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NATO spokesperson; Internet Cafés; Control Revolution; Women's World Cup; Apology to Latrell; Syracuse Sportscasters

Spinning the tangled web of war. I'm Melinda Penkava. This week, on NPR's On The Media, we'll talk with NATO spokesman Jamie Shea on how he handled the press during the war with Yugoslavia. Also, the fading of the cyber-café in the US, marketing women's World cup soccer, and where do all those sportscasters come from? That's all this week, on NPR's On the Media.

1 - HANDLING THE PRESS IN KOSOVO
How NATO's spokesman dealt with the press during the war with Yugoslavia, from daily press briefings -- 78 days in a row -- to how to frame bombing a refugee convoy.
Guest: Jamie Shea, NATO Spokesman

2 - BROOKE N' MELINDA
Brooke and Melinda take a look at this week's media happenings.
Guest: Brooke Gladstone, Media Reporter, National Public Radio

3 - CYBERCAFES GOING OFFLINE
Contrary to popular belief, everything associated with the Internet is not making millions. Reporter Monica Brady investigates the demise of the Internet café.
Reporter: Monica Brady

4 - THE CONTROL REVOLUTION
Everywhere you look these days, there is talk of a revolution: the Information Revolution. In his new book, "The Control Revolution: How the Internet is Putting Individuals in Charge and Changing the World We Know," Andrew Shapiro asks exactly what type of revolution is this, and where are we going?
Guest: Andrew Shapiro, Director, Aspen Institute Internet Policy Project and author, "The Control Revolution: How the Internet is Putting Individuals in Charge and Changing the World We Know"

5 - MARKETING WOMEN'S SOCCER
Soccer phenomenon Mia Hamm has drawn the limelight to women's soccer. But can women's soccer keep the American audience tuned in after the World Cup leaves town?
Reporter: Signy Peck

6 - AN APOLOGY TO LATRELL SPREWELL
When Latrell Sprewell first joined the Knicks, sports reporter Mike Wise was calling for his resignation. The Knicks' advancement to the playoffs - greatly helped by the play of Mr. Sprewell -- has Mike Wise singing a different tune. Read more here.
Commentator: Mike Wise, Sportswriter, "The New York Times"

7 - SYRACUSE SPORTSCASTERS
Sportscasters often seem like they belong to a select fraternity. And in some sense, they do. Dick Stockton, Marv Albert, Sean McDonough, Mike Tirico, Andy Musser, and Bob Costas have more than a profession in common. They all graduated from Syracuse University. As On the Media's Susan Arbetter discovers, it's no coincidence that the home of the legendary Orangemen is also the cradle of sportscasting in America.
Reporter: Susan Arbetter

WNYC archives id: 84920

Mike Wise - An Apology to Latrell Sprewell

Host: Just as the women's world cup opens its month long tournament the National Basketball Association is winding down its postseason. The championship pits he understated San Antonio Spurs against a New York's Knicks team that hardly lacks for story lines.

AX: Sprewell on the drive Latrell Sprewell with a tremendous move inside!!

Latrell Sprewell, the player that choked his coach, was suspended for half a season, and sued the league, is the kind of explosive player that challenges the perceptions and allegiances of fans teammates and the writers that cover basketball on a day in day out basis. Sprewell has turned defenses inside out this postseason, and Mike Wise, of the New York Times is no exception.
As a sports writer I'm often asked to write a column on one page, profile a player on another and spend the next few days explaining myself on sports radio and television. For a writer, the chance to break free of the anonymity of a by-line and making more media appearances than Shaquille O'Neal is tempting. But like Shaq learned when he tried to rap, crossing over has its problems.
A few months ago the New York Times Magazine contracted me to do a 3,000-word piece on Latrell Sprewell, a story that became the most critical piece of journalism I had ever done about a player.

The thesis was essentially that the Knicks had erred in acquiring Sprewell, but not for the reason you might think. I went less into his background as a coach-choking, anti-authority figure and more into Sprewell, the free radical basketball player whose bad attitude and frenetic play was bringing down an underachieving team. The piece was widely read by non-sports fans and became the defining piece of work on the player this year.

The article appeared May 2, at a time when the Knicks were struggling to even make the playoffs, before a month long series of miraculous victories that, brought the team to the N.B.A. finals. Sprewell had contributed mightily, running up the floor with purpose and passion, pouring in points and igniting the Knicks. He scowled after dunks, pounded his chest with zeal, and in every way represented the rejuvenation of this team.

I remember soon after the piece came out, friends started phoning during Knicks games, yelling, "Sprewell put that in your face!" and "When are you going to give him credit?"

My responsibility as a contributor to the magazine made it hard for me to go back on my premise. But as Sprewell kept playing well and the Knicks kept winning, I also had a responsibility as the N.B.A. writer for the Times sports section. Sprewell and the team's improved play also made me revisit my original perception of Sprewell's attitude and comments. What was lackadaisical I now say was unfazed, selfish became "take charge."

It's not easy to re-evaluate your work, to say you were wrong to, well, eat crow. But on June 13, the day after Sprewell was doing laps around Madison Square Garden and touching the fans after the Knicks had advanced to the finals, I felt it was time to do the mea culpa thing.

The headline of my column that day, "Sprewell Has Changed A Critic's Perception" told you all you need to know. Sometimes in this business, you want to be right for all the wrong reasons: to make your own work stand up, to validate your arguments to the very end. And sometimes in this business, you have to let go and realize that your take on a person's life or player's career, can evolve and change. With Latrell Sprewell the news changed, the player changed, and I did too.

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