Globe-Trotter

Back before I got my first real taste of working for a newspaper in college and discovered it is a soul-sucking existence which leaves you desperate to just see the sun, I really wanted to be a newspaper journalist. Specifically I wanted to write for the Boston Globe sports section. If you aren't from Massachusetts allow me to explain - much like people from New Hampshire are forced to pick Red Sox or Yankees from an early age and then shunned if they try to switch allegiances, if you live in the Bay State you have two choices for newspapers - The Boston Globe or the Boston Herald and once you have picked one you almost never look at the other. And really, in my youth it wasn't a very fair fight. The Globe sports section had Bob Ryan, Peter Gammons, Will McDonough, Jackie MacMullan and Leigh Montville (even Shaughnessy hadn't yet turned to his trollish current style yet). Meanwhile the Herald countered with... I couldn't even tell you because, as I said, I grew up in a Globe family. That is why I was so disturbed a couple of years ago when I heard the Globe was having serious money problems and the New York Times Company was desperate to offload their ownership of the paper. I mean, I know all newspapers are going through major issues at the moment trying to adapt to an online world that they should have seen coming, but I always thought if Boston was about to become a one-paper town it would be after the Herald folded. That is why it initially felt like good news when it was revealed on Saturday that billionaire John Henry had agreed to buy the paper for $70 million. And yes, it is good news that the paper will keep on going but there is one giant aspect of this story which keeps it from being universally celebrated.

The one thing you want from any newspaper is to know the information it is giving you is correct and without bias. (Which is why, even though this is not a newspaper, this is the part where I must disclose that my mom works for the Globe as a customer advocate.) And while John Henry is a tech-savvy guy who will probably find ways to increase the paper's online presence, keeping it relevant and making sure it will continue on for years to come, he is also known to be very private and introverted, mostly communicating by email. That means there is a very small chance he will actually have much say in the day-to-day voice of the Globe or its reporters. Still, there is one small problem - John Henry also happens to own the Boston Red Sox. That means he now owns one of the most talked-about institutions in the city and also the company which drives most of that discussion. Of course this particular conflict is nothing new, as the New York Times used to have an ownership stake in the Red Sox which is probably why Henry got the paper relatively cheaply. (By comparison, the Washington Post was also sold this weekend to one of the founders of Amazon and that had a price tag of $250 million.) However, now there is just one face which had become the symbol for all the problems with this arrangement. Henry may not want to draw a connection between his two business ventures, but there are going to be plenty of people willing to do it for him.

The people I actually feel bad for are the sportswriters for the Globe because they are officially in a no-win situation. As we saw two years ago when the Globe was leaked several unflattering comments regarding recently-fired manager Terry Francona, everyone assumed the quotes came from Larry Luchino himself and, fairly or unfairly, everyone made fun of the Globe for being another arm of the Red Sox publicity machine (I have to include myself in this because I agreed with all the conspiracy theorists and I will also say Henry breaking his normal radio silence to defend the team against these charges on an unannounced radio appearance had an air of protesting a little too much). The point is that going forward if anyone from the Globe writes anything positive regarding the Red Sox, which could very well be warranted given the good year the Sox are having, is going to be seen as pandering to their new owner. But even if they write something critical of the Red Sox there will still be those who think it is nothing more than the Globe's attempts to appear as if John Henry isn't pulling the strings. Hell, they won't even get credit should they actually break a news story regarding the Sox because everyone will just assume the team gave it to them because Henry wants increase the Globe's reputation. It's being damned if you do and damned if you don't, which is a hell of a fall for the once-mighty Globe Sports Section.

The problem is that people love their conspiracy theories so in situations like this there doesn't even need to be any collusion, just the appearance of it for people to run with that story line. Plus, if you have watched NESN in the last couple of years (also owned by the Red Sox and broadcasts all their games), it isn't hard to see why some think Henry is collecting all the assets necessary to control the narrative regarding the team because those guys are fully in the tank for the team - every move is going to work out great and a bad call is an umpire with an agenda. However, while a certain amount of homerism is both expected and wanted in a local baseball broadcast, there is no place for it in a news organization and especially not one with the reputation of The Boston Globe. The first sign of favoritism towards the new boss's other toy will lead to the paper being raked across coals by the rest of the media in this city. Of course, since I have always equated working in sports like working in the toy department, it could be that this is a non-issue to almost anyone else but since the only part of the paper I read every day is the sports section it is important to me. Still, I'm sure there are plenty of Globe employees who are happy about the purchase because it will answer a lot of long-standing questions about the future of the paper there are just as many in the sports department desperately wishing someone, anyone, else had come through with a better offer.