By Kyle Jorrey
Sports Editor
Ever since I took over the role of sports editor in the fall of 2002, I have tried to live by a credo that some may say is against the basic laws of objective journalism — I do not print stories that deal with the personal lives of athletes unless it’s with their consent.
What I mean by this is that I leave tabloid stories about Pepperdine athletes’ off-campus indiscretions and conflicts to the people in the news section. It then treats that story accordingly, reporting on the athlete as if he or she was a student and a person, not a member of a Waves team.
Though I’ve only had to make this decision once or twice in almost a year and a half, I still believe that The Graphic’s role is to help, not hinder our athletes and how they are viewed by the public; barring extreme instances of wrong doing.
I feel that it is part of my job to uplift our sports programs through complete, detailed, and accurate coverage, not drag them through the muck of typical university chit-chat. Athletes should be able to keep a certain level of privacy between team members and fans that I think is appropriate at the collegiate level.
Some may say I’m biased on the side of athletes, but that’s just how I view the purpose of a university sports section covering its collegiate sports.
Just this week, my section, my advisor, and I were accused of just the thing I have stood so staunchly against: unfairly misrepresenting an athlete. In this case, it was Carolina Llano, a member of the women’s golf team, for whom we did a story about her native city of Medellin, Colombia. In her opinion, the article’s headline and introduction displayed her hometown in a negative light, and only furthered American stereotypes associated with the Colombia.
Though I did not write the story, I came up with the idea for the subject and edited the story numerous times before it went to print, so I feel appropriate to respond.
First, I cannot say enough about how badly we at the sports section feel when a story meant to inform and inspire, instead, causes pain and hurt feelings.
We have long supported the efforts of our women’s golf team in its rise to national prowess, and for us, as fans, to be accused of attacking one of our own is extremely disheartening.
But at the same time, I believe for certain there was nothing done unethically on the part of The Graphic writer and this staff.
Since I was first hit by the news of the team’s displeasure, I have probably read the article over in my head 10 times. It begins, “Medellin, Colombia, has some of the world’s’ highest rates of murders, cocaine distribution and kidnappings … it leads the world with a record 4,637 homicides per year.” At this point, I am forced to agree with the team’s opinion that these facts, although researched and checked, do paint the city in a negative light.
It goes on, “It is home to ongoing guerrilla warfare, the world’s most famous drug trafficker, Pablo Escobar, and Pepperdine’s top women’s golfer…” These facts too, right up until the end, do not have anything nice to say about Colombia.
But then, in the very next paragraph, the writer introduces what, I believe, this story was truly meant to be about – humanizing Colombia and allowing the golfer to give her insight on the country.
It reads, “Llano … grew up in Medellin, and is quick to set the record straight about its notorious reputation.” The golfer then provides a different and very insightful perspective that contrasts the harsh realities presented in the beginning of the story – “You don’t see that Colombia is a beautiful country that is just going through difficult times.”
I think Llano is exactly right, and I think that’s what The Graphic writer was really trying to say.
The point of the series, “Where I’m from,” is to introduce Pepperdine students to places with which they may not be familiar, not exploit the social issues of foreign countries. In the case of Llano’s story, I feel the author’s message is that golf provided the athlete a means to rise up when so many around her were suffering.
As Americans, we always struggle with our own misperceptions, and these cultural boundaries often translate into the news media. In the case of Medellin, maybe we were too interested in the seedy facts, but so, I believe, is much of our audience. By allowing the foreign athlete to respond to the negativity Americans hear of Colombia in the media, we were hoping to provide the reader with a clearer picture of reality, and a more accurate worldview.
But that may not have been the message that was delivered, especially to a very important member of our audience — the story’s source — and for that I am most definitely regretful.
I can only hope the members of the Pepperdine team, who last season did more to turn me onto the world of women’s golf than Annika Sorenstram ever could, and this universities’ sports fans, can see our real intentions.
September 25, 2003