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He's got two reasons to write about it. The Carr topic is the hottest topic that will get him the most clicks and subscriptions. He gets more of both if he fans the flames of negativity about Carr, because that's what most Saints fans want to hear due to confirmation bias.Dudes got no reason to write about that.
Let's be very clear on this, Underhill is not being evil or bad, he's just doing his best to earn a living in a very competitive market. It's understandable.
TV and Radio personalities are very aware of their ratings and their primary focus is on maximizing their ratings, because they lose their jobs if they don't.The fact that it’s being echoed by multiple other people who aren’t known for clickbait...
Internet personalities are very aware of their clicks, views and likes and their primary focus is on maximizing all three of those, because their jobs depend on it. This is a cold, hard fact. It is not an opinion.
Everyone who make their living on the internet is involved in clickbaiting, whether they are known for it are not. Clickbaiting doesn't all look the same and they don't all clickbait the same, but everything they say is focused on getting as much clicks and repostings as possible.
You used the key word when you said echoed. That's exactly what's happening. One person puts an idea out their first and then everyone echoes it because they can't afford to be seen as the person that didn't also repeat the story, because it makes them seem out of the loop.
The story is being echoed by several people. It is not being reported by several people. Not a single one of them has said they made any effort to ask Carr directly. Why is that? A journalist would at least reach out to Carr to get his comments and let their viewers know that the reached out.
The quote from Underhill's article:
"There’s also another truth.The Saints ended up exercising Section 6 in Carr’s contract, the one that allowed them to restructure Carr’s deal without any further agreement. Things played out like this because there was no cooperation on the other side of the table. There were even rumors swirling that Carr wanted the freedom to explore his options — that he wanted out, and not the other way around. He might have even worked with them to make it happen."
Not even a single reference from Underhill to having a source. Not a single mention that he reached out to Carr or his agent for a comment.
The most telling thing to me is the part in bold. He doesn't say "reports swirling" he says "rumours swirling." Even he acknowledges that it's all rumors and not actual reporting.
Then he throws in his complete speculation, and all negative at that, that Carr "might" have worked with the team to make leaving happen. That's not journalism. Journalist don't throw out wild speculation like that.