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"Elite Media," Thy Name is Sid

If you follow the press, especially on conservative blogs, you probably hear an awful lot about “arrogance” among “media elites,” and such characters deciding that rules don’t apply to them. And while that indictment (while flawed) does contain some grain of truth, it’s rare to see it displayed in black and white, as it was this week- though not the way you might think.

In the American press, you don’t get much more “elite” than Sid Hartman. The sports columnist has written for the Star Tribune for more than six decades, and appeared locally on television and radio for almost as long. But in recent years, Sid has not only slipped noticeably, but he’s gotten more obnoxious than ever in his old age. Hell, Sid’s probably the only man alive who had someone else (Pat Reusse) ghost-write his autobiography, even though he is himself a writer.

The latest Sid brouhaha is given the Romenesko headline “Strib Columnist Says Ethics Rules Should Be Different For Him,*” and is the first instance I can ever remember of a journalist (or any other professional, for that matter) getting caught in an ethical blunder, and essentially saying, “I’m more important than everyone else, so the rules should apply differently to me.” Then again, Sid didn’t have the longetivity excuse back in the ‘50s, when he basically ran the basketball operations of the Minneapolis Lakers from the Strib newsroom, while simultaneously covering the team.

At issue now is that Hartman participated in a fundraiser that netted $400,000 for a University of Minnesota scholarship fund. While undeniably for a good cause, Sid –who writes about UofM sports in just about every column- had a clear conflict of interest, and did not clear his participation with editors or other newspaper management.

Hartman’s response when reached by ombudsman Kate Parry? "There's nobody else who's done more for this paper. That's why it could be right for me and not for someone else. I've got a unique situation. There can be a little different rules for all I've done for this newspaper."

Has ever a more arrogant statement been spoken by an American journalist? The "crime" wasn't much, but this? Sid’s “close personal friend,” Bob Knight, had a similar attitude back in Indiana, which is why he physically assaulted his players and other students with total impunity, many times before he was fired.

I’d like to see Sid held accountable for this. Because if any other employee of the paper had done what he did- or if a star political correspondent said the same thing after illegal donations to a candidate came to light- they’d like have been fired on the spot.

(*When I saw “Strib columnist,” somehow I knew it was Sid, and not, say, Doug Grow, or James Lileks.)

Posted by Stephen Silver at June 22, 2005 02:07 AM