Help Not Wanted? John Tomase Still Covering Patriots for Boston Herald

Last week we noted that the Boston Herald had posted a want ad seeking a journalist to cover the New England Patriots for the paper. The obvious conclusion was that the Herald was replacing Patriots beat writer John Tomase, who inaccurately reported that the Patriots had taped the Rams' final walkthrough practice before the 2002 Super Bowl.

The Herald's sports editor later told Boston Sports Media Watch that he wanted to move Tomase to the Red Sox beat, but for now, Tomase is still covering the Patriots. Tomase was at the Patriots' training camp practice yesterday, and he has stories in the paper today that indicate that the team is still giving him access -- he had quotes from players and from coach Bill Belichick.

Still, that ad indicates that the paper is looking for a new reporter to cover the Patriots, and in the long run, that has to be bad for everyone. Newspaper beat writers who become the story are going to have an awfully hard time continuing to cover their beat objectively.

Note: One of Tomase's stories today, about running back LaMont Jordan, says, "Jordan actually arrived in time for Saturday night's walkthrough." How strange do you think it felt for Tomase to type the words "Saturday night's walkthrough," given the circumstances of the last time he wrote about a Saturday walkthrough?