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Don OhlmeyerE-mail | BioDon Ohlmeyer is the public's representative to ESPN, offering independent examination and analysis of ESPN's media outlets. One of television's most successful innovators as a sports and entertainment producer, programmer and network president, the longtime NBC and ABC executive was honored with 16 Emmys, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Peabody Awards. He will critique decision-making, coverage and presentation of news, issues and events on ESPN's platforms. Ohlmeyer will have an 18-month tenure and succeeds ombudsmen George Solomon and Le Anne Schreiber. |
ESPN's excess root of fan frustration
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN ombudsmanIn her final column, the Ombudsman offers this advice to ESPN: curb the excess, dial back the arrogance and don't be so predictable.
Story | March 15, 2009Gammons/A-Rod was no Frost/Nixon
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN ombudsmanESPN's Peter Gammons should have pressed harder on certain questions in his recent interview with Alex Rodriguez, writes the ombudsman.
Story | February 15, 2009ESPN can define boundaries and keep its edge, too
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanIf ESPN sets clear boundaries for news coverage and news-related commentary, writes the ombudsman, there are ways for media company to be as edgy as it wants.
Story | December 15, 2008ESPN has minuscule margin on mistakes, apologies
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanThanks to its wafer-thin margin of error, winning the perception game with users, writes the ombudsman, can be difficult for ESPN -- even when it endeavors to do the right thing.
Story | November 12, 2008Breathing Room: ESPN must stop the suffocation of synergy
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanESPN has been so successful at building a better fantrap, writes the Ombudsman, that some viewers looking for a sports escape need to escape ESPN to enjoy sports.
Story | September 10, 2008Geography lesson: Breaking down the bias in ESPN's coverage
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanIn investigating allegations of East Coast bias at ESPN, the ombudsman concludes that, if there is collusion across platforms and programs, it is in the creation and promotion of superstars with the potential for crossover appeal among all fans.
Story | August 13, 2008Written guidance necessary to establish boundaries of comment
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanWithout a formal handbook of guidance and policy, writes the ombudsman, there is not much chance ESPN's producers, editors, columnists and commentators will ever be on the same page.
Story | July 13, 2008ESPN is right to engage, not avoid, racial matters in sports
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanESPN, writes the Ombudsman, should not have its motives impugned when it takes on racial matters, whether in TV documentaries or online columns. The bar is set too high. The only alternatives, she writes, are to clear it or take the lumps trying.
Story | April 13, 2008New-and-improved "SportsCenter" throws ombudsman curveball
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanAfter recently watching 10 straight days of "SportsCenters," the ombudsman was pleased to see crisp, clean shows dominated by highlights and news, with remarkably few gimmicks, sponsored segments or cross-promotions.
Story | March 17, 2008Proportion, perspective missing ingredients in news coverage
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanHolding ESPN to a lofty journalistic standard, the ombudsman writes that, in several recent high-profile news stories, the sports network lacked proportion, perspective and decency.
Story | December 10, 2007Fed fast food of opinion, ESPN audience starves for reported fact
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanThe main function of sports news, it seems, is to serve as the molehill on which mountains of opinion are built. We don't have news cycles anymore, writes the Ombudsman, we have opinion cycles.
Story | October 05, 2007Vick coverage shows ESPN at its best -- and less than best
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanESPN's avalanche of reporting, analysis and commentary about Michael Vick's legal issues showed the network operating at its best, at its less than best, and as usual.
Story | September 07, 2007After 'Who's Now,' question for ESPN is 'What's Next?'
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanNo single topic has ever drawn the volume and intensity of unsolicited complaints to the Ombudsman's maibox than SportsCenter's recent "Who's Now" tournament.
Story | August 07, 2007ESPN must allow announcers to keep eyes on the ball
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanThe Ombudsman says that many ESPN broadcasts of live games seem more scripted than spontaneous and that announcers should be allowed to keep their eyes on the ball.
Story | July 09, 2007At ESPN, conflict of interest is business as usual
Le Anne Schreiber, ESPN OmbudsmanESPN pays rights fees to leagues. It also covers those games as a news organization. The two intersect in ways that have the ombudsman asking questions.
Story | May 10, 2007TOP SEARCHES IN OCTOBER
NFL Expert Picks tops ESPN.com searches in October. Did "ombudsman" make the list?
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