Billy, we hardly knew ye
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Billy, we hardly knew ye
Rich Hoffman has a must-read column on the monstrous allegations against former Daily News sports columnist Bill Conlin, and it does its best to answer a question that a lot of people outside of 400 North Broad Street have legitimately asked, which is why the DN's sports department has not weighed in so far on their ex-colleague:
They are the important people here. But to work in the Daily News sports department is to experience this uniquely, and maybe not as an outsider might expect. Because before all of this happened, Conlin really was an island, alone both in his enormous talent and in reality. And while it is true most sports writers are notoriously office-phobic, it remains a fact that most of the Daily News staff members have never once seen Conlin in person.
A co-worker asked me the other day whether I had called Conlin, and I replied I had not. I thought about it for a second and could not remember ever having spoken to Conlin on the telephone - and the number of emails we have traded over the years probably can be counted on one hand. I asked my co-worker, who has been at the Daily News for about 25 years. He, too, could not remember ever speaking to Conlin on the phone.
Which doesn't mean we didn't talk when we saw each other, because we did - once a year, twice a year, for a couple of minutes. I met him when I was 22, and our relationship stayed the same over 3 decades: He told the jokes, and I laughed at them. It was just easier that way. Assigned to cover the ceremony honoring him last summer at the Baseball Hall of Fame, I enjoyed listening to him tell some of the old stories, surrounded by family members and a few old friends.
But there was no great closeness, and there wasn't between Conlin and just about everyone at the Daily News. He was that isolated. He burned bridges with some and ignored most of the rest, and that's just the way it was.
This is information that the public should have, and yet it's complicated to get out there. In my opinion, there are two things about Bill Conlin and the Daily News that matter. One is that looking back, the acknowledgment that what he is accused of doing -- and nothing has really undercut the published allegations -- is depravity on a horrific level, and as Hoffman writes, nothing will ever trump our sadness and sympathy for those who've come forward. Looking ahead, the paper needs to continue to be more aggressive than any other news outlet (including the Inquirer) in uncovering other alleged crimes by Conlin or anyone who enabled them, and also go above and beyond normal journalistic practices of openness and transparency.
So one of the points that Hoffman puts out there today is that even to people in the sports department at the Daily News, the wirelessly connected Conlin was not a friend or a trusted colleague but a virtual stranger who happened to be a public figure. (On the city desk, the number of contacts my long-time colleagues have had with Conlin is typically "zero," including me personally, and maybe "one" in a couple cases.) For more than 90-95 percent of people in this newsroom, Conlin was as well-known as...Jerry Sandusky. It's a bizarre thing. Think of your workplace -- a police precinct house or a hospital or a plumbing supply company. There's probably someone who's "the public face" of your outfit the way that Conlin was the "public face" of the Daily News. It's probably someone you work with 40 or more hours a week, not a total stranger. Such is the odd situation that can occur in the computer age with "the wonders" of our disconnected workplace, which is maybe a metaphor for modern society itself.
Is that relevant information? Yes and no. It's not nearly as important as the things mentioned two paragraphs above, but a lot of people are asking questions about the institution of the Daily News, and the ways that the Conlin scandal is either similar to or different from situations at Penn State, the Catholic Church, and elsewhere. This may help readers answer some of those questions...for now.
If the Daily News rises to the occasion, and (in my biased opinion) it almost always has in the 16 1/2 years that I've worked here, you'll get even more answers to your questions in the weeks ahead. Because people deserve answers.
And the cover-up officially begins.— General Turgidson- My guess is that the abuse stopped in the 70's simply because he no longer had access to pre-pubescent children as his own kids grew up and moved out. Unlike Sandusky, numerous teachers, LL coaches, priests etc.— figgypop
- I've missed the coverage by the reporters staked out at Conlin's condo...oh wait, no one has been sent down there?— jimmymack
- Conservatives apologizing for a pedophile enabler because......wait for it....he's a Republican! Classy!— The Fundamentals of the Economy are Fine
- "They cannot have it both ways." . . . I don't see any double standard, at least not at this point. Nobody has yet come forward alleging a cover-up or turning a blind eye to any known disclosure here. Your bitter defensveness on JoPa's behalf is apparent enough, though.— montani semper liberi
- "So everyone at PSU had to know, but nobody at the DN could possibly have known." . . . . It's plausible, if in fact Conlin was so isolated as claimed, though that's not conclusive. It's equally plausible someone once complained to Conlin's superiors and was paid a healthy confidential settlement to stay out of court, regardless of Conlin's whereabouts or even guilt. My point is that the DN can't pretend to give this story journalistic justice, no matter what happened. Cooperate fully with police, defense counsel, and the courts, but don't insult our intelligence.— montani semper liberi
- The moral hubris of the Daily Snooze is amazing. They say they never knew him. Fine. When JoPa said the same thing the Daily Snooze went bonkers. They cannot have it both ways.— CD75
- Couldn't you say that about many of your colleagues in different sections of your paper? do the business reporters know the editorial writers. Do you know all the columnists in your building? and who knows the restaurant critic of the Inquirer? You are overthinking this and going overboard so as to justify what you have written in the past or might in the future. Its easy to nail a pervert to the cross.— Paul Deon
Comment removed.- JMC, I think your comment is right on the money in every way. I hope for humanity's sake that his alleged activities stopped in the 1970s, but if they didn't, they should be exposed.— will
- "One facet of this that stands out for me is that all of the accusations are from the 60's and 70's, nothing later. It would be strange that he would all of a sudden stop the abuse, wouldn't it? There may be more shoes to drop in this case."
Or, perish the thought jmc, maybe--just maybe--there's no there, there! Wouldn't that be a kick in the head for all of those who believe that accusation equals guilt.— Bucks County Mike - If Jerry Sandusky had coached Penn State's defense from a condo in Largo in Florida, it would have been a lot less likely that people in Happy Valley knew what he was up to, yes.— will
- Comment removed.
- Only an idiot would not be able to see the differences in these 2 cases. Oh, wait...I'm sorry, what?...pantload
— one_eyed_jack 
So it all boils down to "Bill who?" and "it's complicated" - and you people claim to be writers and reporters? What a farce.— m13sully- "Looking ahead, the paper needs to continue to be more aggressive than any other news outlet in uncovering other alleged crimes by Conlin or anyone who enabled them, and also go above and beyond normal journalistic practices of openness and transparency." . . . With all due respect, this comes off more like a PR crusade than sound journalism, Will. An objective reporter would at least feel compelled to question/investigate the accusers as vigorously as the accused. Are you prepared to do that? And how can you complete the task without a healthy detached inquiry of what your colleagues at the sports desk knew, or didn't know? Or even your management? I assume the law will inquire, and also that the DNs legal team is working overtime to assess and mitigate any potential liability. Maybe this is one story the DN should acknowledge it just can't cover, but just editorialize, and folks will understand why.— montani semper liberi
- Comment removed.
- Maybe the accusations are the reason he was so disconnected. Shame, fear, who knows? He built up enough clout, and technology caught up, so he didn't have to interact with anyone else. Maybe he thought that could better protect his secret.
One facet of this that stands out for me is that all of the accusations are from the 60's and 70's, nothing later. It would be strange that he would all of a sudden stop the abuse, wouldn't it? There may be more shoes to drop in this case.— jmc - I wonder if Conlin keeps his car in the garage. That will be an easy way to do it.— Mr. Smith
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