The Message

The Post account differs somewhat from the one by veteran baseball chronicler Tracy Ringolsby that appeared in the Rocky. Walker told Ringolsby that his observations were made about baseball as a whole, not just the Rockies, and came from a conversation held "several days earlier" -- claims with which Klis's version quarrels. Additionally, Ringolsby's summary hints at other Post sins that, if they were committed, might make the Rockies' actions seem slightly more rational. "Rockies players and officials also say quotes were either taken out of context or, in some instances, were from conversations a year ago but were portrayed as having been said recently," he wrote. Unfortunately, Alves hasn't made himself available to elaborate. As for Ringolsby, who's had his own moments with the Rockies (former general manager Bob Gebhard wouldn't give him the time of day), he prefers to let his article speak for itself.

That leaves the question of whether the Post erred in letting Kiszla use words Walker shared with Renck. Most journalists would cast their vote in the negative. Reporters and columnists are representatives of their respective papers, and newsmakers have long understood that during interviews they're speaking as much to the institution as they are to a specific individual. Indeed, giving credit to everyone who helped write and report a story is a fairly recent innovation. For years, wire-service fodder was labeled generically ("By the Associated Press," for instance), with no mention of the grunts who did all the work. Even today, underlings frequently fail to receive bylines at places like the New York Times. As noted in a recent column by the Village Voice's Cynthia Cotts, the Times is reviewing this approach, which has "hidden the identities of countless interns, clerks, copy editors, office managers, stringers and contributors" over the years.

In the case of Kiszla's offering, the Post didn't list Renck as having pitched in, and there was no indication that Walker hadn't spoken directly to the columnist. Managing editor Clark doesn't believe the Post did "anything wrong, nothing unethical," but he admits that Walker's quotes could have been handled better. "If Kiszla had written that the comment was made to Troy, or if it had been set up in some other way, that would have been preferable," he says. "We always want the reader to know where we get our information."

Clark feels the same way about Walker personally, and says Renck and Kiszla went the extra mile to fill him in about the context in which his assertions would appear. Before Renck spoke to Walker on September 17, he chatted with Kiszla and learned about the topic of his upcoming column. Following the interview, Renck sat down to write but was unable to use the attendance statements because of space considerations. He then offered the lines to Kiszla and asked the columnist to tell Walker about the switch. Once the Rockies had defeated the Houston Astros 7-5, Kiszla headed to the clubhouse in search of Walker. He split after fifteen minutes when the player didn't show up.

None of these efforts placated the boys in purple. Ringolsby says Walker decided that he would stop talking to the media entirely because of the Kiszla column, even blowing off a scheduled appearance on the September 19 Fox Sports Net pre-game show. The Rockies as an organization were just as uncooperative. Says Klis, who had nothing to do with the Walker quote-go-round, "After the game that day, I was going down to the press conference, but Clint didn't come out. Jay called the writers down for a private meeting -- but not me. And Saturday [September 20], the same thing happened. I showed up a couple minutes late and they broke up the press conference and moved to Clint's office, but I wasn't invited. In fact, Jay said, ŒEverybody but the Post is invited.'" Because Klis wanted to get an update on the condition of pitcher Jason Jennings, who was hospitalized, he asked Alves if others on Hurdle's staff would be made available to him. No luck: "Jay told me the coaches were off-limits, too."

If a National Football League franchise pulled something like this, says NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello, the response would have been prompt and definitive. "Our league media policy has an equal-access provision that says barring individual members of the media from open sessions for what's perceived as unfair coverage is not permitted," he allows. "Violations of the policy can result in disciplinary action at the commissioner's discretion."