What has happened to swimnews.com?

I guess he had a brush with journalistic fame, and maybe now no one
answers his calls. Without drug scandals, swimming makes pretty boring
news.

THE TIMES TEAM

CRAIG LORD
Swimming Correspondent

Craig Lord researched and compiled the material for several sections
of our Olympic Games website, including the sports communities,
history and heroes and GB medal-winners from 1896-1996. Lord has been
Swimming Correspondent of The Times since 1989. Throughout the
Nineties he was at the forefront of reporting the drugs scandals that
dogged the swimming world. None came greater than the news revealed by
Lord and The Times in 1998 that Michelle Smith, the Irish triple
Olympic champion of 1996, faced suspension for manipulating a drug
test sample. Smith was subsequently suspended for four years, retired
while barred and will therefore not defend her three titles. Lord has
also written on swimming for The Sunday Times since 1990 and travelled
into China - a nation with 30 drugs suspensions to its name in
swimming - in 1999, emerging to reveal how drug abuse was rife and how
anabolic steroids were readily available in the local markets of
Beijing.

<http://www.times-olympics.co.uk/writers/clord.html>

ERNEST THE SHEEP said:

I couldn't help but notice yet more antagonism directed at the great country
of Australia by a certain swimnews.com journalist.

http://www.swimnews.com/index.jsp

What is the deal with this dude Craig Lord? Is he a pom, or even perhaps a
self-loathing Australian?

Why is he so fixated on Australia?

In particular check out the very small minded article entitled "Unknown to
Australia".

It's pathetic, really.

"ERNEST THE SHEEP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I couldn't help but notice yet more antagonism directed at the great
country of Australia by a certain swimnews.com journalist.

http://www.swimnews.com/index.jsp

What is the deal with this dude Craig Lord? Is he a pom, or even perhaps a
self-loathing Australian?

Why is he so fixated on Australia?

In particular check out the very small minded article entitled "Unknown to
Australia".

It's pathetic, really.

well, i'd hardly say he's picking only on the Australians...

he's [censored] on the recent World's, the whole Speedo-Blog deal, as well as
the British coaching establishment for their reception of Sweetenham,
amongst other things.

to be honest, I actually like his editorials - adds a little colour to the
reporting of what otherwise is just a bunch of dry splits.

diablo said:

"ERNEST THE SHEEP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I couldn't help but notice yet more antagonism directed at the great
country of Australia by a certain swimnews.com journalist.

http://www.swimnews.com/index.jsp

What is the deal with this dude Craig Lord? Is he a pom, or even
perhaps a self-loathing Australian?

Why is he so fixated on Australia?

In particular check out the very small minded article entitled
"Unknown to Australia".

It's pathetic, really.

well, i'd hardly say he's picking only on the Australians...

he's [censored] on the recent World's, the whole Speedo-Blog deal, as
well as the British coaching establishment for their reception of
Sweetenham, amongst other things.

to be honest, I actually like his editorials - adds a little colour
to the reporting of what otherwise is just a bunch of dry splits.

True, a little colour to the reporting can't be a bad thing, but the guy
definitely has a bee in his bonnet about Australia. I've not read his
reporting for long admittedly, but during the Commonwealth Games he went on
and on ad nauseam in his reports about how medal the count for England and
Scotland combined was comparing to Australia. Which is fair enough in a way
I guess since in an Olympic competition they would be competing together as
the Great Britain team. But he didn't need to go on about it to the degree
that he did. It just made him seem a bit desperate really.

I also noticed how he was often at pains to point out that a particular
event was over a non-Olympic distance, especially when the Australians had
scored a 1-2-3 finish in it. I'm all for colourful reporting and such, but
as a supposedly reputable journalist the guy should at least try to be
objective about it, and less small minded. It's just not a good look. It's a
pity because swimnews.com used to be quite a good website for getting news
on the sport, and some sensible editorial commentary also.

Ernest,

Can't agree with you. Have read Lord's stuff for many long years in The
Times in Britain and elsewhere. I believe he is a fan of aus swimming
to be honest and what he wrote from melbourne was bang on the mark.

Swimnews was a site on death row before he came along and started
giving us an answer to all the official toss that you can find out
there in abundance.

Well done swimnews for a better service since Lord started to write
more regularly for you.

Side

ERNEST THE SHEEP said:

diablo said:

"ERNEST THE SHEEP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I couldn't help but notice yet more antagonism directed at the great
country of Australia by a certain swimnews.com journalist.

http://www.swimnews.com/index.jsp

What is the deal with this dude Craig Lord? Is he a pom, or even
perhaps a self-loathing Australian?

Why is he so fixated on Australia?

In particular check out the very small minded article entitled
"Unknown to Australia".

It's pathetic, really.

well, i'd hardly say he's picking only on the Australians...

he's [censored] on the recent World's, the whole Speedo-Blog deal, as
well as the British coaching establishment for their reception of
Sweetenham, amongst other things.

to be honest, I actually like his editorials - adds a little colour
to the reporting of what otherwise is just a bunch of dry splits.

True, a little colour to the reporting can't be a bad thing, but the guy
definitely has a bee in his bonnet about Australia. I've not read his
reporting for long admittedly, but during the Commonwealth Games he went on
and on ad nauseam in his reports about how medal the count for England and
Scotland combined was comparing to Australia. Which is fair enough in a way
I guess since in an Olympic competition they would be competing together as
the Great Britain team. But he didn't need to go on about it to the degree
that he did. It just made him seem a bit desperate really.

I also noticed how he was often at pains to point out that a particular
event was over a non-Olympic distance, especially when the Australians had
scored a 1-2-3 finish in it. I'm all for colourful reporting and such, but
as a supposedly reputable journalist the guy should at least try to be
objective about it, and less small minded. It's just not a good look. It's a
pity because swimnews.com used to be quite a good website for getting news
on the sport, and some sensible editorial commentary also.

Quoted message said:

Ernest,

Can't agree with you. Have read Lord's stuff for many long years in The
Times in Britain and elsewhere. I believe he is a fan of aus swimming
to be honest and what he wrote from melbourne was bang on the mark.

Swimnews was a site on death row before he came along and started
giving us an answer to all the official toss that you can find out
there in abundance.

Well done swimnews for a better service since Lord started to write
more regularly for you.

But the article was way over the top. It was an article about one
swimmer accidently kicking another during warmup, which happens a lot,
actually. It was written in the tone of a Hollywood gossip column. He
was trying to make a big deal out of a small accident.

Martin Smith said:

Quoted message said:

Ernest,

Can't agree with you. Have read Lord's stuff for many long years in The
Times in Britain and elsewhere. I believe he is a fan of aus swimming
to be honest and what he wrote from melbourne was bang on the mark.

Personally I'd be happier with more timely information regarding the
events, maybe some of the on deck chatter. Leave the opinionated
editorializing out of my 'news' stream.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Swimnews was a site on death row before he came along and started
giving us an answer to all the official toss that you can find out
there in abundance.

Hard to say. Certainly a 'slower' news service though the magazine is
good, the points system influential throughout the world and the writing
satisfactory. I can rake my own muck quite well, thank you, I don't need
someone to do it for me.

Quoted message said:

But the article was way over the top. It was an article about one
swimmer accidently kicking another during warmup, which happens a lot,
actually. It was written in the tone of a Hollywood gossip column. He
was trying to make a big deal out of a small accident.

Everything he's written lately has a tinge of soap opera about it. We
already know the scm worlds is less than stellar. We've all had minor (and
not so minor) incidents in warmup. Those of us patrolling newsgroups such
as this and websites like swimnews are already the converted - we don't
need to have it dressed up, glossed over and tarted up for the teeming
masses. I just don't see how the gossip, trash talk and petty minded
drivel he's produced is in anyway constructive.

In case it's note entirely clear I really don't care for his work as
published on swimnews. I'm pretty sure Nick knows better and I hope
he does something about it in the very short term.

--Mike

Mike, sounds like you have a personal axe to grind. As I said, this guy
has a record for writing some of the best stuff in swimming journalism.
It's far from being all editorializing. He's brought us some of the
best news stories in the sport. Over the years he's been at the
forefront of breaking stories on drugs and campaigning for better
conditions for swimmers, coaches and others. The stuff he's written in
the magazine has been thought-provoking to say the least. Long may it
last. Mike, the difference between you and this guy is he does what you
call his muck raking in public and so the stuff is out there to
discuss.

Yes, we've all been kicked in warm-up before but the context of Lord's
piece was that it was linked to the Lenton thing, where she claimed
she'd never heard of McClatchey. Lord makes the point that perhaps she
should. And he's right. I was in Melbourne. I saw the Lenton interview
on TV. I have no idea what motivates Lord or whether he has an agenda
(I suspect you don't actually know him either, right Mike?) but if he
felt like me about Australian coverage of the Commy Games, I can excuse
any tetchiness he's shown towards a team he's written great stuff about
in the past. Some of it was really blinkered.

As you say Nick (Thierry) knows best and he will doubtless wish to
keep Lord on for as long as possible. Hits to the site have rocketed
and the mag sales have improved too since Lord joined the team. I don't
agree with everything he writes but its just about the most
entertaining, thought-provoking stuff on swimming out there - anywhere.
That's good for the sport.

Michael Edey said:

Martin Smith said:

Quoted message said:

Ernest,

Can't agree with you. Have read Lord's stuff for many long years in The
Times in Britain and elsewhere. I believe he is a fan of aus swimming
to be honest and what he wrote from melbourne was bang on the mark.

Personally I'd be happier with more timely information regarding the
events, maybe some of the on deck chatter. Leave the opinionated
editorializing out of my 'news' stream.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Swimnews was a site on death row before he came along and started
giving us an answer to all the official toss that you can find out
there in abundance.

Hard to say. Certainly a 'slower' news service though the magazine is
good, the points system influential throughout the world and the writing
satisfactory. I can rake my own muck quite well, thank you, I don't need
someone to do it for me.

Quoted message said:

But the article was way over the top. It was an article about one
swimmer accidently kicking another during warmup, which happens a lot,
actually. It was written in the tone of a Hollywood gossip column. He
was trying to make a big deal out of a small accident.

Everything he's written lately has a tinge of soap opera about it. We
already know the scm worlds is less than stellar. We've all had minor (and
not so minor) incidents in warmup. Those of us patrolling newsgroups such
as this and websites like swimnews are already the converted - we don't
need to have it dressed up, glossed over and tarted up for the teeming
masses. I just don't see how the gossip, trash talk and petty minded
drivel he's produced is in anyway constructive.

In case it's note entirely clear I really don't care for his work as
published on swimnews. I'm pretty sure Nick knows better and I hope
he does something about it in the very short term.

--Mike

So, what exactly are you looking for in a news site for swimming? Off
the beaten path news? Tutorials, How-to's? I'd be curious to know.

Quoted message said:

Mike, sounds like you have a personal axe to grind. As I said, this guy
has a record for writing some of the best stuff in swimming journalism.
It's far from being all editorializing. He's brought us some of the
best news stories in the sport. Over the years he's been at the
forefront of breaking stories on drugs and campaigning for better
conditions for swimmers, coaches and others. The stuff he's written in
the magazine has been thought-provoking to say the least. Long may it
last. Mike, the difference between you and this guy is he does what you
call his muck raking in public and so the stuff is out there to
discuss.

Yes, we've all been kicked in warm-up before but the context of Lord's
piece was that it was linked to the Lenton thing, where she claimed
she'd never heard of McClatchey. Lord makes the point that perhaps she
should. And he's right. I was in Melbourne. I saw the Lenton interview
on TV. I have no idea what motivates Lord or whether he has an agenda
(I suspect you don't actually know him either, right Mike?) but if he
felt like me about Australian coverage of the Commy Games, I can excuse
any tetchiness he's shown towards a team he's written great stuff about
in the past. Some of it was really blinkered.

As you say Nick (Thierry) knows best and he will doubtless wish to
keep Lord on for as long as possible. Hits to the site have rocketed
and the mag sales have improved too since Lord joined the team. I don't
agree with everything he writes but its just about the most
entertaining, thought-provoking stuff on swimming out there - anywhere.
That's good for the sport.

Michael Edey said:

Martin Smith said:

[email hidden] wrote:
> Ernest,
>
> Can't agree with you. Have read Lord's stuff for many long years in The
> Times in Britain and elsewhere. I believe he is a fan of aus swimming
> to be honest and what he wrote from melbourne was bang on the mark.

Personally I'd be happier with more timely information regarding the
events, maybe some of the on deck chatter. Leave the opinionated
editorializing out of my 'news' stream.

Quoted message said:

> Swimnews was a site on death row before he came along and started
> giving us an answer to all the official toss that you can find out
> there in abundance.

Hard to say. Certainly a 'slower' news service though the magazine is
good, the points system influential throughout the world and the writing
satisfactory. I can rake my own muck quite well, thank you, I don't need
someone to do it for me.

Quoted message said:

But the article was way over the top. It was an article about one
swimmer accidently kicking another during warmup, which happens a lot,
actually. It was written in the tone of a Hollywood gossip column. He
was trying to make a big deal out of a small accident.

Everything he's written lately has a tinge of soap opera about it. We
already know the scm worlds is less than stellar. We've all had minor (and
not so minor) incidents in warmup. Those of us patrolling newsgroups such
as this and websites like swimnews are already the converted - we don't
need to have it dressed up, glossed over and tarted up for the teeming
masses. I just don't see how the gossip, trash talk and petty minded
drivel he's produced is in anyway constructive.

In case it's note entirely clear I really don't care for his work as
published on swimnews. I'm pretty sure Nick knows better and I hope
he does something about it in the very short term.

--Mike