There is a lot of debate in media circles over the use, and over-use, of unnamed sources—when it’s appropriate to grant anonymity, how it affects a story’s credibility, and how best to weigh access with accountability. This, from the Boston Globe’s account of Rob Gronkowski’s party cruise, justifies the entire practice:
“Am I having a good time? Oh my God, yes! Although I kind of don’t remember last night. I might have blacked out,” said a Framingham woman who identified herself as “There’s absolutely no way I’m telling you my name.”
The Gronk cruise is back in Miami this morning after a weekend in the Bahamas, so expect to see a flood of reporters’ accounts from the boat. Judging from Twitter this weekend, I think half the people there were reporters. Judicious use of expense accounts, honestly. But it’s a very big boat, and the Globe story reveals that more than two thirds of people on board had no idea it was a Gronk cruise until they showed up:
There were also plenty of cruisers who had no idea that good-time Gronkowski was among them. The Norwegian Pearl holds more than 2,300 passengers, but only 700 of them were part of Gronk’s cruise. The rest thought they were on the boat for an ordinary vacation to the Bahamas.
Non-Gronk fans interviewed said they were unfazed by the shenanigans; in fact, some of them enjoyed the additional color.
Visiting from Atlanta, Sue Fritz was on board with her husband and mother-in-law and admitted she wasn’t too interested in sports. “I’ve been telling my husband, ‘John, take a picture!’ ” Fritz said Friday afternoon. “Hey, the more drunk people there are to laugh at, the better for me.”
(In our work chat room, Drew is truthering the idea that this was indeed a Gronk cruise if he didn’t have the whole ship. “Kid Rock’s boat was ALL Kid Rock.”)
Anyway, please enjoy some sights and sounds of the Gronk cruise.
