Sports-savvy readers could be crying foul if Red Sox owner John Henry's bid to team up with the owner of the Bruins to buy the Globe wins out, fearing the beleaguered broadsheet would shy away from hard-hitting coverage, according to media experts.
"If he owns the paper, he can give good coverage to the team," said Edward Atorino, a media analyst with The Benchmark Company. "I know what I would do if it were my paper. I'd certainly want a bias to the positive of covering my team — come on."
Henry is joining forces with Delaware North — which is run by Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs — in an offer for the paper, according to a report in yesterday's Globe.
The potential conflicts could be difficult to deflect.
Editors, feeling ownership pressures, may avoid running hard-hitting Red Sox coverage or breaking a controversial Bruins story, if they fear it would upset top brass — especially in a struggling journalism job market, said one expert.
"It's what's in the back of an editor's mind, knowing he or she has a family to support and a job that's hard to replace," said Ken Doctor of Newsonomics.
Doctor said the Globe would have to demonstrate an ability to be objective despite the apparent conflict. He suggested running a box on page 2 of the sports section every day declaring the relationship and how the paper plans to avoid a conflict of interest.
Reached by phone, Henry declined to comment yesterday. Henry and Delaware North are co-owners of the New England Sports Network.
Jacobs' son, Charlie Jacobs, told the Herald: "I can't confirm or deny what has been reported. I can't comment because of the process. I know that's an awful quote, but that's all I can say."
It wouldn't be the first marriage between a newspaper and a professional sports team, Doctor pointed out.
The Chicago Tribune also owned the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field until 2007.
The Los Angeles Times got into trouble over a profit-sharing agreement in 1999 to publish a special magazine issue about the then-new Staples Center without disclosing it to readers and staff.
But Doctor didn't think the possible Globe-Red Sox conflict would hurt Henry's chances in the actual bidding process.
The Globe and Times both declined to comment.
Sports columnist Steve Buckley contributed to this report.
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