George Solomon
Encyclopedia
George Solomon is a former sports editor
and columnist
at The Washington Post and was the first ombudsman
for ESPN
.
Solomon is a 1963 graduate of the University of Florida
. He began working at the Post in 1972. He served as assistant managing editor for sports from 1975 to 2003. From 2003 to his retirement, he was an assistant editor for the paper. He continues writing a weekly Sunday column for the paper.
As ESPN's ombudsman, Solomon has been open about several potential conflicts of interest he may have. His son, Aaron Solomon, is a producer for ESPN's panel show Around the Horn
. Pardon the Interruption
co-hosts Michael Wilbon
and Tony Kornheiser
, World Series of Poker
announcer
Norman Chad
, and reporters Rachel Nichols
and Ric Bucher
all were co-workers of Solomon's during his time at the Post.
As ESPN's ombudsman, Solomon has notably criticized the network for airing Bonds on Bonds
, a reality
series on Barry Bonds
in which the controversial baseball player was able to exercise some creative control, for devoting too much coverage to the actions of controversial wide receiver
Terrell Owens
, for not making clear the difference between commentary and reporting on their shows, and for generally having too much sensationalism
and not enough journalism
in their stories.
He has also defended the network's choice of games to broadcast and their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
, which was criticized by many soccer fans.
Solomon stepped down from this position at the end of his contract. On April 1, 2007, Le Anne Schreiber
, a former sports editor of The New York Times
, became the new ombudsman for ESPN and will serve a fixed two-year term.
He edited Shirley Povich
's book All Those Mornings at the Post.
Beginning in 2003, Solomon has taught Sports journalism
classes at the University of Maryland, College Park
.
Also in 2003, Solomon was honored by the Associated Press
Sports Editors, who awarded him the Red Smith Award
, which is America’s most prestigious sports writing honor.
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
at The Washington Post and was the first ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
for ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
Solomon is a 1963 graduate of the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
. He began working at the Post in 1972. He served as assistant managing editor for sports from 1975 to 2003. From 2003 to his retirement, he was an assistant editor for the paper. He continues writing a weekly Sunday column for the paper.
As ESPN's ombudsman, Solomon has been open about several potential conflicts of interest he may have. His son, Aaron Solomon, is a producer for ESPN's panel show Around the Horn
Around the Horn
Around the Horn is a daily, half-hour sports roundtable on ESPN filmed in Washington, D.C. It airs at 5:00 pm ET, as part of a sports talk hour with Pardon the Interruption. The show is currently hosted by Tony Reali.-History:Around the Horn premiered on November 4, 2002, hosted by Max Kellerman...
. Pardon the Interruption
Pardon the Interruption
Pardon the Interruption is a sports television show that airs weekdays on various ESPN TV channels, TSN, ESPN America, XM, and Sirius satellite radio services, and as a downloadable podcast. It is hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, who discuss, and frequently argue over, the top stories...
co-hosts Michael Wilbon
Michael Wilbon
Michael Ray Wilbon is a former sportswriter and columnist for the Washington Post and current ESPN commentator. He serves as an analyst for ESPN and co-hosts Pardon the Interruption on ESPN with former Post writer Tony Kornheiser, and has been doing so since 2001.-Career:Wilbon began working for...
and Tony Kornheiser
Tony Kornheiser
Anthony Irwin "Tony" Kornheiser is an American sportswriter and former columnist for The Washington Post, as well as a radio and television talk show host...
, World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
announcer
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
Norman Chad
Norman Chad
Norman Chad is an American sportswriter and syndicated columnist who is seen on the sports channel ESPN. He also was an occasional guest host on the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption and has appeared as both host and movie critic on the ESPN Classic series Reel Classics.He writes a weekly...
, and reporters Rachel Nichols
Rachel Nichols (reporter)
Rachel Michele Nichols is an ESPN reporter. A regular part of ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown shows, as well as a regular on ESPN's NBA coverage, Nichols is also a correspondent for E:60. She worked for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and Washington Post...
and Ric Bucher
Ric Bucher
Ric Bucher is an NBA analyst for ESPN and ESPN.com. Bucher is also a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and a columnist for ESPN.com.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bucher is a 1983 graduate of Dartmouth College, where he played four years on the varsity soccer team. Bucher has covered the NBA since...
all were co-workers of Solomon's during his time at the Post.
As ESPN's ombudsman, Solomon has notably criticized the network for airing Bonds on Bonds
Bonds on Bonds
Bonds on Bonds is a 10-part reality TV series starring former San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds that aired on ESPN. The show revolved on the life of Bonds and his chase of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron's home run records...
, a reality
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series on Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
in which the controversial baseball player was able to exercise some creative control, for devoting too much coverage to the actions of controversial wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Owens has been one of the dominant receivers of his era...
, for not making clear the difference between commentary and reporting on their shows, and for generally having too much sensationalism
Sensationalism
Sensationalism is a type of editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in news stories and pieces are over-hyped to increase viewership or readership numbers...
and not enough journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
in their stories.
He has also defended the network's choice of games to broadcast and their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, which was criticized by many soccer fans.
Solomon stepped down from this position at the end of his contract. On April 1, 2007, Le Anne Schreiber
Le Anne Schreiber
Le Anne Schreiber is a former ESPN ombudsman.Schreiber replaced George Solomon in this position, who had served for twenty-one months as ombudsman...
, a former sports editor of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, became the new ombudsman for ESPN and will serve a fixed two-year term.
He edited Shirley Povich
Shirley Povich
Shirley Lewis Povich was an American sports columnist and reporter for the Washington Post.-Biography:Povich's parents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania...
's book All Those Mornings at the Post.
Beginning in 2003, Solomon has taught Sports journalism
Sports journalism
Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events.While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports...
classes at the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
.
Also in 2003, Solomon was honored by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
Sports Editors, who awarded him the Red Smith Award
Red Smith Award
The Red Smith Award is awarded by the Associated Press Sports Editors for outstanding contributions to sports journalism. It has been awarded annually at the APSE convention since 1981...
, which is America’s most prestigious sports writing honor.