Some media people just can’t take any criticism…
I went over to the Twitter feed earlier this afternoon while watching the NFL games, the NASCAR race, and assorted other things. That’s where I found the Register & Bee’s sportswriter (the only one they have) Damien Sordelett live-tweeting the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers late model race from the Martinsville Speedway. Considering that I had completely forgotten about the race (and guessing that most other people had no interest in it, I sent out the following tweet…
@dsordelettgdr is live tweeting the Martinsville late model race like people actually care about it. #Pointless
— Southside Central (@sosidecentral) October 21, 2012
Sordelett retweeted that with a comment of “Really?”, then called his “guys” out to get me with this tweet after my reply reminding him that the race included helmet-throwing and drivers refusing to come in after being black-flagged…
Guys, give it to him. MT @sosidecentral: On a NFL & NASCAR Sunday, good seats are very available at the temper tantrum you’re covering.
— Damien Sordelett (@DSordelettGDR) October 21, 2012
A few of his followers replied and I stuck with my opinion. I guess Sordelett got fed up with my mild attacks and his head exploded with his next tweet…
You know what I like about Twitter? The block feature. Southside Central, you are officially blocked for being a moron.
— Damien Sordelett (@DSordelettGDR) October 21, 2012
Stay classy, Sordelett. Now Damien’s not the only local media person who’s blocked me before. When I blasted WSET’s Sarah Bloom for her hack-job reporting trying to link Star News to Jessica Griffith’s legal issues, she simply blocked me without saying a word. Unsurprisingly, I slept very well that night after that traumatic blocking. When we confronted Bloom about her misleading story, she and her cameraman quickly jumped in their vehicle and drove off. Sarah Bloom left Danville about a month after that for a job in Richmond and hasn’t been seen in Danville since.
Sordelett has really hurt my feelings by calling me a “moron” on his official GoDanRiver Twitter account (and by “really”, I mean “not really”). What would Robert Benson or Steve Kaylor have done in the same situation? There is Media General Whatever The Hell They Are Now precedent for staffers to insult anyone who criticizes them, however. When former Reidsville Review editor Paul Long was taking heat from Our Favorite Gadfly, Richard Moore, he let out this reply…
“I’m from upstate NY, which automatically makes me a lot more intelligent than you and your redneck brethren.”
Paul Long quickly deleted that reply, then quickly deleted himself from the Reidsville Review & Rockingham County. He got out quicker than Media General got out of the Southside newspaper business.
So I’ve been “officially” blocked from Damien Sordelett’s Twitter account. I will survive this traumatic blocking and I hope that Damien Sordelett continues to write for the Register & Bee as he’s the only sportswriter left. The Lynchburg News & Advance has one sports writer still listed, but he’s made it all the way up to Sports Editor. Perhaps Sordelett will buck the trend of local media people who leave the area after their heads explode. Maybe he’ll even make it up to the rank of Sports Editor and be able to edit his own writing. We can hope.
Leave a Reply