Author: Pat Louise

In May the owners of the award-winning New Orleans Times-Picayune announced they were redefining the way newspapers transitioned into the next life. Rather than die a slow and (to the Newhouse family) costly death, the T-P — which actually still made money as a newspaper — would instead commit print suicide by putting a newspaper in subscribers’ mailboxes just three days a week.

As both a two-time graduate of Syracuse University and a former six-year employee of the Syracuse Post-Standard, I have been asked quite a bit what I think of the allegations about Bernie Fine and how the newspaper covered the story.

Although it’s hard to explain to the public, my fear is that the public’s criticism of the Post-Standard’s decision not to publish the story nine years ago will make news organizations more willing in the future to print one-source stories that can ruin the reputations of innocent people.

A month ago Joe Paterno won his 409th game as football coach at Penn State University to become the all-time Division I leader in coaching victories.

Also in early November, the Syracuse University coaching duo of head coach Jim Boeheim and assistant coach Bernie Fine began their 36th season together on the bench in what looks like a promising year, with the Orangemen ranked number one in early December.

As December begins, both Paterno and Fine are done coaching, Paterno fired for not doing enough to put a stop to sexual abuse by a coach in his program, Fine for his alleged role in the sexual abuse of boys through their sports programs. For Paterno, the end came when a grand jury indicted Jerry Sandusky — Paterno’s longtime friend, retired assistant coach and once heir to take over the Nittany Lions — on multiple counts of sexually abusing boys, including on the Happy Valley campus.