Sunday, February 18, 2007

Why Would Foxsports.com Censor This?

Kevin Harvick won the 2007 Daytona 500 by inches over Mark Martin. I know this because I watched it on TV. I also saw a postrace interview of Harvick so I know what he said and I know he didn't say what Foxsports.com quoted him as saying:

"I had Jeff Burton behind Matt Kenseth, and Kenseth just pushed the heck out of me," said Harvick, who was deep in the pack with 10 laps to go.
The only difference between what was actually said and what Foxsports.com quoted him as saying was the replacement of "hell" with "heck." See here, here and here. I know in other interviews Harvick said 'heck' but never in the same wording as above.

But, seriously, why would they just change the word? It's not even really a swear word and on top of that there is no indication from the author that the quote has been changed. I don't know much about journalistic ethics but this doesn't strike me as within the bounds.

12 comments:

  1. Fox isn't exactly the torchbearer for journalistic integrity. Not surprised.

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  2. Perhaps Mr. Spencer from FoxSports.com thinks that Harvick doesn't sound "redneck" enough. Heck, I'm from the South, but I'd never use the word, doh! If I was doing an interview in front of the South Daytona Elementary School, I would have said that he was pushing the s**t out of me with complete disregard, but no way would I say heck. I would sue their ass for libel if they claimed I said 'heck!' (Just humoring myself)

    Yeah, that's a no-no. Maybe should have paraphrased and indicated so, or left it out altogether. Either way, that beats the heck out of me.

    -- shradard@yahoo.com

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  3. It's always amusing when Fox pretends to have standards.

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  4. And this from the folks who bring you "The Best Damn Sports Show." Awesome.

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  5. I always got a big chuckle out of Pat Summerall's deadpan ingame promos of "Best Damned".

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  6. maybe they'll start a comments section at Foxsports so we can say things far worse than hell...like damn. or ass.

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  7. Give me a break. This is your idea of a scandal? The writer apparently just mixed teo quotes as he said "heck" several othr times. I hat to pull back the curtain on your Oz, but in the world of journalism newspaper reporters ask long winded question, "do you think... blah, blah, blah?" The Joe Blow interviewee say "Yes." The the reporter writes not his question and the yes answer, but writes "Joe Blow says... blah, blah, blah" essentially quoting himself. Believe me, sometimes you don't want to see how the sausage is made. But this heck/hell thing is small potatos folks.

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  8. I used to write for FOX, though I don't know anyone who works there anymore, and I'm pretty sure you can say "hell." I got "hell" and "damn" in several times. "Bitch-titties" was edited, however.

    I'm guessing this is the work of the writer, not the website.

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  9. To quote Bart Simpson (as I'm prone to do)

    We'll live like kings. Damn Hell Ass Kings.

    I can't imagine why they would censor Harvick, and not the Boy That Made America's Youth rude and uncouth.

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  10. BTW, Mr. Spencer is actually Mrs. Spencer. Lee is a female. Before you rip others for not getting it right, make sure you do. This is not a scandal... I always enjoy the FOX News and FOX Sports association also... There isn't any at all.

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