Pulitzer Prize–winning author Buzz Bissinger (Friday Night Lights) raged against the blogs during a segment on sports blogs on Bob Costas Live last night. And most of his vitriol was spewed in the direction of fellow guest Will Leitch, editor of Deadspin.com. From Bissinger’s opening glare, it was clear things weren’t going to go well and the situation quickly escalated.
“I really think you’re full of shit,” Bissinger told Leitch. “I think that blogs are dedicated to cruelty, they’re dedicated to journalistic dishonesty.”
He added: “It really pisses the shit out of me. It is the complete dumbing down of our society.”
It definitely made for some riveting television. Our blood pressure went up just watching him. Leitch handled the situation with aplomb and wrote a response post today, explaining how he managed to stay so calm during Bissinger’s forehead-vein-popping tirade.
We suppose we could have punched him in the nose or something, called him an asshole, said he was a piece of shit. It might have made for more riveting television; we are certain Costas wouldn’t have minded. But that would have been counterproductive. When you see someone flailing desperately at someone, something, anything, there’s nothing more to do than sit there, bemused and bewildered, amazed at what was happening, just like everyone else was. We cannot imagine any reasonable human being watching that display and saying, “doggone it, that raving man has a point!”—Noelle Hancock
Buzz Bissinger Hates Blogs [Buzzfeed]
Of Jimmy Olson Spittle and the Dying of the Light [Deadspin]
