Selected Portfolio

Video: The Death of Henrietta Jackson with author Hank Nuwer. “Cornell students got Away with Murder…” Movie and documentary rights are available. …This is a very important early test of the right of the accused not to testify in court on grounds that it might lead to a conviction. Attorney John B. Stanchfield defended the accused. READ AN EXCERPT about an African-American cook killed by Cornell men: Dead to Rites: The Chlorine Poisoning of Henrietta Jackson

VIDEO: The First Fraternity Death: Movie and documentary rights are available.  Mortimer Leggett, Cornell

Hazing: Destroying Young Lives (Indiana University Press) is the latest book on hazing by Hank Nuwer.

Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing by Hank Nuwer Preface

Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing Excerpt:  Broken Pledges_Chapter 1

Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing Excerpt:Broken Pledges_Chapter 2

Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing Excerpt: Broken Pledges_Chapter3

Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing Reviews and Reviewers Reviews

Hazing Mystery Deaths: All Things Hazing Never Revealed

Orlando Sentinel Op-Ed on Injustice of Hazing Laws

Watch a reading of Hank Nuwer’s one-man play on hazing

THE TRAGIC STORY OF NICK HABEN, Killed in an athletic hazing at Western Illinois University

Nick Haben

WATCH A (Mortimer Leggett) VIDEO or READ AN EXCERPT: THE FIRST FRATERNITY DEATH–Mortimer Leggett

Purchase Nuwer’s books on hazing from Indiana University Press 

Hazing: Destroying Young Lives Contributors

Link to the Legend of Jesse Owens page

Selected Nuwer reference cited in publications:

1. Web Journalists and Their Sites Are Put to the Test on Ethics By David Sweet; The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, September 22, 1999 11:59 pm ET

Hank Nuwer has crafted articles about playing first base for the old Denver Bears. He’s penned a biography of Jesse Owens. But in nearly 20 years as a sportswriter, he’s never been handed an assignment like the one suggested by an incipient sports site.

Wishing to hire Mr. Nuwer as a free-lancer, Sportcut.com discussed money and expectations. But then came a surprising twist: to boost his income, Mr. Nuwer could try to procure signed jerseys from athletes such as Ken Griffey Jr. while interviewing them. If the site were able to sell the merchandise, the free-lancer would nab a 50% cut.

“I said it was unethical, and I got an e-mail back [from a Sportcut.com producer] saying, ‘Some think it is, some think it isn’t,’ ” says Mr. Nuwer, who declined Sportcut.com’s offer. “I’ll put myself in the group of ‘Some think it is.’ ”

(Several attempts to reach the site producer Mr. Nuwer dealt with were unsuccessful.)

Because of the Internet’s explosion, sports sites have been saddled with ethical quandaries (though none as gruesome as whether kidneys should be auctioned online, a decision

Ebay, Inc. faced recently). The new technology has given birth to issues — should one be able to click to buy Joe DiMaggio memorabilia within an article about his death, for instance. Others are simply old matters wrapped in new packaging: Can a site cover a league or a player fairly when it has inked a side deal with them?

“These issues of ethics weren’t invented with the Web, but they’ve become that much stickier,” says Jerry Lanson, chairman of the department of journalism at Emerson College in Boston. “It’s so easy to put up a Web site. You’re almost returning to the press at the beginning of American history, where almost anyone could start a newspaper. But with that you get falsehoods.”

Aside from producing ESPN.com,

Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN Internet Ventures runs the National Football League and National Basketball Association sites. SportsLine USA Inc., who is owned in part by CBS, operates Major League Baseball’s venue and has signed “superstar” athletes, from golfer Tiger Woods to basketball giant Shaquille O’Neal, to exclusive contracts.

“I think it’s a big problem,” says Emerson’s Mr. Lanson. “Are you not going to hype the NBA? Are you not going to give them prominent play? It’s a real conflict, that’s not appearance of conflict.”

Mark Mariani, president of marketing and sales for SportsLine USA, says SportsLine hasn’t treated its superstar athletes with kid gloves.

“We were the first site to report John Daly lost his contract with Callaway,” says Mr. Mariani, referring to the troubled golfer. “We have on numerous occasions run articles that were not popular with the business side.”

Even sites which haven’t arranged special deals are beholden to developments which took place before their birth. CNN/SI Interactive, for instance, is owned by Time Warner Inc., which runs the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks and the new National Hockey League expansion team, the Atlanta Thrashers.

Steve Robinson, managing editor of CNN/SI and its namesake network, says the family ties have never affected the site’s coverage.

“We’re two brand names. If we don’t maintain our integrity, then we’re kind of out of business,” he says.

The Catfish Case

When Jim “Catfish” Hunter died of Lou Gehrig’s disease recently, most big venues quickly dedicated their top news hole to numerous stories of the Hall of Famer. (Even The Wall Street Journal’s front page noted the death.) But two sites, ESPN.com and SportsLine, stuck with NFL previews.

Considering their television partners paid billions of dollars for NFL broadcast rights — and considering these sites are promoted handsomely during league telecasts — could this have influenced their story selection? SportsLine’s Mr. Mariani answers an emphatic no.

“That newsroom has 100% editorial control,” Mr. Mariani says. “Catfish Hunter is a sad story, but it’s pretty hard to upset what 80-90% of this country eats, sleeps and drinks, which is NFL football.” (Attempts to set up an interview with an ESPN.com representative were unsuccessful.)

Some baseball team sites benefit from partnerships with local newspapers, who also cover the squad they’re working with. The Los Angeles Times helped the hometown Dodgers create a 40th-anniversary section on their site. Aside from helping to produce the Royals venue, the Kansas City Star also sends beat writers to report on the team.

Chad Rader, the Internet/publications coordinator for the Royals, says the pact is essentially an advertising trade — kcroyals.com is promoted in the Star every Monday, while the newspaper obtains signage at the ballpark. Although he admits the Star’s coverage of the bumbling team has been “nice all year,” he doesn’t believe the alliance affects their reporting.

“Not at all,” he says. “The Kansas City Star’s Internet department operates separately from their news side.”

Unlike their print counterparts, sports sites can sell merchandise instantaneously from within articles. Mark Newman, who has toiled in both the new and old media, sees it as an additional revenue source.

“When John Elway retires, I think it’s justifiable to say, ‘Here’s where you go to get memorabilia,’ ” says Mr. Newman, former general manager of the Sporting News Online. “In this case more than print, the consumer drives the decision-making. If the user wants that capability, you say, ‘Why not?’ You’ve got to make revenue some way.”

CNN/SI’s Mr. Robinson, whose site has not embraced e-commerce with the fervor of others, is not as gung-ho.

“That’s a direction a lot of us are going to go in. But we have to be very careful about it,” he says.

With the Internet’s speed, issues of accuracy come into play — as well as matters of confessing to mistakes. Mr. Newman remembers debating whether the Sporting News Online should create a corrections page, especially considering the magazine itself printed retractions.

“Sites are not being accountable for mistakes; they’re reposting stories,” says Mr. Newman (the Sporting News Online, along with other major sites, do not post corrections).

Further, none of the major sports sites have formulated a code of ethics.

“We’ve been in journalism a long time, and we know what’s wrong and right,” says Mr. Robinson.

Mr. Lanson, who has taught journalism ethics courses at Syracuse University, New York University and San Francisco State University, thinks young journalists need guidance in this area.

“The last time I taught ethics, to my surprise I had a number of students who had no problem taking freebies, making money on the side,” he says. “A lot of reporters who go into an online newsroom need some foundation in why journalists need to be squeaky clean.”

Mr. Nuwer — who has donated letters received from athletes to Buffalo State College — believes he has been cleaner than clean. When it comes to asking for an autograph on the job, he’d rather face sportswriter-loathing Bobby Knight in a dark alley.

“To the best of my knowledge, as a sportswriter, I’ve never asked a player for an autograph,” he notes. “And you know, not one of ’em has asked me for one, either.”

2) Update/ New Sports Site Rescinds Policy After Questions Arise Over Ethics

By 

David Sweet

The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition

Sept. 24, 1999 

Faced with a policy that was considered by some in journalism to be ethically questionable, Sportcut.com announced Thursday it had rescinded the provision roughly a month before the site’s launch.

As reported in The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, Sportcut.com allowed writers a chance to earn money by procuring sports memorabilia from players. If a writer obtained a signed jersey from baseball star Ken Griffey Jr., say, during an interview, he could post it for sale on the site and receive a 50% cut of any revenue. Writers could also sell on the venue any memorabilia they had previously acquired.

“It’s a policy that never should have been in the contract,” says Scott Brown, chief operating officer of the Montclair, N.J., operation. “This is a mistake on our part. We are taking full responsibility.”

Mr. Brown, who believes the original policy was requested by one of the writers, says the person who put together the contract was no longer with Sportcut.com. He says all writers who have joined the site have been informed of the policy change.

Everyone from sports site editors to journalism professors blasted the original policy.

“The last thing a good journalist wants to do is ask someone for an autograph,” says Mark Newman, former general manager of the Sporting News Online. “It’s the most disgusting thing one can do as a journalist.”

Mr. Brown says only one writer, Hank Nuwer, complained about the provision. But Mr. Nuwer — who turned down Sportcut.com’s offer to become a free-lancer when he found out about the memorabilia policy — was vociferous in his opposition.

“I thought athletes already have a low opinion of sportswriters, and it would only go lower,” says Mr. Nuwer, a veteran sportswriter.

Sportcut.com, which looks to give users an insider’s perspective into the world of sports, is prepared to launch in October.

___________________

Selected Nuwer reference cited in publications:

Wolf, Jeremy, “Tough New Law,” “Inside Higher Education,” July 18, 2019.

Gash, Andrea. “Felony Conviction,” “The Advocate,”July 19, 2019.

Robbins, Alexandra. “Fraternity,” Dutton 2019.

Hechinger, John. “True Gentlemen,” Hachette, 2017.

Hazing: Chapter 14, Nuwer and Bollinger. In Violence Goes to College–HazingNuwerBollinger

Hazing Laws Have Not Stopped Deaths: Chicago Tribune

Wolf, L.A., et al. “Nurse Bullying and Hazing,” “Int. Emergency Nursing,” September 22, 2017.

Stuart, Susan P. 35 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 377 (2013)
“Warriors, Machismo, and Jockstraps: Sexually Exploitative Athletic Hazing and Title IX in the Public School Locker Room.”

Hechinger, John. “Fraternities Scuttle Proposals to Ban Freshman Rush After Drinking Deaths,” “Bloomberg News,” October 5, 2013.

Alvarez, D.M., “Death by Hazing.” Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (1947-2900), 2015 – jmrpublication.org

Keenan, J.F. “How Colleges Can Build and Benefit from a Culture of Ethics.” (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2015).

Gurbacki, K., et al. “Hazed and Confused.” “Entertainment and Sports Law Review,” 2015.

Manzanedo, Arturo. “The Persistence of Hazing in the Military,” Defense Technical Information Center, April 25, 2013.

Young, C.J. “Minding the Realm: William Least Heat Moon and the Blue Highways of Public Memory,” “South Shore Review, 2013.

Lundsen, Richard. Hazing: Rituals of Bondage, Create Space, 2013.

Crumm, David. The New Bullying, Michigan State University, 2012.

Grimes, Ronald L. Ritual, Media, and Conflict, Oxford Ritual Studies, 2011.

Anderson, Eric, et al. “Male Team Sport Hazing Initiations in a Culture of Decreasing Homohysteria,” Journal of Adolescent Research, July 2011.

Cimino, Aldo. “On the Perception of Newcomers,” Human Nature, June 10, 2010.

Waldron, Jennifer L. and Christopher L. Kowalski. “Crossing the Line: Rites of Passage, Team Aspects, and Ambiguity of Hazing, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, (80), 2, June 2009, 291-302.

Fields, Sarah K. et al. “Violence in Youth Sports: Hazing, Brawling, and Foul Play,” Journal of Sports Medicine, October 25, 2009.

Kimmel, Michael. Guyland, HarperCollins, 2008.

Parks, Gregory S. Black Greek-Letter Organizations in the Twenty-First Century, University of Kentucky Press, 2008.

Weishampel, Stefan. The Role of Scientist, Diplomica Verlag GMBH, 2008.

Clery, Constance L., et al. Creating and Maintaining Safe College Campuses, Styles Publishing, 2007.

Guernsey, Bridget. “Book Review of Preventing Hazing by S. Lipkins,” NASPA Journal, (44), 1, 2007.

Kimbrough, Walter. “Why Students Beat Each Other,” in Creating and Maintaining Safe College Campuses by Jerlando F. L. Jackson, Stylus, 2007.

Finley, Laura L. and Finley, Peter. “A Content Analysis of news coverage of sports-related hazing incidents in high schools,” Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 14 (2), 2007, 197-219.

Bronner, Simon J. Crossing the Line, Amsterdam University Press, 2007.

Lipkins, Susan. Preventing Hazing, Jossey-Bass, 2006.

Howard, Adam and Elizabeth England Kennedy. “Breaking the Silence: Power, Conflict, and Contested Frames within an Affluent High School,” Anthropology and Education Quarterly, (37), 4, 2006, 347-365.

Gervais, Joe. “In the Name of Obedience: Overcoming the Damaging Myths about Hazing,” in Prettyman, Sandra Spickard and Brian Lampman, Learning Culture Through Sports, Exploring the Role of Sports in Society, Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2006.

Robbins, Alexandra. Pledged, Hyperion, 2004.

Jones, Ricky L. Black Haze: Violence, Sacrifice and Manhood in Black Greek-Letter Fraternities, SUNY Press, 2004.

Dundes, Alan. Bloody Mary in the Mirror, University Press of Mississippi, 2002.

Mailer, Norman. The Spooky Art: Some Thoughts on Writing, Random House,       2003.

Gulledge, Jo and Shawn Beard. Campus Safety & Security (Aspen Publishers), 2002.

Hollmann, Barbara B. “Hazing: Hidden Campus Crime,” New Directions for Student Services, Wiley (99), Fall 2002.

Horner, Carl S. The Boy Inside the American Businessman, University Press of America, 1992.

Weinberg, Steve. The Reporter’s Handbook: An Investigator’s Guide to Documents and Techniques, IRE, 2002 rev.

Weinberg, Robert. The Louis L’Amour Companion (Bantam), 1994.