Adam Schefter and Andrew Luck: the ethics and economics of the scoop

I didn't expect to still be blogging about Colts quarterback Andrew Luck's retirement, but lessons beyond sports continue to unfold.

For instance, one unfortunate consequence of the timing of ESPN reporter Adam Schefter's tweet that Luck retired is that several Colts fans booed Luck at the end of a Colts preseason game. Some wondered, why didn't Schefter hold on to the news until after the game?

I haven't taken a journalism class, but I can answer the question: Because he's a journalist.

Schefter's brand is to be the first with NFL news. His brand helps ESPN's brand. If he didn't tweet the news as soon as it was confirmed, a rival from another prominent media company might have.

But what's so important about being the first to report? What's so great about "the scoop?"

Because it's good for journalists to release news as soon as it's confirmed. For instance, there were fantasy football implications with the timing of the news. O.J. Simpson, of all people, spoke for the Common Man:

Andrew Luck you couldn’t have shared that news before I drafted you an hour ago? #andrewluck @Colts

If nothing else, Luck's retirement provided valuable information to fantasy leagues that had yet to hold their drafts, particularly on that day. But there's more to it. The longer an organization withholds information, the more miscalculations are made throughout the system. This could apply to an industry, the market as a whole, or geopolitics.

In this case, Luck's retirement was announced August 24, but was known to the Colts as early as August 22. Let's say that during those 48 hours the Redskins decided to trade one of their experienced quarterbacks. Had they known Luck was retiring and that Jacoby Brissett would be the Colts quarterback, the supply-and-demand of experienced backup qbs would have shifted in the Redskins' favor and they could have demanded more in a trade.

That didn't happen as far it I know, but it could have. Teams assess their own needs and what they perceive to be the needs of other teams, and for two days all teams had false information about the Colts.

Schefter made the correction. If he had waited a few hours, some team might have made a costly decision based on incomplete information. Livelihoods are at stake, from General Managers to marginal players competing for roster spots. Also, if Schefter had waited, some Colts fans might have made decisions to buy expensive game tickets that they'd later regret.

Journalists like Schefter provide a service by providing useful information to all interested parties. That's what journalism should be.


James Leroy Wilson writes from Nebraska. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. If you find value in his articles, your support through Paypal helps keep him going. Permission to reprint is granted with attribution.