National Sports Journalism Center

Considering the furor over Tiger Woods’ accident and admission of infidelity, it was a footnote – but a pretty interesting one for sportwriters: The editor of TigerWoods.com, the primary source in recent weeks for statements from Woods himself, is a veteran golf journalist named Mark Soltau – the same Mark Soltau who’s also a contributing editor at Golf Digest.

Should he play both roles? Is that a journalistic felony, a misdemeanor, or just the way things are now?

The New York Times’s Richard Sandomir noted the connection here, raising the issue of whether or not that’s a journalistic problem in typically dry Times fashion: “It is rare for a journalist to work simultaneously as the editorial overseer of the Web site of the most important player in the sport.”

I asked a spokesman for Golf Digest for the chance to discuss the issue with Soltau and with Jerry Tarde, Golf Digest’s editor-in-chief, and was given the statement Tarde had supplied to the Times. Here’s the relevant section: “Mark Soltau is a contributing editor to Golf Digest, not a staff writer. His work for the magazine is restricted to writing Woods’ own byline pieces and writing the ‘What’s in my bag?’ page, which is likewise a pro bylined piece about golf equipment. Mark does not write feature articles for the magazine, so I don’t consider his work for TigerWoods.com a conflict.”

Without the chance to discuss the matter further I’m a bit of a disadvantage, but in late 2005 Soltau discussed his relationship with Woods in an article written by Nathan Kurz of the Palo Alto Weekly. In Kurz’s account, Soltau says he and Woods met in 1995, when Woods was a freshman at Stanford and Soltau was working for the San Francisco Examiner. The two became friends, and when Woods went pro in 1997 Soltau left the Examiner to head up TigerWoods.com.
 
There may be a line of some degree of brightness between Soltau’s work with Woods and his writing for Golf Digest, but Soltau has numerous bylines for Golf World, including news accounts of golf events featuring Woods. (A tagline on those articles does identify Soltau as editor of TigerWoods.com.) Golf World is owned by Golf Digest Publications, which is a subsidiary of Condé Nast. Golf World’s Web site is a section of Golf Digest’s site, and searches on golfdigest.com turn up Golf World material. As corporate family trees go, Golf Digest and Golf World are, at best, cousins whose kin wouldn’t let them marry.

Not so long ago, Soltau’s relationship with Woods would have been seen as a clear conflict of interest, with nary an if, and or but to be seen: Woods is not only Soltau’s friend but apparently his employer, and so Soltau should either be heading up TigerWoods.com or writing about golf, but not doing both. And certainly that’s still the ideal.

But these are not ideal times in journalism. Thousands and thousands of jobs are disappearing every year or being eroded by furloughs and gnawing uncertainty. The old rules of journalism were part of an implicit compact: Talented writers who dedicated their energies to the greater good of the paper could reasonably hope to see their hard work rewarded. Better beats waited, not to mention the possibility of becoming a columnist, writing a book or the chance to become a radio or TV personality. But that compact has been shattered by mismanaged papers and seismic shifts in the industry. Those who pay their dues can no longer count on reaching the ladder’s next rung, let alone the top.

Wise reporters now hedge their bets. They carefully maintain themselves as brands. They seek to spin their success into speaking engagements, book deals, podcasts or other businesses. They seize opportunities that present themselves instead of waiting for ones that may never arrive. News organizations’ stars are increasingly more like independent contractors affiliated with a company than they are like the star columnists of old. We can decry that this has happened, but to blame journalists for it would be to ignore changes to the industry that no individual journalist could control.

But having said that, there are standards emerging for this new era. And I think Soltau and his employers need to do more to abide by them.

Today’s independent and semi-independent contractors need to abide by the Web saying that “transparency is the new black.” Readers can very quickly find out who you are, what work you’ve done and what connections you have. To avoid having readers jump to conclusions about that information, connect the dots yourself. Let readers know who you are and what you do, disclose any relationships that might raise eyebrows, and explain how you handle those situations. That won’t necessarily put you in the clear, but it will let you begin the conversation on your terms.

I don’t see why Soltau can’t continue to write about golf and be the head of Woods’s Web site – for better or for worse, the world has changed.

But if I were one of Soltau’s employers, I wouldn’t hire him to cover news events including Woods – their relationship is too close for readers not to wonder if he can cover Woods fairly – and I would require disclosure of his role with TigerWoods.com on any of his golf-related writing. If I were Soltau, I would add a section to TigerWoods.com explaining who I am, what else I write, and how I handle any conflicts.

The rest would then be up to readers to judge. Given Soltau’s reputation, I’d like to think he’d come out well enough in that judgment. But for that to happen, readers need to know a little more than is obvious right now.

Jason Fry is a freelance writer in Brooklyn, N.Y. He spent more than 12 years at The Wall Street Journal Online, serving as a writer, columnist, editor and projects guy. While at WSJ.com he edited and co-wrote The Daily Fix, a daily roundup of the best sportswriting online. He blogs about the Mets at Faith and Fear in Flushing (www.faithandfearinflushing.com), and about the newspaper industry at Reinventing the Newsroom (www.reinventingthenewsroom.com). Write to him at jason.fry@gmail.com, visit him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jason.fry, or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasoncfry.