Life on Florida’s West Coast

Divorce as a Spectator Sport

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The media certainly seems to be taking delight in the news that Linda Hogan, wife of wrestler Hulk Hogan, recently filed for divorce. Look at the headlines on just about any of the major news agencies online and you will see all the details.

Due to open public records, it sounds like Terry Bollea (Hulk’s legal name) found out about his divorce filing about the same way I found out about mine. A reporter from the St. Petersburg Times (our alarmingly left-leaning local newspaper) broke the news to him. I found out about mine when an attorney called me offering her services. I had been unaware before that my ex husband had actually filed. Vultures.

Poor guy. I know what it is like to have a stranger inform you about your own impending divorce before your own spouse has the nerve to tell you. Unfortunately, in Hogan’s case you have to add the element of the press. The whole world knew that Linda filed before he had a chance to speak to her himself.

He thanked the reporter for the “great information” then called back five minutes later to say, “I’m kind of shocked. You caught me off-guard. My wife has been in California for about three weeks. … Holy smokes. Wow, you just knocked the bottom out of me. … I just pulled over to the side of the road for five minutes to find out what was going on here.”

I have no respect for the reporter who made the call. I have degrees in Journalism and I have worked in newspaper, radio and television news. You get paid less than a typical retail sales clerk and the hours suck. Unfortunately, what that does is create a drive in most journalists to get scoops on big stories so they can eventually move into jobs in larger markets, and subsequently earn a little more money. The internal ethics of your garden variety journalist are sick, twisted, and darker than an open grave. Believe me. There is a reason beyond money that I quit the industry.

I’m making the assumption that the journalist in question is Jacob H. Fries, since his byline is first on the story. Do you feel like a big-time reporter now, Mr. Fries? What does it feel like to get your scoop on the back of someone else’s private emotional anguish?

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