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ESPN Allowing NFL Analysts Freedom To Voice Criticism Of League, Teams

The "assumption long has been that TV networks are NFL addicts who more or less do what they are told," but with the NFL's recent domestic abuse cases, it has "felt different this time, perhaps nowhere more than on ESPN, which across its many shows on many channels has been decidedly unbashful about criticizing the league and its teams," according to Neil Best of NEWSDAY. ESPN was at its "most emotional on 'Sunday NFL Countdown,' which featured several strong personal takes, most memorably" from Cris Carter. ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer Seth Markman, who oversees NFL studio shows, yesterday said that he "spent more time speaking to the show's panelists in advance of Sunday's show than he ever had before, 'reassuring them they can say whatever is on their minds as long as they're being honest.'" Best notes the "only prohibition was against 'personal attacks or cheap shots.'" Markman said that he is "not aware of any pressure or negative feedback from the league aimed at his shows or others." The NFL Network "admittedly is in a different position than its counterparts." That means "far less commentary on off-field matters than one might find on ESPN, and it means a more careful approach to reporting, even if that results in not being first with news." NFL Media Group VP/Communications Alex Riethmiller said, "Everyone here 100 percent realizes who we work for." He added, "We represent the shield, so the people that work here feel like they have an obligation to 100 percent get the facts right, whether the story is positive or negative. ... We try to break news as much as the next guy, but we are also cognizant we work for the NFL so we want to be 100 percent factually accurate" (NEWSDAY, 9/18).

KEEP IT ON THE SPORTS SHOWS: In a special to POLITICO, National Review Editor Rich Lowry writes the mainstream news media "has lost its collective mind" regarding its NFL coverage. It is like the people who "controlled CNN's programming in the aftermath of the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 have been put in charge of all press coverage of the NFL, and brought to the task the same sense of proportion, good taste and dignity that characterized the network's handling of the missing plane." The coverage of the Ray Rice elevator video combined "moralistic preening with voyeuristic pandering," and every on-air analyst "professed to be so outraged by domestic violence that they had to show the clip ... over and over again." The NFL should be "fodder for robust debate" on ESPN. Lowry: "It shouldn't be a dominant news story across all media -- for weeks" (POLITICO.com, 9/17).

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