So it would appear that, in her quest for a major, Caro's getting all friendly with Rory "I'm Not A Hobbit But I Play One On TV" McIlroy. Omes Tennis spotted them in a London restaurant on Sunday, getting cozy, canoodling, and...well, I'll let her say it:
Pics were taken, and much to Omes Tennis' credit, she took them down from her blog and Twitter account over privacy concerns. I really have to applaud that move. She had the scoop but had enough respect for the athletes to pull down the pics. But those of us who did see them can confirm that it was in fact them and they did seem very very chummy.
And if you needed further proof, here's Caro's tweet from today:
Girl, we know you were dining with Rory. AND YET YOU, QUEEN OF ALL THAT IS NAME-DROPPING, DIDN'T MENTION IT? Confirmation by omission.
I find it all oh so amusing. Rory seems like a nice enough guy (though, didn't he/doesn't he have a girlfriend? If they broke up it was only VERY recently) but it just seems like such an odd match. From the pics it didn't look like this was a first date. They were dressed very super casual, third-datey, sitting on the same side of the table, etc. Also, and maybe this is just a personal thing, HE'S SO SHORT. That's a dealbreaker, ladies.
And now for a mini-rant:
A certain journalist, who has a well-documented history of attempting to "police" bloggers in our use of information, pictures, access, language, etc., has written about the whole thing and has included the pictures Omes Tennis took into her post. As I said, Omes Tennis has pulled down the pics and explained her reasoning here.
Some people might not have a problem with this. The pics are out there and they're going to be posted in forums and tumblrs and whatever. People are going to see them. People are going to use them. That's just what happens on the internet.
But "people" using them and sending them around is one thing. Hell, bloggers using them and sending them around is one thing. But a professional journalist who seems to pride themselves on setting the ethical standards bar on what is proper and improper "reportage" (seriously, there is not one blogger who has not scolded in one form or another -- it's officially a rite of passage) continuing to use pictures that a private citizen took but has since deleted seems tremendously hypocritical.
There is no bright line rule in this situation. Unless Omes Tennis contacts people directly and asks them to pull them down (Yahoo! Tennis has also posted them), people are free to use them, I guess. But let's not pretend there isn't a choice either. You can tell the story without the pictures. You're using the pictures in order to get hits. That's fine and we all understand that. But at the end of the day we're all defined by the choices we make. And when those choices are made publicly and unabashedly, especially in light of a history of "hall-monitoring", don't be surprised if we roll our eyes and laugh at you and simply refuse to take you seriously.
Respect is a two-way street. Welcome to the new world order.
UPDATED: So the reporter in question has responded in the comments to clarify the circumstances surrounding her use of the pics. I think it's only fair to include her comment in the body of the post because, well, it's the fair thing to do.
I just wanted to set the record straight. I contacted Omegie and asked for her permission before I posted the photos. I wouldn't necessarily do it for Twitter pics because that's public information. But I wanted to ensure, given the fairly blockbuster nature of the pics, that she was okay with it and was credited the way she wanted to be. She gave her permission. All of that happened Sunday afternoon. The pics and post have been up since then, long before Omegie had a change of heart Monday. She did not ask me to take them down.
So there you go. Fair and balanced.
