No, seriously, look for yourself.

The story, it seems, is that these two girls got into a [...]]]> Today, the Times Union website’s first, primary, big-graphic front-page story is…two girls from Shen High School in a FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! from over a year ago.

No, seriously, look for yourself.

The story, it seems, is that these two girls got into a FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FI—sorry, got caught up there. Anyway, the big girl kicks and punches her for a little bit, one teacher comes in to break it up, then another school official actually does break it up by physically pushing the assailant off her victim.

That’s it.

Did I mention this was over a year ago?

An entry on the TU’s Parent to Parent blog (from a staffer) posts the video and commends the administrator for breaking it up in a timely manner. The news article itself, however, notes the real reason it’s news: because it was on Tosh.0 on Comedy Central. That’s not in the headline, however. Instead, it reads “Administrator puts a quick end to girl fight,” with a sub headline urging you to “check out this video of a girl fight.”

Let’s run this story through the Bulls*** Transmorgifier and read the more literal slant on this story, shall we?

…RUNNING…

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!
You guys, there’s a fight! C’mon, look!
(Albany, NY) Guys, there’s a fight! And it’s on YouTube!

This one chick beats the Hell out of another chick. It’s so rad. Then this dude runs in and pushes her over!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

That dude in the tie could not be reached for comment. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

(Daniel Tosh contributed to this story and is totally rad because he bought me milk at lunch yesterday when I didn’t have enough quarters on me)

So now the Times Union has a new editorial edict: if it’s local and on YouTube then it’s the lead story. These two girls were involved in an incident they likely had already put behind them and that the TU’s contribution to transforming it into a “viral phenomenon” will only serve to open up old wounds. A schoolyard fight is never big-time local news, let alone from a year ago.

But nevermind all that, there’s hits to be had.

It’s one thing where there are videos of rampant violence and property damage a la the Kegs and Eggs Riots. Those are, well, riots, and included arrests and all. It’s a story. This, on the other hand, is not.

I’m sure there will be an argument put forth – both in comments and personal e-mails in my inbox – that whatever garners hits and attention has to be considered news, and as such the Times Union has an obligation to not only cover but prominently feature to story.

To them I would just ask, hey, some countries put naked pictures of women in their newspapers. Why don’t we? The answer, of course, is because of journalistic standards. Pure profit by way of grabbing attention by any means necessary is not the sole motive of a newspaper; or if it is, then they desperately need to re-examine their priorities.

Today, the Times Union’s website will see an increase in traffic for featuring a viral video of an assault of an underage girl from over a year ago. However, in doing so they have struck a Faustian bargain, exchanging hits and traffic for irreputable harm to the credibility of the newspaper. Traffic for the sake of traffic comes with a price. It’s why the New York Times doesn’t put a picture of Kim Kardashian in tight jeans on its front page, and it’s why it’s ludicrous for the first thing I see when I visit the website of what should be the standard bearer for print journalism in this area is bold text and an image urging me to watch a “girl fight.”

It’s embarrassing, not just to the Times Union and those in the news room that perform fine and honorable work, but also to those of us who defend them and the area as a whole against those that would paint us as quaint and “the world capital of boring.”

No wonder they think so. Look at our front page news.

————–

UPDATE 2:45pm – After this blog was posted, the headline changed to “Shen Backs Principal in Viral Video.” Please note that no formal charges or lawsuits or complaints were filed in relation to the video. It is the very definition of a non-story. Would love to hear Rex Smith’s take on all this.