The Bob Greene mess

[Anonymous]

Anyone following this? Opinions?

[Tyjenks]

The article I read did say she was in her "late" teens. It could have been worse. All I have read, however, is a blurb in the local paper.

[Jason McCullough]

I can't figure out what the hell he did wrong. Having sex with teenagers is illegal?

[Supertanker]

I'm blanking on the guy's name, but Autoweek fired a columnist for the same reason several years ago.

[Tim]

I don't know who Bob Greene is or who he apparently had sex with, but has he been arrested, or just fired? I'm pretty sure it's illegal to have sex with most teenagers in the US, but it sounds like maybe he just embarrassed or offended his employer even though he broke no law.

[Tyjenks]

I can't figure out what the hell he did wrong. Having sex with teenagers is illegal?

Is it just me or did anyone else have a reaction like, "Well, who could blame him. Too bad about the getting caught thing, though."?

I mean, I know that is not a proper thought. Maybe it is because I am a 30-something male with a child and a 6 year marriage. I still find myself glaring at females at the mall........from the top level........looking down....at all the flimsy, strappy halter tops. (Please excuse my wandering thoughts.) Some of those girls/women may be 35, some may be 15 years old for all I know. At some point, I suppose I have to have some willpower as I have an 18 mo. old daughter and she will be bringing friends over(hopefully hot ones). My behavior, even if not acted upon, will get me in trouble one day. Don'tcha think?

I guess my ....um... tendencies may go away by then, doubt it. Is it a male thing or am I a complete pervert? Or maybe males are perverts by definition.

[wumpus]

Me so horny. Me love you long time.

[Anders Hallin]

Ah, good old 15-year age limit :D

[Jason McCullough]

After writing a story about someone, he had a tryst with them; they were over the age of consent (18, I think). The (newspaper?) he worked at fired him, on the wierd grounds of "confidence in the journalistic process," or some load of hooey.

[Bub, Andrew]

Peter, next time can you post a link or something? So we don't have to wade through a bunch of posts before Jason McCullough clues us in?
;-)

[Anonymous]

Sorry. Here's the story (linked on Jim Romenesko's Media News site):

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bobb16.html

[Jason McCullough]

Is it just me, or does that article imply he sexually abused a child?

[Dave Long]

It certainly implies that... so which is it? Was she 18 or not? If she was...then it would be more a matter of the story and what it entailed that would end in some kind of firing I would guess... strange that they never mention what he did.

--Dave

[Jason Levine]

As a Chicagoan who is all too familiar with Bob Greene's writing style, I can't wait to see how the local "alternative" paper, The Reader, handles this story. They used to have a column called "Bob Watch" ("We read Bob so you don't have to") that summarized his columns. I imagine their story on this mess will begin and end with a line like, "Sometimes you just wring your hands in despair."

[wumpus]

"I always thought he'd get fired just for being a bad columnist," Dahl said.
Heh heh heh.

[Bub, Andrew]

"In an e-mail to the Associated Press on Sunday, Greene, a longtime crusader against the exploitation and abuse of children, said there had been ''indiscretions in my life that I am not proud of." He did not offer specifics and, in a telephone call, declined to discuss the matter further."

Bolding mine.
17, 18, doesn't matter so much. He's 55 and probably shouldn't be crusading while he's also exploiting opportunities his column affords him. I'm thinking she was an abuse victim of some sort.

[Anonymous]

17, 18, doesn't matter so much. He's 55 and probably shouldn't be crusading while he's also exploiting opportunities his column affords him. I'm thinking she was an abuse victim of some sort.
Huh? If the age of consent is 16 or 18, how is that abuse? Maybe exploitation (though you'd need to know the particulars to make that accusation), definitely bad judgment, and oodles of hypocricy, but c'mon, what's the magic, "You're an adult" age that makes it morally acceptable? 19? 20? 21? 35? This dude is in a position where he can "exploit" the opportunities his column affords to score with people of any age, because that's what columnists do, right Chick? Green?

A couple of years ago, I went out with a 19-year old a few times and I'm, er, how old am I, 34... I don't think I exploited the opportunities my position afforded me, and even if I did, and she was some gamer chick "hot for editor," would that constitute abuse? She actually abused me by biting me on my arm once, but that's another story...

[wumpus]

Too much information, Steve.

[Anonymous]

If you're using your exalted position as a renowned columnist to entice and bang teenage chicks, I can see why a newspaper might not be comfortable with that.

[Anonymous]

He's exaggerating a bit, folks. I wasn't a 19-year-old girl, I'm a raccoon. It seems he still hasn't overcome his interspecies dating prejudices, which is why we broke up. I am sorry he had to have all those shots. But Steve, can you really blame me for biting you when I found you in bed with that slutty chinchilla? Abuse, my ringtailed ass.

But I'll never forget the good times we had knocking over trashcans in Paris.

[Bub, Andrew]

Steve, he's a columnist who crusades against sexual abuse. Then, presumably, he sleeps with someone he met through his anti-sexual abuse column who is (likely) a sexually abused person. I can see how the paper would want to distance itself from that kind of scandal involving it's sexual abuse crusader. Now, Green is a caped crusader and you, you're a non-crusading columnist who writes about games. You can go forth and bang whoever you like (so can Green, wife allowing).... But once you become a sexual abuse crusader, you better show some damn discretion!

[Sparky]

But once you become a sexual abuse crusader

"Sexual Abuse Crusader": this week's "Least likely to be made into a Freedom Force character" winner.

[Tyjenks]

But once you become a sexual abuse crusader

"Sexual Abuse Crusader": this week's "Least likely to be made into a Freedom Force character" winner.

He must have usurped the position and taken over the duties that were formerly held by Sexual Harrassment Panda. I can understand though. Their crime fighting abilities oft times overlapped. Always showing up at the same places. It was just overkill in most cases.

[Jason McCullough]

Does anyone actually have any evidence that she was sexually abused, and that's how he met her?

[Bub, Andrew]

No, that's just conjecture based on the line in the story that he met her through his column. She might have been a Monica Lewinsky type, sent in by a vast conspiracy of anti-anti sexual exploitation and abuse crusaders to bring down a renowned anti-sexual abuse crusader.

[Jason McCullough]

Ok, I dug up some details.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/showcase/chi-0209170222sep17.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/showcase/chi-0209160216sep16.story

Quick summary: he met her as part of a high school project. At some point, they had a tryst. He wrote about her once; I'm not sure if that was before, during, or after the nookie.

She wasn't abused; this is a girl on the high school newspaper meeting him for professional reasons and then getting it on. I have no idea what the Tribune was thinking.

[Jeff Green]

Wait a minute---I can use my power and status as a magazine columnist to score with teenage chicks??

Be right back.

[Dave Long]

It really does look like a railroading based on shaky grounds. You would think that with someone of such prominence let go they would disclose why. Who owns the paper? Is it some big corporation that doesn't want to get a black eye or Heaven forbid, be embroiled in any sort of controversy?

--Dave

[Anonymous]

Who owns the paper?

Tribune Corp., which also owns the Chicago Cubs, Orlando Sentinel, Baltimore Sun, etc.

[Dr Fear]

More than a decade ago, Greene met the girl at his Tribune Tower office as part of her high school project. But the incident came to the Tribune's attention only last week through an anonymous e-mail tip to the newspaper's Web site.

Following their initial meeting, Greene wrote a column about the girl. He also had dinner with her several times, according to a source with knowledge of the Tribune inquiry.

And on at least one occasion, Greene and the girl met at a hotel and had a sexual encounter that stopped short of intercourse, the source said.

Within the past year, the girl, now in her 30s, attempted to contact Greene, according to sources. But shortly afterward, according to the e-mail, the woman was contacted by an FBI agent who suggested that she posed a threat to Greene.

also


Shortly after the newspaper on Tuesday launched its inquiry, Greene offered to resign, according to Tribune officials. The newspaper said it accepted his resignation late Saturday after completing its investigation.


Sounds like something happened years ago, it stayed a secret, this woman then decided to try and contact Green for some reason, he got scared that she was going to reveal the secret and called the police, the woman got mad and sent an anonymous e-mail tip. Green is confronted by his editor, quickly offers to resign to keep as much of this private as possible, etc.

[Bub, Andrew]

Jason, according to the 17th article the Tribune was thinking it was going to investigate him and then he resigned. Why did he resign? Why did the FBI consider her a "threat" to him? Why, now in her 30's, was she attempting to contact him? Why did it stop "short of intercourse" in that hotel room? Still lots of questions... but the main one is why did he pull the trigger on himself (resign)?

[Jason Levine]

Jason, according to the 17th article the Tribune was thinking it was going to investigate him and then he resigned. Why did he resign? Why did the FBI consider her a "threat" to him? Why, now in her 30's, was she attempting to contact him? Why did it stop "short of intercourse" in that hotel room? Still lots of questions... but the main one is why did he pull the trigger on himself (resign)?

All good questions. Unfortunately, the Trib is refusing to provide any answers. They ran an editorial today which gives a couple of very vague clues:

"in this case the journalistic urge to fully disclose the facts collides with two other imperatives: the privacy of the individuals involved, and this newspaper's guidelines on when it is appropriate to discuss sexual misconduct related to young people."
...
"That is why Tribune journalists must, under possible penalty of dismissal, abide by 12 pages of policies on ethics and business conduct. One crucial rule: Staff members are forbidden to use their position at the newspaper to gain advantage in personal activities."

I can only guess that resigned rather than face what he knew would be the inevitable result of investigation, which would have dragged everything out that much more. He probably just bit the bullet.

[Jason Levine]

Just wanted to add that I can't help but have mixed feelings about the Bob Greene matter. On the one hand, it would be hard to find another columnist who could be more sanctimonious, self-righteous and insufferable. And now he stands revealed as a hypocrite. On the other hand, I'm an adoptive parent, and he was a champion of adoptive parents' rights at a time when the Illinois Supreme Court was being dismissive of those rights to the point of abusiveness. So I owe him that.

[Jason McCullough]

He probably "offered" to resign on threat of firing. Name recognition people (excepting in sports) are never actually fired.

[Kevin Perry]

Green is confronted by his editor, quickly offers to resign to keep as much of this private as possible, etc.

Good to see that worked out.

[Anonymous]

Wait a minute---I can use my power and status as a magazine columnist to score with teenage chicks??
Dude, you have no idea. It works for me, and no one likes--hell, no one even reads--my column. But the chicks, woah baby...

[Murph]

Steve, you have a column in that magazine?? Where?? :-)

[wumpus]

Why, it's on the op ed pages in the New York Times!

[DennyA]

Wait a minute---I can use my power and status as a magazine columnist to score with teenage chicks??

Yep. That's why I finally had to give up the game magazine EIC job. Just couldn't keep up with the hot teenage groupie babes.

Now I edit a Palm magazine. Everyone please make your own joke.