Why The Media Gets Bashed

The blogosphere is going off on a Knight-Ridder reporter named Bobby Calvan who managed to look like a complete jerk in an article he posted. He has since taken it down, but not before a couple hundred people bashed heck out of him in comments. And, unfortunately for his future peace of mind, not before Doc Weasel captured the whole thing.

With nothing to lose I decided to get pushy.

I asked him how he could not possibly know that Knight Ridder was one of the country’s largest newspaper chains. I told him that we’re bigger than the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times.

“I’m from Atlanta. I only know the Journal,” he said.

“I thought you said you also knew the Miami Herald,” I retorted.

“We’re bigger than the Journal,” I replied. “You never heard of Knight Ridder?”

He didn’t want to be embarrassed. He already looked irritated. He asked me if I knew the number of the military’s media office.

“I would if you’d let me switch on my phone,” I snapped. “What’s the use of these media badges if people like you aren’t going to honor them? Is this for nothing? Why don’t you call? That’s your job, isn’t it?” I made it known that I was jotting down his name.

My security man was struggling with a smirk on his face. He knew my plan. I was going to bully my way back into the Green Zone.

And right into the hearts of millions, Bobby old bean. The comments are hysterical:

17. Lou Minatti said:
October 24th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Robert, I doubt very much that our soldiers are impressed by a prima donna flashing a press badge. Looks like you stepped in it this time, doesn’t it?

18. xxx said:
October 24th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Wow, what an astonishing level of arrogance. People are getting killed over there every day at checkpoints like this, and you throw a hissy fit when asked for proper identification. They are only trying to keep people like you alive.

Plus, Knight Ridder is a second tier news organization. It is unlikely many people outside of the media business would have heard of it.

19. John G said:
October 24th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
You, my reporter friend, seem to be a horse’s patoot.

How do you think that soldiers at a check-point are supposed to “screen” folks going into and out of a “secure zone” unless the folks can produce decent ID. I hope that you avoid injury while you learn the ropes in a combat zone.

Anyway, Bobby, thanks for the laugh entirely at your expense. I needed one today. You horse's patoot.

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  By sam, October 25, 2007 @ 4:11 pm

  Thanks for pointing to that. The comments to the post provided the best laugh I have all day. It will be interesting to see how long Bobby Calvan remains employed at his current job.

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  By docweasel, October 25, 2007 @ 5:59 pm

  Thanks for the link. I’ve also posted emails I exchanged with Bobby C. Calvan before everything went kind of nuts, where he purports to be repentant, but then he took the entire blog down.

  I also got a letter from someone claiming to be a colleague, from the SacBee server, so may be legit, defending him.

  I posted that too.

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  By Gaius, October 25, 2007 @ 6:03 pm

  Yeah, I followed the link back and read what you had updated with. Thanks for posting that – it helped make the day a bit better for me.

Other Links to this Post

1. Defense of Bobby Calvan from a co-worker. « docweaselblog — October 25, 2007 @ 5:20 pm