I don't think the witch hunt of Jeff Ireland is media fueled at all. I think it's fan fueled, and I think there's plenty of fuel for their fires.
Agreed... this is mostly fueled by a particularly ignorant segment of the fan base, and is only being nibbled at (on the edge of being "serviced" by the fringes of the media).
For instance... read the following blog post:
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2012/09/jeff_ireland_allegedly_called.php
"Miami Dolphins general manager is not a very popular guy around town (
save maybe for a few still-loyal zombies here and there)"
"Even without corroboration, it's
not at all surprising Jeff Ireland would act like a condescending jerk and call a fan an *******."
"explained his tale of meeting
the smarmiest GM in all the NFL."
When the above (which reads like a typical message-board post by a fan) is representative of the level of journalistic support for a "movement".... its hard to call it media-fueled. lol
"
The Pulp tried to call the Dolphins for comment, but got the runaround." Really? Shocking. lol
If you want to observe and study and compare a REAL media fueled witch hunt... watch the current feeding frenzy on the NFL's "replacement ref's".
Those guy are being crucified by the media, and have been since day 1. From the outside... it appears ALL major NFL media outlets made a conscious decision to make the referee's a major storyline from the moment it became apparent they would used. I'd refer to it as a pre-determined media narrative... an agreed upon (at least tacitly) lense through which all stories regarding the league are viewed - and for which any possibly related incident is magnified to "league-threatening" levels. It's to the point, I don't believe it's amiss to accuse most major NFL media of actually inciting hatred in their viewers/readers. As for the agenda behind it? Unknown. Is it the predominantly leftist view of the media (yes, even in sports writing)... just supporting "labor"? Is it the "get-back" opportunity to bash the league on a subject most would say the media was previously (with the regular "good" ref's) complicit with the league in ignoring? Is it just a predetermined judgement that the "replacement ref's" whining and complaining would be good copy - and sell stories?
Anyway, for a Dolphins fan, for whom it's only been a year or three since he witnessed the regular "good" ref's actually award a win to the Pittsburgh Steelers that they didn't earn... and assign a loss to the Miami Dolphins that they didn't earn.... its tough to watch.