»» Columnists

Winners and Losers: The Tiger Woods Edition

by Kathleen Kane | 2:06 pm, December 5th, 2009

» 5 comments

It’s the weekend, which means it’s time to separate the chumps from the champs in Mediaite’s “Winners and Losers” — our scorecard of who rocked and who flopped in the week’s headlines.

I’d hoped something newsworthy — like an typhoon or solar flare or another boy-less balloon — might pop up midweek and eclipse the Tiger Woods saga as the world’s most-talked about story.

It didn’t. So, reluctantly, here are the winners and losers of the Tiger Woods car crash/cheating saga and subsequent media frenzy.

LOSER

Tiger, who went from bland but beloved megastar to disgraced moral failure as quick as one can mangle a Cadillac.

WINNER

TMZ — Celebrity scandals like this are the bread and butter of Harvey Levin‘s rumor mill. And with no qualms about undisclosed sourcing, the gossip site easily scooped the traditional media on the most sordid details. But unlike when Jacko died, old media outlets were quick to quote TMZ’s Tiger tidbits as reputable news. The AP and ESPN even recycled their exclusive crash photos. And with that, TMZ slips further into the mainstream.

LOSER

Golf enthusiasts, who saw their world of perfectly pressed khakis and meticulously manicured greens tarnished by scandal and deceit. Because, as it turns out, the golf legend is not a saint. The Golf Channel is particularly heartbroken, lamenting the news as the “end of an era, the end of Tiger as heroic and untouchable. He is simply human now, like us.” Wow.

WINNER

The Florida Highway Patrol, which may be the only party to emerge from this mess with any dignity. Contrary to wild speculation about search warrants and domestic violence charges, troopers handled this case by the book — Tiger didn’t want to talk, so cops took ‘no’ for an answer, issued a $164 careless driving citation and closed the case. If only that were the end of public fascination.

LOSER

Harry Reid. Yes, the scandal is so pervasive, even the Senate Majority Leader is keeping tabs. According to CNN, Reid blew off reporters actually interested in Afghanistan, quipping “get the answers from Tiger Woods” as he darted out of a closed-door briefing. Maybe invoking the embattled athlete seemed like a good escape strategy, or maybe Reid was showing off his pop culture prowess? It was lame either way.

WINNER

The New York Post – The pun-happy paper continues to cash in with fun, albeit deceptive, tabloid covers. The best: Tuesday’s “EXCLUSIVE” entitled “Tiger and Me: Beautiful ‘other woman’ reveals the truth about relationship with sports’ biggest star.” (You see, the cover craftily implies an admission from rumored mistress Rachel Uchitel. Inside: a full denial.) The second best: Wednesday’s Mad Magazine-like photoshop job and accompanying cheater/’cheetah’ wordplay.

LOSER

Me, for perpetuating this stupid story.

cma266

I agree with your critique that the Woods debacle is over-publicized. A famous athlete cheated on his wife– THERE’S A STORY I HAVEN’T HEARD BEFORE; I NEED HOURS OF MEDIA COVERAGE FIND OUT AS MUCH AS I CAN! Forget the new war strategy and climate change, Tiger Woods’ dirty laundry seemed to trump all this week.
Puter Boi

I have often wondered how Harvey Levin would react..if a celeb with a boatload of money went after Levin. I mean in the same manner Levin goes after celebs. Levin is a public person, which makes all those in his sphere, public people. Create a website…hire the paps of your choice, by the dozen….follow Harvey Levin……his Doctor boyfriend….the good doctor’s patients….tape them….hurl inane questions at them…camp outside their homes…shine spot lights in their windows…..go after Levin’s parents….his siblings…harass and harangue them…post the most embarrassing photos of the whole lot of them online….research any and all legal entanglements of his family and friends….post it all online.
Make sure Harvey Levin never sees the light of day without being pursued…let’s see how he enjoys it, after a few weeks….or months…or years……
http://www.sailrabbits.com Magister

@cma266: A lot of people in the media play golf. Tiger is somebody in the golfing world.
cma266

@ Magister: I think the statement that a lot of people in media play golf is a foregone conclusion and still doesn’t justify the ad nauseum coverage (and I play golf).
allabout

Ms. Kane is right. This “story” speaks volumes about both the state of the media and the appetite of the reading and viewing public for the non-story. The journalism greats have been replaced by hordes of magpies who feed off of low hanging fruit. They survive only because we have become a nation of cynics. We once loved a heroe–now we are in love with the tawdry downfall of a man who once walked proud. A sad day for us all, but one that could not go unnoticed. Good column.