GOLDEN COVERAGE
What is it about covering Al Golden that leads to so much inaccurate reporting? (Can’t blame Golden for this.)
In January, three media members (Gary Ferman, Andy Slater and Atlanta-based Marc James) incorrectly reported Penn State was set to hire Golden.
This week, WQAM-560’s Marc Hochman said on-air that a “UM confidant” told him Golden might be “gone” that night and that a Trustees meeting was being held later that day. Neither part of that report was accurate.
Hochman said, on air, that he’s not at fault because he told listeners that he’s not a journalist and was merely reporting what someone told him.
But fashioning yourself as an entertainer, not a journalist, doesn’t eliminate accountability for reporting misinformation. Hochman should have investigated the tip (at least call UM for a comment, as several writers did) and determined the accuracy before sharing it.
### UM isn’t happy with WQAM, not only because of Hochman’s false alarm but also because of Kuperstein’s report Thursday that claimed Golden sent an email to coaches giving them the weekend off and citing “compliance” and “Raising Canes” videos as reasons UM struggled against Pittsburgh.
Kuperstein said UM's compliance office allowed seniors to speak to agents before the Pittsburgh game and that his source believes that is what Golden was referencing.
UM called Kuperstein’s report “patently false,” adding that Golden never said anything of the kind and that coaches don’t have the weekend off. (Golden did send a text to UM players giving them the weekend off.) Kuperstein, who has broken several UM stories including Kevin Olsen’s suspension, responded to UM’s denial by saying his source is “good.”
Kuperstein also said the purported email to coaches included a reference to UM having a grueling schedule "with nine night games." Some UM fans have mocked Golden for mentioning UM having a lot of night games, but college coaches typically prefer earlier games so they get a jump-start on the next week. There are assuredly reasons for criticizing Golden, but this isn't one of them.
Golden, in giving his players the weekend off, mentioned "the nine night games" in his text to them, but only in the context of it having been a long year, according to someone briefed on the text.
WQAM general manager Joe Bell declined to comment on the Hochman or Kuperstein reports, but UM has been in contact with the station to express concern.
The bigger question raised by the Kuperstein story is whether someone on Golden’s staff is trying to sabotage him.
What was leaked to Kuperstein leaves Golden open to ridicule from a fan base that's largely looking for any ammunition to criticize him. And Kuperstein's source assuredly knows that. So all of this makes you wonder whether someone at UM is trying to undermine Golden or make him appear as if he's reaching for excuses.
