Ancient Mainstream Media Writer Disrespects FanHouse's Elie Seckbach

If you're a reader of sites like FanHouse and appreciate a less conventional approach to covering sports and the athletes who play them, then you're no doubt familiar with the work of Elie Seckbach. His fearless approach and creative interview style has produced countless memorable videos, and he's popular, too: his total hits on YouTube are in the multi-millions.

But Elie's popularity and original approach to sports reporting are not appreciated by all. Some very tenured members of the mainstream media are threatened by it, and one went as far as to totally dismiss Elie's style, while throwing an insult his way for good measure.

Since Elie was not referred to by name in the column that ran in the L.A. Times, I will extend the same non-courtesy to the person that wrote it. But let's just say that "the guy" is old, and he simply just doesn't get that what Elie does is exactly the type of thing that people are most interested in seeing these days. Here's the part of the guy's column I'm referring to:

[Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] toyed with a guy who asked all his questions from behind a home video camera. To everything the guy asked, Popovich paused, then answered: "Sure." Then the guy asked him about his days as coach at "Pomona Military" and Popovich feigned anger, on behalf of the honor of that fine academic institution Pomona-Pitzer and his coaching days there years ago.

You can catch the interview on MyHighSchoolFilmClassAssignment.com.

Now, that's not the worst thing in the world that someone in the media could say about someone else who's there just trying to do their job, but seriously: why be so condescending? Elie's videos on YouTube have probably been viewed by more people than have read everything that this guy has written in his more than 25 years on the job. Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean that you should attack it.

Elie isn't some yahoo with a "home video camera"; he's been a credentialed member of the media since 1997, and just this past year was recognized by the Associated Press for a piece he did on Jordan Farmar and his basketball mission to Israel.

I get to a certain extent the fact that people in the newspaper business are nervous about the future, and that they're doing everything they can to add value to what they do while trying to strip credibility for those not working for a major newspaper or television network. I get all that. But to take an unnecessary shot at another media member in the middle of a (boring, predictable, why even bother writing it) piece on how the Spurs are still a good team is completely pathetic.

You owe Mr. Seckbach an apology, old guy at the L.A. Times.