Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal did not report on TV the news of Royals P Edinson Volquez' father dying prior to Game 1 of the World Series until he knew Volquez had been made aware of the situation, and despite some criticism from other media personnel, Rosenthal said he is "convinced ... it was the right move," according to Adam Kilgore of the WASHINGTON POST. The decision came after "internal debate that reached the highest levels" of the network. Rosenthal said, "The worst possible outcome in our view was for him to find out from us instead of the proper people. ... We weren’t going to take the chance we were going to tell him. ... We have a special responsibility. We’re not Twitter." Kilgore reported Rosenthal during pregame introductions "received a tweet from a man in the Dominican Republic relaying that sources said Volquez’s father, Daniel, died at 63." Rosenthal "approached a Royals official" to confirm the news, and the official "told him Volquez didn’t yet know." Rosenthal "alerted Fox’s production truck" while news of the death "spread on Twitter shortly before first pitch." While ESPN "published a story stating that Volquez knew," Rosenthal "discussed their next move with his producer and announcers Joe Buck, Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci." Rosenthal: "My instincts are always to go." However, Verducci "softened" Rosenthal's stance. Verducci told the group, "We can’t do this until he’s out of the game." Rosenthal then "spoke with Fox executives as high up as president of production and bounced the topic off journalism friends and colleagues." Between innings, he "debriefed with the announcing trio and his producer." If Rosenthal "was writing for a newspaper or web site, he would not have thought twice about writing a news story during the game." But he "recognized the difference with a TV broadcast that Volquez might hear passively." Rosenthal: "The risk of him finding out through me was a huge risk. It’s just awful to think about" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 10/28).
THE RIGHT CALL: SPORTING NEWS' Ryan Fagan wrote the Royals "did the right thing" and "so did Fox." Fagan: "What if Volquez had ducked back into the clubhouse for a moment between innings and seen the news on TV? Can you imagine finding out your father died in that manner? It wasn’t worth the risk. Not even remotely" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 10/28). VICE SPORTS' Sean Newell wrote, "This is not a mass shooting, or some other kind of major event that may also impact public safety, or provide another example of a growing trend of national importance. This is a story that impacted one man." Not a single person "would have benefited from Fox reporting it during the game ... but one person could have been devastated" (SPORTS.VICE.com, 10/28). The Washington Post's Kevin Blackistone said, "We have to make news judgment to figure out how important is this information at this particular time. ... There is sometimes when personal news need not be public news, and I think that's one of the big struggles we have.” ESPN's Pablo Torre: "There’s an important journalism discussion to be had about whether newsworthiness is a binary concept, whether it’s newsworthiness and thus we should all report it, or whether there’s a cost/benefit kind of a process where we realize maybe the benefit of releasing this information comes at a cost that’s too high” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 10/28).
