Dead Spin: Shaka Smart-To-Marquette Reports Came From Student Journalist

[Tugg Speedman]

Deadspin source is the unflappable "Dudes on Sports"

https://sportsdudes.squarespace.com/dudes-on-hoops/2014/3/25/shaka-smart-to-marquette-a-hoax-set-up-by-journalism-students-on-twitter

Of the millions of BS tweets they pick one from a MUTV student and proclaim this was the butterfly wing flap that caused the hurricane on the other end of the earth.


When this turns out to be a bogus as VCUInsider, who deadspins deadspin?

-------------------------------------------

Shaka Smart-To-Marquette Reports Came From Student Journalist

http://deadspin.com/shaka-smart-not-actually-marquettes-new-coach-despite-1550922499/1551468628/+bubbaprog



The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel now tells us Shaka Smart is not likely to take the head basketball coaching position at Marquette. Why, then, were TV stations in Milwaukee all breathlessly reporting the breaking news that he'd be the new leader of the Golden Eagles ? A source inside one of those newsrooms tells us this tweet from a MU student reporter is the one that prompted the breaking news alert and at least three stations to send a live truck and reporter out to a press conference that did not exist.

So here's the lesson for college journalists: "real" media will take you seriously...once. (Then you grow up and go to work for the New York Post.)

Here's a sampling of Milwaukee newscasts from this evening. They all assert that current VCU head basketball coach Shaka Smart is taking over for Buzz Williams at Marquette. One problem: that's not true.

Oh, sure, Marquette may land Smart in the end. But actual people who'd know—people like ESPN's Jeff Goodman—say MU's nowhere near signing the in-demand head coach. Then why did every news station report it as a done deal?

The truth is hard to sort out, because none of the stations identified their sources. But here's how clueless Milwaukee TV was today: they drove their trucks over to Marquette's campus for a hoax press conference—this after assuring viewers that "sources close to the Marquette basketball program" leaked them the info that Smart had signed on the dotted line. (Both Marquette and VCU insist nobody's spoken to Smart about a new job.)

It's worth noting that Marquette is a rudderless ship at the moment; it lacks both a president and an athletic director, so getting the kind of approval for a salary that can pull Shaka Smart out of Richmond would be quite the task to begin with, we're assuming. But, then, the Marquette athletic department is having its own bit of fun with all this. Amidst the erroneous TV reports, they promised an important announcement at 5:00 p.m. That announcement was this:

    #mubb announces ...... team banquet will be April 15 at Harley-Davidson Museum. @comedysportz Sign up now!! http://t.co/YJeO2BHdni

[esotericmindguy]

Makes for a better story this way. It's not true.

[jficke13]

Throwing a lot of shade at that student journalist. The kid was probably just reporting what our infallible lord and master, IWB, tweeted.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Reminds me of this

http://deadspin.com/pranked-tv-station-reports-ho-lee-fuk-wi-tu-lo-as-758955806

Ho Lee Fuk

[Eldon]

Reminds me of this

http://deadspin.com/pranked-tv-station-reports-ho-lee-fuk-wi-tu-lo-as-758955806

Ho Lee Fuk

Heel. Arious.

[GOO]

MUScoop came out of this okay as well.  Dodds and IWB not so much.  Kind of funny, given how they look down on MUScoop.
I wish neither any ill will, nor want to bash them.  Just too bad, is all, the way this went.

[NivTastic]

I hope this kid's parents have a nice basement

[krocheck]

You know these are good aspiring journalists.  I find it to be a good learning experience that they stumbled and fell here, now rather then to encounter this with a real job and face termination.  The whole situation that was stirred up is a great case study for the good and bad of Twitter and social media, and rather then read about it they just lived it.  They're good kids ... they'll figure it out.

Keith

[Tugg Speedman]

You know these are good aspiring journalists.  I find it to be a good learning experience that they stumbled and fell here, now rather then to encounter this with a real job and face termination.  The whole situation that was stirred up is a great case study for the good and bad of Twitter and social media, and rather then read about it they just lived it.  They're good kids ... they'll figure it out.

Keith

Your premise is wrong.  It was IWB that caused everything and tricked the local media.  That's not as sexy so deadspin chose to believe it was the MUTV student tweets (via that rock solid source "dudes on sports") because that makes a better story.

Don't fool yourself for a second, deadspin is as bad as those they call out.

[krocheck]

Very true on the IWB thing and Deadspin in general.  But there's no denying there's some lessons to be learned, and they're taking notes.

[79Warrior]

Very true on the IWB thing and Deadspin in general.  But there's no denying there's some lessons to be learned, and they're taking notes.

If they were paying attention in J-class this would not have happened. Careers have been ruined on stupidity.

[krocheck]

FWIW ... he retracted and apologized

http://marquettewire.org/2014/03/26/tv/shaka-smart-is-not-coming-to-marquette-an-apology/

[Windyplayer]

Way to own up to it. Solid character.

HOWEVER, if Shaka does end up coming; then the headline suggests that he jumped the gun again.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

It doesn't seem like he can really be sure that he was the source of it all.  He jut went out and tweeted what he thought.  I get that he works for MUTV and that gives him some level of credibility.  But I doubt that Ganzer and Roy Schmidt would go way out on a ledge predicting Shaka to MU just because a sophmore at MU tweeted it.

[RyanConroy]

He may have been the source of the bogus "announcement" but certainly not all of this. Terrible Deadspin article. As bad as the reporting we saw on Monday.

[krocheck]

What I was hearing is that Deadspin reached out to a couple of the affiliates and they did throw the student under the buss.  Whether that was their actual basis for going all in or not, well, that's what I heard.

[Bo Ryan's Massage Therapist]

This student journalist Cianciolo is largely responsible for the egg on Marquette's face. This guy completely turned this into a circus. It's bad enough he's a badger fan. Make sure your info is correct. Thank you for apologizing but that's not good enough.  Quoting incorrect sources as an MUTV journalist is plagiarism. It should be treated as such and he should be reprimanded. I'm pissed!

[jficke13]

This student journalist Cianciolo is largely responsible for the egg on Marquette's face. This guy completely turned this into a circus. It's bad enough he's a badger fan. Make sure your info is correct. Thank you for apologizing but that's not good enough.  Quoting incorrect sources as an MUTV journalist is plagiarism. It should be treated as such and he should be reprimanded. I'm pissed!

Yeah boy if it weren't for a college sophomore (who might be the kid of a long-time MKE radio guy, the names are similar) essentially retweeting the guy that this board and fan base held up as the infallible voice of God in the world of MU bball, none of this would have ever happened. How dare he.

[ChicosBailBonds]

FWIW ... he retracted and apologized

http://marquettewire.org/2014/03/26/tv/shaka-smart-is-not-coming-to-marquette-an-apology/

I'm having a hard time believing the news media trusted a 19 year old student as their source.

[Bo Ryan's Massage Therapist]

I know for a fact that many did.  I'll leave it at that. I don't think this is the last hate he will hear of it.  Plugging internal leaks is a problem.  Unfortunately his internal leak was way off.   

[Atticus]

What happened to the photo of the student holding the sign welcoming Shaka to MU? That belongs in the Hall of Shame.

[Earl Tatum]

I worked for a newspaper for 20 years and the person I least respect is a newspaper reporter. At least 90%
write what they want to. The student is a complete Fool.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I know for a fact that many did.  I'll leave it at that. I don't think this is the last hate he will hear of it.  Plugging internal leaks is a problem.  Unfortunately his internal leak was way off.   

It would seem to me that they would need multiple sources, and if they only had one and it was this kid, that just seems ricockulous to me.  I suspect when you hear Mark Miller (respected bball guy), IWB (MU insider), Bullseye, etc all saying it (though they likely had the same source) that in addition to other comments is more likely.

Seems like a lot of people got burned, unless Goose is right.

[nyg]

I worked for a newspaper for 20 years and the person I least respect is a newspaper reporter. At least 90%
write what they want to. The student is a complete Fool.

Again, all they want to do is say they were the first ones to break the story for their journalistic resume.  The young student even admitted it, but he is young and may never happen again, but the act was done.  

[ChicosBailBonds]

What happened to the photo of the student holding the sign welcoming Shaka to MU? That belongs in the Hall of Shame.

OH, trust me, you will see that photo on the Wisconsin message boards for the next 25 years

[Bo Ryan's Massage Therapist]

Only one person I announced a 5 PM press conference. It was this kid. I WB and Mark Miller did not. The bull's-eye brothers did not. Only this clown.  That is what send things into hysteria. Even Dodds believed it.  I could be wrong but I think Dodds may have a connection with him

[krocheck]

I'm having a hard time believing the news media trusted a 19 year old student as their source.

So am I.  I don't think they all did, but at least one of them did throw him under the bus according to the Deadspin follow-up linked in the OP.  Reality is that it doesn't matter and they were all following the various tweets from IWB and the like.  Classic scapegoat theory, unfortunately.  The vast majority of people on this board got it right and pointed the finger at IWB.  Twitter world and the media went this other direction, which is incredibly dumb and unfair.

Anyone jumping on the kid is on the wrong side of this issue IMO.

[jficke13]

OH, trust me, you will see that photo on the Wisconsin message boards for the next 25 years

Only if you're dumb enough to go over to any cess pool affiliated with UW.