He's in the same situation as Reiss or any other Pats supporter on BSPN. In every war there are casualties.
I have it from a pretty high source in the Patriots communications department that they simply cannot and will not divulge anything resembling inside information to ESPN - and yes, that includes Reiss
Not that I (or I would hope any of you) really needed them to tell me that - as even if the Pats were inclined to trust Reiss they know that ESPN will actually change their reporter's stories if there's too much "truth" and they know exactly where that inside info is likely to go - the only thing they give him are the things they WANT to see published (and that includes misinformation.)
And what was Reiss' reaction when ESPN altered his stories where there was even the most mild defense of the Patriots?? Someone correct me if I'm wrong but did Mike Reiss issue an outraged statement about ESPN and his personal journalistic integrity?
I recall lots of OTHERS doing that - but Reiss was pretty silent aside from affirming that in fact, his story was substantially changed. It was the classic acknowledgement by Mike Reiss that he is on a tight leash and he knows it.
As Mike Reiss himself said at the time of the controversy over his altered story “I think ESPN does a lot of great things and can cover things in a great way."
Does that sound like a reporter who is even mildly upset that his articles are changed and quotes are falsely attributed to him? Let alone upset about 6 months perpetuating a lie (which Reiss himself contributed to) about 11 of 12 footballs?
I'd say that speaks volumes of Reiss' journalistic integrity - along with the fact that's clearly fine with Reiss since he's still at ESPN 2 years later - none of that sounds like a guy who thinks ESPN has been doing a bad job on it's coverage of Framegate to me
Has Mike Reiss even said anything at ALL critical about his ESPN colleague's false reporting that is STILL on the ESPN webiste? (again, correct me if I'm wrong because aside from Reiss' silent defense of his bosses, I can't recall seeing that)
Again - if Reiss published a substantial story critical of ESPN and Mortensen's several years publication of the "11 of 12" story, please let me know - because clearly I missed it - all I recall is his "7 takeaways" article and commentary on the ESPN ombudsman that soon became "5 takeaways" - which is far too little too late
But it's been crickets from Reiss and I think that tells you all you need to know about his current reporting and journalistic integrity
I do remember Reiss' "The Patriots must be held accountable" story where he continued to use the "11 of 12" propaganda - nor do I recall any angry rant from Reiss when ESPN actually attributed a quote to Reiss saying that Brady "apologized" for his role in the Deflategate controversy
The fact of the matter is, unlike Bruschi or other financially secure ex-football players (another reason why I hold Bruschi's game day commentary with higher regard than Reiss/ESPN), Reiss doesn't have several millions in savings and NEEDS his job and seems to accept that he can't say what he wants
Don't get me wrong - Reiss is not the only one in the NFL media that is a lap dog for their NFL/ESPN sources - they all depend on access to NFL teams for their trade and aside from Sally Jenkins and a handful of others bold enough to piss off a $60 billion business entity, most other reporters KNOW Goodell et al have been lying but have declined to write about it)
We've seen what happens to reporters who question ESPN too - they are quickly let go - and Reiss knows this
So no - while I don't think that ESPN has the ability to stop Bruschi from saying what he wants (in part because that's live, right out of Bruschi's mouth and not "editable" and it would take a lot more than his ESPN salary for Bruschi to be bought - even though I question him for supporting ESPN) I question EVERYTHING attributed to Reiss (as Reiss and we all know we can't say for sure he actually said or wrote it) - and note the OMISSION of any Sally Jenkins-ish story coming from Reiss' keyboards
Just let that sink in for a second folks before you go on a "Reiss is above reproach" rant
Any of Reiss's articles or quotes may or may not be his. They may in fact be ESPN editors - and what's worse, we will never know what Reiss really thinks since he can't or won't print it
That's ok with Reiss - or else he'd not be at ESPN
If Reiss leaves ESPN (or better yet - is fired) - I expect to see some more frank commentary from him - but for perceptions of his own integrity, I don't think you'll ever see Reiss share too much about how he allowed himself to be compromised by ESPN in return for a pretty good paycheck
