Journalism 101

Rolling Stone usually does a pretty good job of bringing its interview subjects to life. Unfortunately, the recent piece The Upside of Anger, a portrayal of Denis Leary written by Erik Hedegaard, has less substance than the typical cover of Tiger Beat. My initial disappointment with the article’s lack of anything print-worthy compelled further, in-depth analysis. So, in an attempt to right various journalism wrongs, I have evaluated three passages from Erik’s work. (I could excerpt even more, but that would skew this blog post’s pain-benefit analysis towards uncomfortable extremes.)

First off, thanks to the article’s insightful third paragraph, I knew I was reading something special right off the bat. Indeed, I felt like I knew Denis Leary better than my own father after encountering his quip, “Tomatoes. I could rub tomatoes on my face and then eat them, that’s how much I love tomatoes.” Hmm. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then this 18-word statement makes up about 1/55th of an image. Yeah, that sounds about right.

The interview continues. Next up is a puzzling transition, found at the end of the following paragraph:

…Leary’s dominant stance is outrage. Everything outrages him, and to maintain sanity he must express his outrage.

Today, he’s wearing jeans, scuffed Buttero work boots (black, $375, Barneys) and a T-shirt. He’s gangly….

Now, there’s an abrupt shift. That shift is positively San Andreas-worthy. Nothing says “outrage” quite like an expensive pair of poseur work boots. I mean, how can you get upset about anything when your feet are being coddled with four Benjamins’ worth of handcrafted Italian leather?

I wear eight-year-old Docs, so I’m entitled to my outrage -- I hate communism, enemies of Halfcookies, and crappy interviews. Speaking of outrage, let me tell you about the one time… hang on, this goddamn Ferragamo tie (rabbit print, $145, Neiman Marcus) keeps dangling onto the keyboard… need a clip… there. Ok. What was I talking about?

Oh yeah, that pricey footwear of Mr. Leary’s. How did Erik even get Leary’s shoe scoop, does stuff like that just casually come up in these circles? Or did he go out of his way to ask? Or did Leary volunteer it? Each scenario is painful to imagine. I just can’t fathom how the name of the store where Leary bought his “work boots” is relevant to the interview at all, especially in the context of outrage. The mind reels.

The interview continues. With this third set of excerpts, Erik gives all of you young journalism students out there a valuable lesson on meeting your readers’ expectations:

…it’s only when he begins talking about what it was like for him as a kid…that he really begins to hit on something. Because it is truly an odd story. In fact, it may be the oddest story of all time.

The oddest story of all time -- that’s very explicit foreshadowing. That’s the kind of heavy-duty literary device that will get anyone on the edge of their seat. Are you psyched? Me too, this must be some great story! Let’s brace ourselves first, and then dive right in to the astonishing details of Leary’s childhood:

• “His mom was a mom.”

• “He went to a Catholic School [and] had the hots for Sister Sharon.”

• “…he played street hockey and baseball.”

• “Sometimes he got spanked. Big deal, that’s the way it went in those days.” (Well, you’ve got me there, Erik. A sarcastic big deal does wonders for hammering home your “oddest story of all time” angle.)

• “…when [Kennedy] was shot, [he] was sent home from school, where he watched the [P]resident’s assassin get assassinated on TV. He was six.” (I have to admit, Erik -- this might be another good one. I’ve always felt that watching the Challenger disaster on TV made me unique.)

Ok, so these details might not paint as vivid a picture as you had anticipated, but at least maybe now you can guess why “The Oddest Story of All Time” is not currently in theaters. Leary’s not quite done, however, so there’s still hope. Hope that Erik will wrap up this coming-of-age discussion with a double-decker slice of literal Learycake, with something so intensely profound that it springs forth from the page and screams, “This is Dennis Leary!” Something like:

…that’s what Leary has to say for his childhood. Apparently nothing bad ever happened. … In fact, the one word he would use to describe his childhood is ‘fun.’

Erik, you’re killing me.

Time to reflect: a fun childhood, filled with such unusual things as a crush on the teacher, getting spanked, and witnessing events that everyone else in the nation witnessed, is the oddest story of all time. Well, now that the story’s been told, I suppose we can all put down our pens and pick up our Xbox controllers. J-schools, your mission is complete.

It’s rare that you encounter text more vacant than a sauna in Hell. Rolling Stone should have just published Leary’s photo and given the photographer the article’s byline. Erik, here’s a piece of friendly advice: the next time you farm out an assignment to a journalism student, try reading it a little more carefully before you put your name on the damn thing.

The Upside of Anger appeared in issue #1035 of Rolling Stone.