In Tuesday’s ODE, Jeffrey Dransfeldt stated in his commentary article title that “Athletes should respect journalists’ quests for the truth.” In the article, he “shuddered” when women’s soccer team defender Dylann Tharp criticized ODE reporter Dan Jones for using the term “steamrolled” his 10/15/07 ODE article (“Women Fall to No. 1 UCLA, No. 13 USC”) to describe the Duck’s loss to UCLA 3-0. Dransfeldt goes on to say that the “Emerald sport section is not a cheerleader for Oregon athletics.”
A few points should be considered. First, Tharp’s request for more support from the campus newspaper is valid. Whether the paper should do so is up to the paper. The ODE should take a look back at the history of their sports reporting of losses for the different sports teams at the University and see whether there has been, according to Dransfeldt, “balanced” sports reporting in the ODE. If there has not been demoralizing reporting of any Duck losses of any sport the way Jones’s article was toward the women’s soccer team in this 10/15/07 article, then Tharp, a senior who would have seen how ODE sports reporting has been done over the years, would have reason for questioning the reporting of her team in the ODE recently.
Secondly, the term “steamrolled” has been used by Jones to refer to different kinds of losses the women’s soccer team has suffered this season. The first reference was in his article on 10/8/07 (“Ducks Beat Zags, Earn Weekend Split”) describing the Ducks’ 4-0 loss to the then-No. 10 Portland Pilots as “steamrolled”. A week later, the same term is used to describe a 3-0 loss to top-ranked UCLA (“Women Fall to No. 1 UCLA, No. 13 USC”).
Given this kind of reporting, Dransfeldt, the ODE sports editor and reporters should take a close, critical look at their use of word choice in their reporting. Also, they should look to see whether their reporting has been as demoralizing to other sports teams’ losses in the past as they have been to the women’s soccer team this season. If it has not, then Tharp’s concern is valid and the ODE should amend its reporting.
Jonathan O. Bowers is a student at the university.