Brady's sexcapades top Globe; all hell breaks loose

Oh, the humanity! Of course the Herald put the news of Tom Brady's soon-to-be illegitimate child on the cover--it's the Herald, after all. But the Globe? On the front page? Above the fold?!?




There's outrage aplenty over at Boston.com, the Globe's web affiliate. Some highlights:

"Why is this any of our business?  Much less front page news?!"

"Who cares?  Really, who cares?  Leave this kind of tabloid crap to the Herald, please."

"My view is that for the Boston Globe to think this is news of the slightest interest to the public, let alone put it on the front page, is just one more sign of the slow, relentless death of a once great newspaper.  If I wanted to read the National Enquirer, I would buy it.  What I want is a newspaper, a daily journal that covers the meaningful local, national and international events of the day, provides analysis and context, investigates what the powerful wants to hide from us, and helps us be informed and effective citizens. Instead we get this voyeuristic trash.  For shame."

Ouch.

Whatever you think of the Globe's descent info infotainment, though, it's worth noting that the Brady story is currently the most emailed item on Boston.com. Also, "Tom Brady" is the most popular search. So maybe Boston's just getting the journalism it deserves here.

Published Feb 19 2007, 06:39 PM by Adam Reilly

• O-FISH-L said:

  I've been shouting for months that the Boston Herald is still relevant, so I have to ask, why it was Liz Smith of the NY Post breaking this story? The Inside Track was one of the few areas of the Herald not completely decimated by budget cuts, so the girls need to do better than sloppy seconds on this. While NY Post readers awoke to the Brady baby news, what did the few remaining Herald subscribers get? A big spread about some TV exec named Ben Silverman (Tufts '92) and smaller bits on WBZ-TV weatherman Ken Barlow, two brutally boring bits on Mark Wahlberg and three paragraphs on D-list celeb couples (a State Rep. and two local media unknowns) having babies. The Track has become a recycling bin of coverage of the mundane lives of the same 30 or 40 publicity hound car dealers, restaurateurs, politicians and second string athletes. Purcell would do well to contract with the Post to break the big stories and leave the mundane local stuff to a student intern or two.
  February 20, 2007 1:50 AM

• Mark L said:

  I'd like to hear what the Globe's ombudsman had to say about this. Hah, if they still had one.
  February 20, 2007 3:00 AM

• HL Corbett said:

  And the story about the funeral rites for Capt. Jennifer Harris was where? Page what? Tom Brady, Britney Spears, Anna Nicole what's-her-name...who gives a sweet care!!!???...the media's priorities are so out of whack...but on Monday, Feb. 19th, they were a disgrace.
  February 21, 2007 3:06 PM

Leave a Comment