Twitter Mail: Mark Whicker, Erin Andrews

My Twitter followers had plenty to say this week about a couple of media figures who found themselves under intense scrutiny for very different reasons: Orange County Register writer Mark Whicker, whose column detailing the sports events that kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard missed during her captivity was derided as the worst sports column ever, and ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews, who was the victim of a stalker who posted nude images of her online.

Your questions and comments, and my responses, on these two issues are below.


AJLlewellyn: Read your column on Mark Whicker...great job. Love how he blasted you for your honesty in a follow-up email. He needs help.
Thanks. I got a lot of feedback from people who thought I was too easy on Whicker, but he felt like I was too hard on him. You can't please everyone.

jeffwagenheim: I don't think you ripped whicker. You reported what's been said about him, and gave him his say. Surprised by his response.
I was surprised by his response, too. I really felt like I went out of my way to be fair to him.

akaustin79: You're dead on with your Whicker article. I can see his reasoning but "more palatable"? Like "You left the yard?" Sick.
The whole column was bad, but I think the worst part of it was the final paragraph, which read, "Congratulations, Jaycee. You left the yard."

jamesmthomson: Just terribly executed, unsympathetic and corny- not a bad concept. Left me asking,"You really think she gives a damn?"
That's one of many things it left me wondering: Did Whicker actually think Dugard wanted to be filled in on what happened in the sports world over the last 18 years?

heelsonthefield: "I don't think writing about something in a sports context "trivializes" it at all." Actually, yes, it does.
I agree with you. Even after all the criticism he received, Whicker still didn't seem to understand the extent to which his use of the Dugard kidnapping as fodder for a sports column was offensive. It would be like opening a column with, "The people who died on 9/11 sure did miss a lot of good games in the last eight years. I'll name several of them in today's column."

injuryrate: I'm surprised too....that he hasn't been egged on a street corner yet.
But he has gotten the online equivalent of an egging on a street corner, many times over already. Still, I should note that I also got a couple of comments defending Whicker:

AmyOliver85: At risk of vilification: People wanted something to complain about. Obama got boring for two seconds so they chose Whicker.
meganleasmith: I saw no harm in the article. It's not like he was ridiculing the poor girl or anything. It was well written in my opinion.
Just like you can't please everyone, you also can't anger everyone. Some people thought Whicker's column was fine, and although those people are certainly in the minority, they apparently include the editors at the Orange County Register who read the piece before it was published.

FBfollies: When will criminal charges be filed in the Erin Andrews case?
That's a good question. I have to say, I'm very surprised that they haven't been able to find whoever did this yet. These images of Andrews were posted online, and usually such things can be traced. But so far, nothing.

WatchKalibRun Do you think EA goes to the studio?
I did sense from watching Andrews' interview on Oprah that she would like to re-assess her career, and that being a studio anchor would be a better fit her goals than her current role of sideline reporter. I also think she wants to make it through this college football season so she can show whoever did this that she won't be defeated by it.

Pepitolives09: Seriously? Hives? Because of a couple grainy nudes? Hope no one in her family passes or she might spontaneously combust.
Having someone stalk you, videotape you without your knowledge and post the tapes on the Internet would be terrifying to anybody, and it isn't at all surprising that the stress has affected her physically, including giving her hives. She's a brave woman to speak out about it at all.

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