Media Notes

Did N.Y. Times Break The Law By Reporting Positive Results From '03 MLB Testing?

Baseball writer and former N.Y. Times writer Murray Chass asked, "Is The New York Times breaking the law in reporting the positive 2003 tests of Ramirez, Ortiz and Sammy Sosa? Why doesn't anyone care if the Times is breaking the law?" MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr last week issued a statement "in which he said quite clearly that the Times is breaking the law." But the paper "disagrees with Fehr's view, saying it is not breaking any laws or doing anything improper." N.Y. Times Assistant General Counsel George Freeman: "This is a reporter's duty. You try to get people to give you information all the time. If you pay somebody to do something illegal or facilitate their finding something illegal, that's one thing. The law is pretty clear on that. The reporter has to be actively involved in a crime." Chass noted the N.Y. Times "frowns on its reporters breaking the law." Chass: "Why then does the Times allow, no, encourage a reporter to induce lawyers to violate a court order?" (MURRAYCHASS.com, 8/4).

EXCHANGE PROGRAM: WEEI-AM and the Boston Globe yesterday announced that Globe sports writers "will be allowed to appear as call-in contributors on all programming on WEEI." Globe writers have not appeared on WEEI programs since '99 "after a disagreement over the shows' content" (BOSTON.com, 8/4). In Boston, gossip columnists Fee & Raposa cite sources as saying that Globe writers will not appear "in the studio." Meanwhile, Boston Globe columnist Tony Massarotti reportedly is "close to fleeing" the paper for an afternoon show on WBZ-FM (BOSTON HERALD, 8/5).

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL: Golf Channel will unveil a new broadcast enhancement this week that allows fans to see and hear player and caddie conversations by putting a stationary microphone and dedicated camera on the tee box of select holes. "Inside View presented by Citi" is also expected at the BMW Championship, Tour Championship and Presidents Cup. All audio and video will be tape delayed (Jon Show, SportsBusiness Journal).

PEOPLE & PERSONALITIES: K.C. Star columnist Joe Posnanski is leaving the paper to become a senior writer for SI. Posnanski: "I have been offered what I honestly believe is the best job in American sports writing." Posnanski has been writing for SI and SI.com since last August (K.C. STAR, 8/5)....L.A. Daily News writer Brian Dohn has announced that he is "moving to New Jersey." Dohn's "Inside UCLA" blog was "one of the, if not the, highest traffic blogs in the Daily News stable" (LAOBSERVED.com, 8/3).