Editor Defends Philadelphia Magazine, Calls Andy Reid Interview 'A Collaboration' - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid and his wife, Tammy, appeared on the cover of Philadelphia Magazine this month and spoke to a writer for the magazine about their sons' struggles with drug addiction.

Philadelphia Magazine has gotten a lot of publicity and has no doubt sold a lot of copies, but it has also faced criticism in journalism circles for allowing the Reids to read the interview and suggest changes prior to publication, a practice that is almost universally frowned upon among journalists. Joe Guckin of Outsports is one of the many journalists who has cried foul.

But in a letter to Jim Romenesko's journalism blog, the editor of Philadelphia Magazine is defending himself and the writer who conducted the interview, Bob Huber:

the interview was a collaboration between Huber and the Reids. It is the Reids' very personal story -- the coverline reads, in fact, "Our Story." This was a unique situation; not a story about the Reids so much as them telling their story, in just shy of 4,000 words. I wanted it to fully reflect the story that was in their hearts; to that end, we showed them the transcript without giving them control. Any issues they had would be discussed as part of a back and forth with me. They had only a few minor word alterations, which I was happy to make.

That's a fine explanation, but the fact remains that most magazines would not have agreed to give the Reids a look at the transcript and an opportunity to make even "a few minor word alterations." Philadelphia Magazine may have gotten a great scoop, but it didn't practice great journalism.