Monday, August 7, 2006

What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate

The games this weekend were about equivalent with putting my head on a T and letting Papi take batting practice. With the exception of Papi, the Sox have forgotten how to hit with runners in scoring position. And with the exception of Jason Johnson yesterday (yes, I did just say Jason Johnson), the Sox can’t pitch. Let’s look at the stats from yesterday’s game, shall we:

  • Hits with RISP: 2-12
  • Sox runners LOB: 13
  • Runs allowed by Jason Johnson in innings 1-6: 2 (1 earned)
  • Runs allows by the bullpen in innings 7-10: 5 (all earned)

While I’m in full bitch mode, can somebody please explain to me why the Globe hired Amalie Benjamin as the new Sox beat writer? Here’s a quick sample of her work:

It seems as though Doug Mirabelli won’t be out more than three or four days, which is good news for the Red Sox and bad news for Pawtucket’s Corky Miller, who was called up today. (Bryan Corey was designated for assignment.) He’s walking without a crutch — which means he’s down to one less than Jason Varitek, who’s progressing after his surgery earlier this week — and said he shouldn’t miss any more time than he did in 2002 when he had a similar injury. In that case he didn’t miss a single Tim Wakefield start.

Let’s start simple. Periods–use them. If you cut your sentences down to easy, bite sized pieces, then you wouldn’t need to write these comma-ridden monstrosities. Also, that would allow you to get rid of putting every extra bit of information in parenthesis.

Ok, moving past the Nick Hornby-length sentences, let’s look at the second and third sentences. Who is “he”? Is “he” referring to Doug Mirabelli, Corky Miller, or Bryan Corey? According to “The Elements of Style,” rule number 20 is “Keep related words together.” So following that, Bryan Corey would be the antecedent, since he is the closest name to the pronoun. In fact, the entire rest of the paragraph never used Belli’s name again. If you don’t know what’s going on, you’d have to make a wild guess that Belli is the antecedent Benjamin is referring to. (Please note how I could have used the pronoun “she” to refer to Benjamin. However, in order to be clear, I used her proper name and didn’t just throw in a pronoun.)

Here is how the paragraph should read:

It seems as though Doug Mirabelli won’t be out more than three or four days, which is good news for the Red Sox and bad news for Pawtucket’s Corky Miller. Miller was called up today, with Bryan Corey designated for assignment. Mirabelli is walking without a crutch — which means he’s down to one less than Jason Varitek, who’s progressing after his surgery earlier this week. Mirabelli said he shouldn’t miss any more time than he did in 2002 when he had a similar injury. In that case he didn’t miss a single Tim Wakefield start.

Honestly, how did this woman, who is now writing for the Boston Globe, pass 7th grade english? If Peter Gammons could read right now, and stumbled upon this writing, he’d have another stroke.

I’m going to assume she’s made some deal with the devil, and that’s why the Globe hired her and can’t fire her. So I’ll make an open-ended offer to the Globe: send me her work, and I’ll proof read it. I may not be the king of grammar, but I look like Shakespeare next to Ms. Amalie Benjamin.

posted by Matt at 12:47 pm  

22 Comments »

  1. Wow, Matt, some serious sour grapes here. I’ll give you some information on Amalie: she graduated Newton North High School in 2000 then attended Northwestern, which triggered a series of high-profile internships at the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post and Boston Globe. She was then hired to cover high school sports for the Globe’s Northwest Weekly section, but when she received an offer from another national paper, she used that leverage to obtain a general assignment job at the Globe. Then, when Chris Snow was hired away by the Minnesota Wild, she replaced him as the Globe’s beat writer. Amalie is a friend and because I have the exact opposite view of her ability I hold her to a high standard and do critique her work, which is of course not perfect; in fact the suggestions you make here are certainly valid. But Matt, you have to view the writers like the team; their track record and overall performance over a prolonged period of time is what matters, and if you really think hers pales in comparison to that of her rivals, you’re going to have to explain what it is that makes those other writers superior. Are you saying you’ve never been impressed with anything Amalie wrote, never took note of the usually exceptional quality of her writing? If not, then I think you just can’t handle her sudden success. I should conclude by saying that it’s probably hardest for one in my position to give credit like this; as I failed in my attempt to be a sports journalist, I had to change careers. But I will give credit where it’s due and not resort to borderline sexism as you have.

    Comment by Ted — August 15, 2006 @ 10:07 am

  2. Hi Ted,

    Thanks for the comments. The paragraph I highlighted in the post is indicative of the problem in almost all of Amalie’s writing: she has no flow. Random ideas are popping up in the middle of sentences in addition to entire articles bouncing from point to point. Also, Amalie’s grammar is more often than not very suspect. So to call her writing quality “unusually exceptional” I think is a gross overstatement.

    Sexist would be criticizing Amalie’s work because it was written by a woman. I’m knocking her work because it’s not up to par with the rest of the Boston Globe staff.

    I criticize players when they screw up, and announcers when they give poor descriptions. I’m certainly not going to shy away from writers when they are incoherent.

    Comment by Matt — August 15, 2006 @ 12:02 pm

  3. If you read back through what Matt has written, and replace “she” with “he,” does the import change at all? It’s not like he implied that the reason she has her job is that the Globe is looking for more female representation. It is all too easy to say that any criticism of a woman is sexism, when in fact it is just a criticism of her work. As a woman in a man’s field, I have experienced both sexism and plain old criticism. It’d be easy to say that all the criticism I’ve received was just sexism, but I can admit that sometimes (on rare occasion :-p) my work is just sub-par. Matt has merely commented on the quality of her work, picking out a specific example to illustrate his point. I don’t see how you can call this borderline sexist.
    Now, if you want to argue that her work is in fact better that we see above, then fine, show me. I have not been particularly impressed by anything of hers that I have read, but I admit that I have not read much of her work. Still, in picking out one particular example of bad work and complaining about it, Matt has treated her exactly as he has treated the team on many an occasion: see here and here for examples. I understand you want to defend your friend and I admire that, but by resorting to the easy accusation of sexism you diminish your entire argument.

    Comment by Kim — August 15, 2006 @ 9:55 pm

  4. So, the flow of all the other Globe writers’ work, male or female, is really vastly superior to Amalie’s? Perhaps you are of the Don Skwar/Joe Sullivan divide school, if you will, which I could accept; Sullivan has not been around long and has not hired many writers, but Amalie is one; the ones you prefer may all have been brought in by Skwar (or, in Ryan’s instance, I think Mark Mulvoy was the ed. back then). I believe that if I re-comb through her work I will find plenty of examples that might even define ‘flow,’ thus augmenting my original point. Also, while I have not gone through your posts carefully to see for myself, I’m just wondering: against which other writers you levied such a vitriolic attack? Why single her out? And, the real point is, I’d like to avoid what I call the Howie Carr syndrome, which is just bitch, bitch, bitch about everyone else’s screw-ups while having nothing to suggest as an alternative. So, if we could sort of move on, tell me more about the writers you like, for the Globe or others. I appreciate this dialogue and don’t pretend that I’m right, you’re wrong or vice-versa.

    Comment by Ted — August 16, 2006 @ 9:11 am

  5. I just read a blog on Boston. com and I had no clue who Amalie was. I moved out of Boston and although I still follow the Sox faithfully, its done via satelite tv. Her recent blog on boston.com is god awful. it was so boring. but then again i am a big bill simmons fan, so i would probably get critisized there.

    i agree with the original post 100%. she is awful.

    Comment by Drew — February 16, 2007 @ 4:57 pm

  6. bad journalism is bad journalism. At least she can ride her Northwestern degree into a few more undeserved positions.

    Comment by BC Pat — April 17, 2007 @ 3:28 pm

  7. Wow, you guys are harsh! But, I’ve got to agree with you in general. You really have to strain to get the gist of what she is writing about. Even then, it is often disappointing. I mean, seriously, her big article the other day, after Lugo’s homer beat the Yanks, was based on the big story being his missing first base and having to go back. But, the article comes with a video clip which shows that Benjamin’s real talent is on the screen. She is much better live than written. You might even say she has a gift for it.

    http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/04/28/touching_em_all/

    Comment by Paul — May 2, 2007 @ 4:35 pm

  8. That video is not of Amalie. Her extra bases style is perfect for a blog… stream of thought. While she is obviously still learning, she does an excellent job of communicating the goings on in the dugout among 20- and 30-somethings. The fact of it is, she is their age. Frankly I like her style, and I’m 1 year her senior.

    Comment by Andy — May 5, 2007 @ 5:19 pm

  9. Hmmm…Where’s your favorite beat writer lately? Could you be responsible for her getting sent down?

    Comment by Darren — May 11, 2007 @ 3:50 pm

  10. As much as I’d like to take credit, I highly doubt it. It would be hillarious to suddenly see her doing the PawSox Extra Innings Blog instead.

    Comment by Matt — May 11, 2007 @ 5:07 pm

  11. Just got done with the early game of the double-header with Detroit. I wish Gordon Edes would take command of the entire Sox coverage.
    1. He hasn’t complained once about connection difficulties (check your babe, and the other hacks problems with Wireless-101).
    2. His blog updates are frequent.
    3. His blog updates are timely, and noteworthy.
    4. He tosses in arcane facts.
    5. He’s literate.

    At the very least, Boston.com should let him give writing and blogging courses to the other beat writers. Here’s to hoping your girlfriend goes on permanent assignment elsewhere.

    Comment by Darren — May 17, 2007 @ 1:14 pm

  12. Darren, I completely agree. Although I’m curious how she became my “girlfriend.” If anything, she’s the really annoying girlfriend of your best friend. You really wish he’d just dump her already, but he can’t seem to pull the trigger.

    Comment by Matt — May 17, 2007 @ 11:11 pm

  13. I think Amalie is hot.

    Comment by Mike — June 19, 2007 @ 7:25 am

  14. Reading an Amalie Benjamin article is like sitting in traffic on the Southeast Expressway…STOP and GO – STOP and GO….and annoying as hell.

    It is like a child, with a random stream of thought. I went to the park today, ice cream love it, need it..did anyone see my ball? I really enjoy summertime, but my mom makes me wear this dress every week, so my dad watches too much baseball.

    Cute Girl. God Awful…writing.

    Comment by Pat McCann — August 20, 2007 @ 10:06 am

  15. “She was then hired to cover high school sports for the Globe’s Northwest Weekly section, but when she received an offer from another national paper, she used that leverage to obtain a general assignment job at the Globe.”

    You’ve got to be kidding, right? I almost threw up in my mouth. How did she score a gig with The Globe less than three years out of undergrad (with an English degree)? Her body of work isn’t that great. No pun intended.

    Comment by Medill Grad — October 23, 2007 @ 10:31 am

  16. Amalie is the hottest female left at the Globe. They should put her in front of the cameras more. She’s like that sexy librarian who oozes sex appeal, but doesn’t realize just how sexy she is…. I, for one, enjoy her writing. Perhaps it’s an age thing, but I like her contemporary style. I think the people that have a problem with her writing are old school types who can’t relate to someone new and fresh with their own unique voice. Believe me- the young people love her style.

    Comment by David — May 23, 2008 @ 12:39 pm

  17. If you want a hot reporter, than watch Heidi Watney, or any of the female reporters on ESPN. This is the Boston Globe we’re talking about, where the first and foremost job of a reporter is to write coherently. Remember some Globe reporter named Peter Gammons? I want newspaper reporters who aspire to write great pieces like Gammons did, not to become the next Rachel Nichols or Erin Andrews on ESPN.

    If she just had a different “style,” that’s one thing. But she clearly can’t write sentences that can be read by a normal english-speaking person. It’s not an age thing. I’m older than a total of 3 members of the Red Sox, and I hate her so-called “style.”

    Comment by Matt — May 23, 2008 @ 2:57 pm

  18. This is the worst I’ve seen from Amalie or, for that matter, from anyone who’s ever reached middle school.

    “It wasn’t quite like his last start, against the Yankees in New York, and the six scoreless innings earned him his first victory of the season, his first since a win in relief back Sept. 6 against the Orioles, his first win as a starter since that no-hitter back on Sept. 1, the Red Sox prevailing today, 8-3, in front of 37,539 Patriots Day fans.

    Comment by Ken — May 24, 2008 @ 1:52 pm

  19. her looks and attitude make me cringe every time i see her.

    Comment by rick — June 19, 2008 @ 12:07 am

  20. Her work on NESN is worse than her writing. Every attempt at a sentence seems to include “you know” at least twice. I dare anyone to drink every time she says “you know” and remain conscious.

    Comment by Ken — August 15, 2008 @ 3:43 pm

  21. I was a newspaper reporter for seven years, and usually when someone gets fast-tracked like this, it’s because the newspaper is trying to meet its diversity goals.

    I don’t know what kind of rules the NYT Co. enforces internally, but at Gannett the corporate bosses would get large bonuses if they met or exceeded newsroom diversity goals each year. I remember one female Asian reporter who had been a professional journalist for all of two months before she got hired by the Los Angeles Times. In country full of qualified journalists who have years of experience and demonstrated skill, the LAT would rather hire a 22-year-old who could not file a simple brief without the city editor having to do a rewrite.

    So my best guess is Amalie Benjamin benefited from similar diversity policies, particularly as a female sports reporter.

    This is one reason why the newspaper industry is dying — news executives have become such PC, navel-gazing fools, they’d rather sacrifice the quality of their product in order to brag about how many minorities they’ve hired. They make it sound altruistic at journalism conferences, but they wouldn’t be doing it if they didn’t get those fat diversity bonus checks at the end of the year.

    Comment by Plan — July 8, 2009 @ 8:16 pm

  22. So glad to see that I’m not the only one that thinks Amalie Benjamin is a horrible writer. She has NO business writing for the Globe.

    Here’s an example; the first Red Sox article of her’s I ever read started like this:

    “Mike Lowell is creating problems in the lineup. Good problems.”

    I rest my case. Her articles read like a high school essay. Her game summaries read like “I what I did during summer vacation” story.

    I can’t read the Globe anymore because of her. Adam Kilgore, Peter Abraham, Nick Cafardo (of course), anybody else. But please, not junior girl sports reporter. I’ve read text messages better than her writing.

    Before anyone criticizes MY writing in this post, let me say I’m not a pro writer, but you don’t have to be a chef to recognize bad cooking.

    Comment by Jared — March 23, 2010 @ 9:49 am

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