Here we go again. The Boston Globe is back to their old tricks. Quite honestly, they’ve been quiet lately.
Anyway, I didn’t start today trying to write a blog. I just wanted to write my picks for the Saturday NFL games, maybe get some lunch, and then watch some football. But while Mrs. Blind Owl was at the grocery store, I decided to do some cleanup on my computer. Between deleting old documents I no longer need and some organization of folders, I decided to pull up Twitter. What pops up right on top? A tweet for the Boston Globe Opinion account. One of the Globe Twitter accounts that hasn’t blocked me (yet) for incessantly asking if their posts were fact checked.
Normally, I can just drift past these with a somewhat humorous reply about journalistic dishonesty and fact checking, but this one grabbed my attention. Here’s the Tweet: “Editorial: The Barstool brand that Dave Portnoy built and personifies is raunchy, juvenile, and aimed at young men, who also happen to be attracted to sports betting. But this business model is just a piece of his brand.”
Well, I clicked the article, and of course it’s behind a paywall. A somewhat smart move by the Globe. Some people who are into Barstool will pay the money to read this article. Unfortunately, the greater part of the country isn’t informed about the Globe’s modus operandi. But hopefully I'll be able to save some of these folks some money and time.
For those who don’t know, the Boston Globe has a long, dark history of journalistic dishonesty, lying and flat out plagiarism. I’ve written about this several times so I’m not going to rehash the whole thing. I’ll just drop the links to the blogs I’ve written about these issues below this paragraph. Just know, the Globe has, at least, one known liar still writing for them. Kevin Cullen was caught red handed lying about the Boston Marathon bombing. An incredibly disrespectful and insulting act that was done simply to grab some glory from the pain of others. This despicable act is a fireable offense to say the least. But the Globe just quietly suspended him and moved on. I could go on for hours about this kind of thing, but I’ll stop. Here are those links I promised:
Anyway, let’s take a look at what the Globe is oding this time.
It’s obvious, the Globe hates Barstool sports. Dave Portnoy made Barstool bigger than the Globe in a few short years. So the Globe will take any chance they can get to try and take Barstool down a peg. It’s sad, and won’t work, but it’s the truth. More people know Dave Portnoy than anyone at the Globe. So much so, that the Globe didn’t even use an author on this piece. It just says, “The Editorial Team” wrote this one.
Let’s put the jealousy aside, let’s dissect the Tweet that accompanied this article. Well, they started by playing the hits. They call Barstool and Dave Portnoy “raunchy” and “juvenile.” Hard to argue with some of that. Portnoy himself would even agree to that I think.
Here’s where the fun comes in. The tweet goes on to say that “raunchy” and “juvenile” content is “...aimed at young men, who also happen to be attracted to sports betting.” Probably why Penn National Gaming purchased a large part of Barstool Sports. Makes sense right? If the tweet ended here I’m right there with the Globe. Which is rare.
But as you know, they don’t stop there. They go on to say, “...But this business model is just a piece of his brand.” Well, they’ve gone and contradicted themselves. What do they mean by this? Well, it’s all the greatest hits. They claim Portnoy is “misogynistic” and “racist.” Even implying that Portnoy drops the N-word routinely. I’d give more examples, but I’m not paying the Globe to read the rest of it.
I hope the Globe knows that Portnoy is known to go after those who take shots at him. Which is the best way to deal with bullies that try to hurt your business. The old phrase applies here. Those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. And a paper on such shaky ground shouldn’t throw shots at a big company that is growing.
Other than the obvious bias the Globe has towards Barstool. This article goes a little deeper. The Globe clearly hates the idea of sports betting in Massachusetts. Why? Bogus moral outrage is the only answer. I say that because it would do nothing but add tax revenue to the state that they are currently losing to almost every surrounding state. People routinely drive to neighboring states Rhode Island and New Hampshire to place bets, while Massachusetts is getting none of that action.
The state approved sports betting a while back, but in typical MA fashion, it’s taking forever to be rolled out. They’re delaying the revenue that could be going to municipalities for improved roads, schools and other things we all could use. Meanwhile, the Globe is writing hit pieces on potential companies with infrastructure to quickly get some money into the state. Not only that, but Penn National owns Plainridge Casino in Rhode Island. So the GLobe is trying to not only delay money from coming into Massachusetts, they’re trying to hurt an existing New England business. The Globe is hurting the taxpayers, and their subscribers, just to further their virtue signaling. Shameful really.
I think I’ve gone long enough on this. I just this helps those who are unaware of the Globe’s typical nonsense. Not only that, I hope this prevents anyone interested in this story from giving the Globe a click or, God forbid, paying the Globe to read this bull honkey.
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