Posted: 19th August 2010 by Damon
Tags: bad journalism, big ten network, brandon gaudin, bulldogs, butler, evansville, fox 59, freelance work, gamecocks, indiana, indianapolis, melanie collins, michigan, purple aces, south carolina, tate forcier, twitter, wolverines
This picture of Collins, like 99% of those you'll find on the Internet, doesn't exactly scream "highly professional journalist." And, this is pretty mild compared to most of the others.
Melanie Collins, a former bikini model who now only poses in front of the Big Ten Network’s cameras as a reporter/host, has apparently unlocked the secret of correct usage for Twitter. Thank God she was willing to disclose this information, as it’s now clear that millions of people have been using the social networking service incorrectly for a long, long time.
According to her Twitter account:
Twitter is an outlet to post thoughts, provoke conversation & share info I’m hearing. I never once said there was any truth to Forcier rumor
“Forcier rumor” refers to a previous tweet from Collins (which she almost immediately deleted Wednesday night) in which she stated the following about Tate Forcier, a football player at the University of Michigan who is struggling to remain as the team’s starting quarterback after taking the majority of the snaps for the Wolverines last season. (UPDATE: ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reporting that Tate “has his wings” again.)
Very reliable source telling me Tate Forcier requested a transfer from #Michigan this AM. NOT yet confirmed, will update as I know more. (via MGoBlog)
The rumor was almost immediately debunked by someone with actual cred, which led to Collins actually defending her actions. The closest thing to an apology was Collins tweeting, “My mistake on letting you all in on something I was told today. I did not ‘report’ or ‘confirm’ this information.”
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Tell me more magic papers. Tell me more!
Have you ever felt oddly confident about a situation, for no particular reason?
I assure you there’s nothing currently sitting on my professional doorstep. Yet, I can’t help but be encouraged by the direction of my entire job-seeking process. Aside from what you’re seeing publicly with my “Hire Me, Red Wings!” campaign, there are several other opportunities that I’ve received some whispers about. Of course, pursuing the opportunity with the Red Wings is currently my top priority, but I have the feeling this week will provide some answers as to whether or not I’ll be part of the process moving forward. The public job listing was removed on Friday, so it’s likely make-or-break time.
It’s pretty clear how badly I want the position with the Red Wings, but I certainly won’t be starting from scratch if things don’t go my way. I’ve already applied for a similar social networking position with the Anaheim Ducks, and am pursuing a website content management opening with the Los Angeles Clippers. All of these positions are very public, and highly sought after by some of the best people in our industry. If I didn’t feel like I was qualified, I wouldn’t have applied, but it’s obviously important to try and stand out among the crowd. If things don’t play out to my liking with the Red Wings, a similar campaign for either of these other two jobs is probable. However, I may find that a similar campaign would be better served for a less public opening. I’ll play it by ear.
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A message on Facebook yesterday from the “Official Detroit Red Wings” page was my first clue that something was up.
FYI … a new CMS version of the NHL’s team Web sites caused DetroitRedWings.com to go haywire for awhile this week. All better now. Thanks for your patience!
That explains why I was landing on NHL.com when I was clicking links on DetroitRedWings.com earlier in the week. I’m happy to report that the FAQ section is once again working properly. But, this upgrade made me curious to see if any changes had come to other areas of the Red Wings’ web presence.
It didn’t take long to see that the Hockeytown Blog had been renovated in a very positive way. More than anything it looks much more official than the previous version, with a clean two column design and a front page that has less clutter. At the same time, there is a ton of open space for social media integration… but none can be found. The front page features links to the official Facebook page, Twitter account, and LinkedIn group, but there are no options (read: share buttons) for readers to easily pass along the content.
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