Gretzky Kills Coyote With Bare Hands | 
Order of Canada recipient and Hockey Hall of Fame member Wayne Gretzky has allegedly hunted down a lone coyote that was spotted on his Vineland Ontario winery estate earlier this month. The Grape One tracked the animal into a patch of chardonnay plants where he used his bare, talented hands to file the animal’s life for bankruptcy. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the former character of the animated “ProStars” then proceeded to eat the dog’s raw flesh and even made Christmas stockings from the remaining hide.
True story.
Sort of.
Well, I can’t prove it’s true but -more importantly- you can’t prove it’s not true. I’m just practicing responsible communication. What’s that you ask? Responsible communication is the new journalistic licence to print fake money. Except real money, since outrageous headlines sell more copy.
Canada’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that reporters and the publications they work for can chirp any statement they want without fear of defamation prosecution. All a journalist has to do is attempt to fact check a story of public interest and *BAM* responsible communication. Let’s see how my story stacks up.
Canadian icon and local businessman has a run in with wild animal. Public interest: check. So now I just need to attempt to prove the story. I tried contacting Wayne’s people but my BlackBerry’s email was down. I opened my bedroom window and called out for Tiger Woods. I figured Woods was -most likely- canoodling with Mrs Gretzky and she might be able to confirm. No response, doesn’t matter. Due diligence completed, responsible communication confirmed.
“Tiger. TIGER. TIGGAAHHH!”
This article has more to do with hyperbole than hockey but is still relevant for Open Ice Hockey. There is a stigma that online journalism is nothing more than hack writers spewing opinions after aggregating stories stolen from high brow traditional media sources. As if traditional media is a gold standard of everything journalistic and all others are simply bottom feeding parasites.
When Scott or Jesse report from games or events, they are actually there. Press credentials included. Journalism. When the Toronto Star runs headlines about racism in sporting organizations or the NHL’s pursuit of a seventh team without any named sources or reliable proof. Responsible communication. You might want to practice spotting the difference because there’s going to be a rush for the latter.
Opinions are fun to write and read but opinions based on speculation dressed up as facts are hardly worth the dollar fifty a daily paper costs.
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