Tiger's Indefinite Leave Clippings, New Year's Eve Edition

I continue to be confounded by WESH 2's report quoting Sgt. Kim Montes about Tiger's interview with police almost a month after the FHP said it was done talking about the case. WESH reporter Bob Keeling's on air report can be seen here, an in it are a few more quotes from Montes about Tiger's condition and the rumor mill:
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“We immediately jumped on that and said we have to dig deeper"

In an NY Times Business story, Brian Stelter explores TMZ's business model and upcoming expansion into sports.

This year, TMZ continued to provide fodder for news media ethics classes (and police investigations) by, for instance, publishing a photo of the singer Rihanna after an assault and reprinting details of the actress Brittany Murphy’s autopsy report.

Sometimes the objections to TMZ’s tactics come from within Time Warner. In an interview on Golf.com, James P. Herre, the managing editor of the Sports Illustrated Golf Group, called TMZ’s sourcing on recent pieces about Mr. Woods “beyond flimsy.”

But Mr. Levin defended the reporting, saying TMZ “has the same rigid standards as any operation in America.” Its track record of accuracy may speak for itself. He recalled that the initial claims surrounding Mr. Woods’s car accident on Nov. 27 “made no sense.”

“We immediately jumped on that and said we have to dig deeper,” he said.

Will The Tablet Be 2010's Must-Have Christmas Gift?

It appears the long rumored Apple tablet may be announced in late January and based on the alliance of major magazine publishers along with Apple's push to sign up television networks, this will be a content driven device (as will the many other tablets under development).

A recent Sports Illustrated demo suggests great potential for magazine reading on a tablet. And for golf, just imagine a magazine instruction spread including embedded video.

I'm curious how many of you see this as the way you may read books, magazines or even blogs in the future (connectivity questions abound, but we have to assume there will be built in wireless)?

So while I understand we have no idea how much connectivity will cost or even what the devices will run,I'd love to know how many of you have been tracking the tablet rumors and are you intrigued by them as a way to read your stuff in the future.

First, how much might you be willing to pay for such a device?

And probably most important to some of the media folks reading this post, what are you willing to pay for a magazine subscription and what's an enticing price for individual issues?

WSJ Confirms American Media, Tiger Quid Pro Quo Deal

An early NY Post story in the Woods saga that never gained much attention has been investigated and confirmed by the Wall Street Journal's Reed Albergotti, Vanessa O'Connell and Russell Adams.

Among the more interesting details of how the National Enquirer's parent company swung a deal to kill a story in exchange for Roy Johnson's Men's Fitness cover story on Tiger's fitness program.

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Tiger's Indefinite Leave Clippings, Vol. 1

Before we get to the initial reactions to his take-out-the-trash-day statement, I must say that if nothing else, the admission of infidelity and the decision to take a leave provided the most striking example of the tabloids' accuracy. Perhaps this will put an end to the hilarious "Tweets" from golf writers preaching to their limited followings about the sheer outrage of blogges citing tabloids as legitimate news sources and daring to cover this tawdry, ugly, nasty...GOLF story.
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"10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger"

From Golf Digest:

In the upcoming January issue of Golf Digest, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Jerry Tarde is going straight to the top in the name of improving golf’s image in Washington D.C.  That’s why President Obama, along with Tiger Woods, is on the cover:

The message to Congress and the Obama administration?  The golf industry accounts for 2 million jobs with a total economic impact of $195 billion annually.

In addition to the cover, the feature article focuses on 10 things Obama could learn from Tiger—and vice versa.  Providing the tips is a group of influential writers and players, including Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Brokaw, Mark Whitaker, Don Van Natta Jr. and Steve Rushin.  The piece is attached below:

Additional highlights include:

·       Golf Digest Survey – “What’s a Reasonable Amount of Golf for President Obama?”:  45.9% of readers said “As much as he can without affecting his work,” compared to only 7.8% who said “Never”

·       Fun Fact:  Using Golf Digest’s Presidential Rankings, we compared the Dow Jones Industrial Average on both the inauguration and final day in office of our best golfing Presidents.  Nine out of the top 10 saw increases in the Dow during their terms.