ESPN and Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban on Friday "reached a resolution" that will allow the network's reporters to be credentialed to cover the team's home games, according to ESPN.com. ESPN President John Skipper in a statement said, "ESPN has never contemplated automated reporting for our NBA coverage. We remain committed to first-person reporting on the NBA." He also said ESPN plans to "continue to be present" at most Mavericks home games, noting when that is not the case, game recaps "will continue to utilize AP first-person reports." Cuban: "We are appreciative that ESPN will now commit to Mavs fans and all NBA fans with links to local and team provided coverage of every NBA game" (ESPN.com, 11/11).
END JUSTIFIES MEANS? In Salt Lake City, Aaron Falk wrote that while he "appreciates" Cuban's original move, he does "take exception with Cuban's weapon of choice on the front lines of this bizarre battle: human sacrifice." Banning ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Marc Stein threw Cuban's "true motives in question." But now the reporters can "finally get back into the arena and back onto press row." In the battle against reporting bots, "good reporters" like MacMahon and Stein excel in "developing relationships, spotting curious tidbits on the sidelines, then breaking news and crafting interesting reports, stories told with heart" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 11/13). In Orlando, David Whitley wrote under the header, "Mark Cuban Is Out To Save Sportswriting From Robots" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/13).
