference.

But my point is. There are actually media people who sit on a story like that and don't want to damage the subject of the story.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I heard that he just recorded a holiday album entitled "I'm Dreaming Of A White Mistress".

 

[I Ratant]

I know some journalists and editors.
They know some (sex) secrets of politicians. Affairs, visits to prostitutes and such.
They talk and gossip, but never make it a story.
I guess it would not be appreciated in the Netherlands, there is a cultural difference.

But my point is. There are actually media people who sit on a story like that and don't want to damage the subject of the story.

.
The Japanese balloons launched from Japan to float to the US and drop bombs were never mentioned in the WWII press, although some made it and people were killed.
JFK's almost public infidelities weren't published until that day in Dallas.
OTOH, knowing that some leaders have feet of clay and dicks of steel is worth spreading around, to show the public what scum they are electing.

 

[Meadmaker]

But my point is. There are actually media people who sit on a story like that and don't want to damage the subject of the story.

Not enough of them. I think I know far too much about his personal life as it is, and I've only heard the story through incidental contact in the car when I've got the news on, or a headline that pops up on My Yahoo.

But in the drug store checkout today, I saw that Brangie had a fight. Now that's news!

 

[Whiplash]

I figured the press have the ideal that things like this are personal or private, for the most part, unless it actually does end up breaking as a story everywhere else.. then they jump on it.

The way they didn't talk about JFK's affairs and so forth. And they often argued that Clinton's infedilities shouldn't be a story. It's a different world now I suppose, but I still think it's probably a good thing to act in that manner. It's really not anyones business what Tiger does in his personal life. Do we have some right to know? Do we not just want to know about it, as a means of gossip? Is it important, in the big picture, that he's having affairs? How is that really news? What about his right to privacy?

I realize some of what I said seems contradictory with my praising UC for outing the couple having an affair in the restaurant. But I think there is a difference between alerting someone else to an affair, and openly gawking and ogling about all the details endlessly after the fact. I think people shouldn't cheat, so I didn't have a problem with him alerting the other loved ones to the fact. I think that if you know someone is doing something wrong, and it involves family or loved ones, I think that you have a responsibility to let them know. But beyond that, the details and how they deal with it are their own business. Perhaps still contradictory, I don't know. It's just how I feel.

 

[William Parcher]

it seems like pretty much half of the female population of the world has come out as having an affair with Tiger Woods, which surely begs the question, why did this story not break in the conventional sense, ie a kiss and tell? Instead it almost needed the build up of inuendo and speculation following the car crash for it to be broached....surely there were people in the media who knew about this long before the story broke?

Do journalists in America really have morals about breaking these kind of stories? That they would sit on something that would be a huge story because of the personal damage it would do? Or is it a case of not wanting to be sued? Or is it something of a corporate media tie up with (probably) the world's most corporate sportsman?

on an associated note, the british press are now resticted in reporting about Tiger woods due to our rather strict libel laws......is that good or bad? After all whose business is it really, beyond satisfying the purient interest of the general public?

what do people think?

News of him having an affair (National Enquirer) may have been published as soon as they established it was legit.

Tiger is known for launching lawsuits and always winning them. This alone could cause many journalists to be more cautious.

Gossip rags like the NE pay huge amounts of money for these kinds of scoops especially if there are pictures. Many people know that and will go straight to that media for the big bucks (hence why you didn't see this in other media).

Go look at the JREF Sports section here for a great thread on this.

TMZ was quickest to scoop the dirt after the Cadillac crash. It seems that the wife got wind of the affair and then actually caught him. She snatched his cellphone and did a redial. Who answers at the other end? The mistress that was reported by the National Enquirer.

Some of what you said in the OP is ignorant assumption only because you are unaware of what was/is really going on with this specific incident.

 

[Gazpacho]

Meh. He and the kids and the impending ex missus will all be fine.

They're not going to divorce.

Because he's black. Any white folks who criticize any black person is a racist regardless of the criticism.

Because he's black, people are more willing to believe that he's a sex-obsessed animal. You can't tell me the stereotypes don't play into this.

 

[Gazpacho]

Ambitious talented black guy with a white wife rises to the peak of a profession, and his dick shoots him down.
Why would that be news?

Eh, never mind. I don't know what I was thinking. Race isn't an issue here at all.

 

[Skeptic]

I mean when I was in grad school my roommates (male and female) and I unleashed a rain of debauchery on the UCONN liberal arts department that was never heard before and will never be heard again but few outside of those directly involved knew about it and no one saw the need to talk.

Er... let us hope it's not you in your avatar...

 

[andyandy]

Some of what you said in the OP is ignorant assumption only because you are unaware of what was/is really going on with this specific incident.

not being completely up to date with every intimate detail of Tiger's sordid affairs? Maybe I'll take that as a compliment

 

[shadron]

Could it be, perhaps, that he is that rarity, a really discrete person?

 

[Skeptic]

it seems like pretty much half of the female population of the world has come out as having an affair with Tiger Woods,

I can't imagine what they find attractive in a tall, dark, handsome, successful millionaire.