INQUIRER SPORTS COLUMNIST David Aldridge was fired in January. He was among the staff who were let go because of budget cutbacks.After everyone freaked out, Aldridge (on the right in the photo) was brought back. The management realized that Aldridge has a powerful voice that the staff and readership appreciate.
It's a good thing he's back. Not only is Aldridge among the most plugged in reporters covering the NBA (and other sports), he is a fine writer with compassion and sensibility. And yesterday, the Inquirer published one of his most poignant columns ever.
"I'm angry that people cry about Sean Taylor's death because he was an outstanding football player, as if his death has extra meaning because he had great closing speed," Aldridge wrote. "This is not about sports."
"We have buried 200 Sean Taylors in this city this year. We don't know what would have come of their dreams and hopes. They deserve our tears, too, for they may have been anonymous to you, but they weren't to their mothers and fathers, their best friends and lovers, their teachers and mentors."
Read his piece. It shows how the world of sports connects to society at large. He has taken an event and connected it to the issues facing our city, and the culture in general.
IN OTHER SPORTS NEWS: Joe Paterno is making Bill Conlin money, but if it wasn't for journalists, you never would have known.
ALSO: In Pittsburgh (and anywhere there is local news for that matter), they are using sex and football to draw in readers.
3 comments:
Aldridge's piece is amazing. Being a black man he was able to use his ability as a journalist to reach others in a different way. I only hope that more journalists will feel the need to no longer focus on the negative and instead attempt to make changes and use their ability to reach mass audiences in a positive way.
I don't think Aldrige being a black man has anything to do with why he was able to use his ability as a journalist. I do think, however, that it is impressive that he was able to seperate himself as a sportswriter, and write about something he felt other people would be able to relate to, and be just as passionate about. The proximity he used was right on, and I think he was able to write about something everyone else was thinking, but perhaps too afraid to voice.
You gotta love how David tells it like it is. And David Aldridge is great. George, your blog rules.
Todd
Post a Comment