The Patriots' official Web site, www.patriots.com, was
the first outlet to report yesterday that the team had hired
Bill Belichick to be their next head coach. As early as
12:45pm ET, the Web site reported, "Patriots.com has learned
that Bill Belichick will be named the new head coach of the
[Patriots] as early as this afternoon. The Patriots were
given the right to speak to Belichick about their coaching
vacancy earlier and a deal is being ironed out today. The
Patriots will pay for the move, but the terms of the
compensation to the Jets have not been released." The site
added, "When the formal press conference happens you can see
and hear it live on Patriots Live." Sports news sites,
including ESPN.com and Foxsports.com, then cited the team
site for breaking the news (THE DAILY). USA TODAY's Brady,
Forbes, et al. report, "Team-approved Web sites generally
aren't the first place fans turn to for breaking news, but
that might be changing" after the team-owned site broke the
Belichick story. USA TODAY: "This is believed to be the
first instance of a team intentionally using its official
site to make a major announcement" (USA TODAY, 1/28).
