老虎伍兹的“形像工程”

2007年8月《男性健康》杂志以老虎伍兹为封面

2007年夏，老虎伍兹(Tiger Woods)的代理人给《高尔夫大师》(Golf Digest)的编辑带来了有些匪夷所思的消息。尽管这本杂志每年花费数十万美元以保证获得采访伍兹的优先权，伍兹却罕见地接受了另外一本杂志《男性健康》(Men's Fitness)的深度采访和封面拍摄。

In the summer of 2007, a representative for Tiger Woods called an editor at Golf Digest with some awkward news. Though the magazine was spending hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to secure preferential access to Mr. Woods, the golfer had agreed to a rare, in-depth interview and cover shoot with another publication, Men's Fitness.

《高尔夫大师》的编辑杰瑞•塔德(Jerry Tarde)承认，对于伍兹的这个决定他颇感“迷惑”。知情人士透露，根据《高尔夫大师》和伍兹所签订的合同，这本刊物每年出资一百万美元向老虎伍兹基金会(Tiger Woods Foundation)提供捐赠，还负责印刷该慈善组织的年报并赞助了多个伍兹喜爱的高尔夫球巡回赛事。而作为回报，伍兹同意每月为刊物撰写有关高尔夫球技巧的稿件，并减少在竞争刊物上露面的次数。《高尔夫大师》是一本由泰纳仕出版公司(Conde Nast Publications Inc.)出版的月刊。

Golf Digest editor Jerry Tarde acknowledged that he was 'mystified' that Mr. Woods had agreed to this. Under Golf Digest's contract with Mr. Woods, the monthly, which is owned by Conde Nast Publications Inc., spent as much as million annually on donations to the Tiger Woods Foundation, printing the charity's annual report and sponsoring many of Mr. Woods's preferred tournaments, according to a person familiar with the terms. In return, Mr. Woods agreed to contribute monthly articles on golf techniques and limit his appearances in competing publications.

然而，2007年8月《男性健康》杂志所发表的文章和照片中对伍兹私人生活的详尽展示却是《高尔夫大师》从未获得过的。《高尔夫大师》的编辑塔德表示，由于那次访谈并未违反《高尔夫大师》与伍兹的协议，他并未对此表示抗议。他说，他以为伍兹之所以同意接受访问，是为了增加他的教练基思•克莱文(Keith Kleven)的曝光度。《男性健康》文章中大量引用了克莱文的谈话。克莱文没有回应我们的置评请求。

Yet never had Golf Digest been granted the level of access to the golfer's private life allowed for in the article and photo shoot published in Men's Fitness in August 2007. Mr. Tarde says he did not object because the interview wasn't a violation of Golf Digest's agreement with Mr. Woods. He said he assumed Mr. Woods had agreed to the interview as a way to generate publicity for his trainer, Keith Kleven. Mr. Kleven, who was quoted extensively in the Men's Fitness article, did not return calls for comment.

实际上，伍兹和美国媒体公司(American Media Inc.)达成了一笔不同寻常的交易。该公司是《男性健康》杂志和小报《国家调查》(National Enquirer)的所有者。直接参与协议签订的人士表示，伍兹同意拍摄《男性健康》的封面和图片报导，而作为交换，《国家调查》压下了有关伍兹和一名并非其妻子的女性暧昧关系的报导和照片。《男性健康》每期的发行量大约为70万册，还不及《高尔夫大师》近170万册发行量的一半。

Mr. Woods had cut an unusual deal with American Media Inc., the owner of both Men's Fitness magazine and the National Enquirer tabloid newspaper. Mr. Woods agreed to the cover shot and photo spread in Men's Fitness, whose circulation of about 700,000 per issue is less than half of Golf Digest's nearly 1.7 million, in return for the National Enquirer squelching a story and photographs purportedly showing Mr. Woods in a liaison with a woman who wasn't his wife, according to people directly involved in the arrangement.

美国媒体公司否认与伍兹达成妥协交易、撤掉了伍兹的照片。该公司在12月10日和11日发给《华尔街日报》的书面声明中表示，有关美国媒体公司和伍兹之间交易的描述是“不准确”和“虚假的”。该公司的发言人和律师均拒绝具体说明不准确之处，不过表示提供这份协议相关信息的人士“消息有误”。在问到是否就撤下文章同伍兹达成过协议，这位律师表示“不予置评”。

American Media Inc. denies there was any deal to quash photos of Mr. Woods in a compromising situation. In written statements to the Journal on Dec. 10 and 11, the company said descriptions of a deal between American Media and Mr. Woods were 'inaccurate' and 'false.' A spokeswoman and a lawyer for the company declined to specify the inaccuracies, but said sources who described such an agreement were 'misinformed.' Asked whether there was any deal made with Mr. Woods to quash a written article, the lawyer said 'no comment.'

伍兹的经纪人马克•斯坦伯格(Mark Steinberg)拒绝就《男性健康》的文章或者任何有关伍兹婚姻不忠的指控发表评论。美国媒体公司首席执行长大卫•派克尔(David J. Pecker)也拒绝置评。

Mr. Woods's agent, Mark Steinberg, declined to comment on the Men's Fitness article or any allegations concerning marital infidelity by his client. AMI Chief Executive Officer David J. Pecker also declined to comment.

不过，美国媒体公司的前雇员以及直接参与这项协议的人士透露，在伍兹和《国家调查》的所有者之间确有交易存在。近距离审视两年多以前伍兹的不忠行为何以免于曝光揭示出了这笔交易的最新细节。这样的审视还让我们看到了伍兹和他的助手们如何极力隐瞒这位高尔夫球手的越轨行为，以保护其超级巨星的形像──伍兹的商业赞助让他成为了体坛上最为富有的运动员之一。

But according to accounts provided by former employees of AMI and other individuals with direct knowledge of the arrangement, there was a deal between Mr. Woods and the owner of the National Enquirer. A close examination of how exposure of that alleged infidelity was suppressed more than two years ago reveals fresh details about the quid pro quo. It also offers a look at how Mr. Woods and his handlers worked to hide the golfer's off-course behavior to protect the image of a superstar whose endorsements made him one of the richest athletes in sport.

那位据称于2007年被拍到和伍兹在一起的女性最近得到了一笔数目未知的金钱，作为回报，她向通俗小报《世界新闻》(News of the World)独家讲述了她的故事。这名女子名为明迪•劳顿(Mindy Lawton)，是佛罗里达一家餐厅的员工，在照片中至少还有一位她的家人和伍兹合照。据知情人士透露，该协议禁止劳顿在12月20日之前谈论她的这段所谓情史──12月20日是那期《世界新闻》在英国上市两周后的日子。《世界新闻》发言人海莉•巴洛(Hayley Barlow)确认了劳顿和该报签有协议。她说，“《世界新闻》一向享有披露重大新闻的美誉，而这也需要付出代价。”《世界新闻》的总部设在伦敦，属于新闻集团(News Corp.)所有，该集团同时也是《华尔街日报》的出版商。

The woman purportedly photographed with Mr. Woods in 2007, a Florida restaurant employee named Mindy Lawton -- along with at least one of her family members -- was recently promised an undisclosed sum in return for telling her story exclusively to News of the World, a London-based tabloid owned by News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal. The agreement blocks her from discussing her alleged relationship until after Dec. 20 -- two weeks after it was first published in the U.K., according to people familiar with the matter. Hayley Barlow, a spokeswoman for News of the World, confirmed Ms. Lawton is under contract to the newspaper. 'News of the World has a reputation for breaking big stories and that comes at a price,' she said.

知情人士表示，《国家调查》这段故事的开始是在2007年冬末春初，故事的发生地是在佛罗里达州温德梅尔(Windermere)伍兹家附近教堂的停车场上。知情者说，为《国家调查》工作的一个人跟踪伍兹来到了那个空旷的停车场。躲在暗处的摄影记者拍到了已婚的伍兹在车中和一位女性约会的画面。知情者称，之后，摄影记者尾随伍兹来到了一个小型机场，伍兹登上了一架私人飞机离开。《国家调查》的总部设在美国佛罗里达州的博卡拉顿(Boca Raton)。

The National Enquirer episode began with an encounter in the late winter or early spring of 2007 in a church parking lot near Mr. Woods's home in Windermere, Fla., according to the people with direct knowledge of the situation. A person working on behalf of the National Enquirer, based in Boca Raton, Fla., tailed Mr. Woods to the empty parking lot, these people said. Hidden from view, the photographer snapped photographs of the married Mr. Woods meeting a woman in his car. After the encounter, the photographer followed Mr. Woods to a small airport, where the golfer got on a private jet and took off, those people said.

曾见过照片的知情人表示，由于光线过于昏暗，这些照片让人几乎难以看清楚伍兹和那个女人在停车场做了些什么。该知情者说，如果没有更多证据，这篇报导不大可能得到发表。不管怎么样，直接参与此事的人士透露，《国家调查》还是告知了伍兹的代理人和照片中的那名女性，表明该报拥有伍兹有婚外情的照片证据，并打算将约会照片公之于众。不过，知情人说，该报并没有向伍兹的代理人透露照片的画质非常之差。

The photos were so poorly lit that it was nearly impossible to tell what the couple was doing in the parking lot, says one person who saw the pictures. This person said it was unlikely the story could have been published without more evidence. At any rate, the Enquirer notified Mr. Woods's representatives and the woman in the photograph that the publication had photographic evidence of the golfer having an affair and was ready to expose the encounter, according to people directly involved. It didn't disclose to Mr. Woods's representatives that the quality of the photographs was so poor, according to those people.

知情者透露，在几个小时之内，伍兹的代理人便向《国家调查》表示，伍兹对所谓的外遇不予置评。直接参与此事安排的人士还表示，不过伍兹的代理人提议：如果《国家调查》放弃这篇报导，伍兹将坐下来接受其姊妹出版物《男性健康》的深度访谈。

Within hours, representatives of Mr. Woods told the Enquirer that Mr. Woods wouldn't comment on the alleged affair, say people close to the matter. But the representatives made an offer: If the Enquirer dropped the story, Mr. Woods would sit for an elaborate interview for sister publication Men's Fitness, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.

在伍兹阵营向美国媒体公司提议采访之后，知情人说，美国媒体公司开始和知名的Lavely & Singer律师事务所谈判。这家设在洛杉矶的事务所有15名律师，擅长以积极策略处理有关名人的文章纠纷。代表伍兹的杰伊•拉弗里(Jay Lavely Jr.)和他的合伙人马丁•辛格(Martin Singer)均未回应《华尔街日报》的置评请求。

After Mr. Woods's camp offered the interview to American Media, people familiar with the matter say the company began negotiating with Lavely & Singer, a 15-lawyer firm in Los Angeles that is known for its aggressive tactics in disputes surrounding the publication of controversial articles about celebrities. Neither Jay Lavely Jr., who represents Mr. Woods, nor his partner, Martin Singer, responded to questions from the Journal.

在经过几周的讨论之后，双方敲定了一份合同。曾见到过这份文件的人士说，合同中具体阐明了有关那次采访和拍照的原则，也同时保证，伍兹在教堂停车场约会的故事不会被发表。

After weeks of discussion, the two sides hammered out a contract detailing guidelines for the interview and the photo shoot, as well as the guarantee that the story of Mr. Woods's rendezvous in the church parking lot wouldn't be printed, according to a person who has seen the document.

那次的采访和照片拍摄在2007年完成。“我们谈得非常好，”罗伊•约翰逊(Roy S. Johnson)表示。他是《体育画报》(Sports Illustrated)的前编辑，当时约翰逊作为自由撰稿人进行了那次采访。“他在楼下的健身房为我们锻炼。他为了让我们捕捉到那完美的一击为我们击球。我们还谈到了他和妻子艾琳(Elin)经常一起去锻炼。”

The interview and photo shoot took place in 2007. 'We had a great discussion,' said Roy S. Johnson, a former Sports Illustrated editor who was working as a freelance writer conducted the interview. 'He worked out for us in the gym down there. He hit balls for us to be able to capture that wonderful swing. We talked about how he and Elin often worked out together.'

在2007年8月刊上，满面笑容的伍兹出现在了《男性健康》的封面。一篇3,500字的文章出现在内页，标题为“老虎！”这是《男性健康》的漂亮一招。美国发行量审计局(Audit Bureau of Circulations)的数字显示，当期杂志在报摊上卖掉了大约17.6万份──比起《男性健康》当年出版的10期杂志的平均发行量高出了30%。在2007年5月，约翰逊被任命为《男性健康》的主编。

In the August 2007 issue, a beaming Mr. Woods appeared on the cover of Men's Fitness. Inside, a 3,500-word story appeared, headlined 'Tiger!' It was a coup for Men's Fitness. The issue sold about 176,000 copies on the newsstand -- more than 30% more than the average for the magazine's 10 issues that year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. In May 2007, Mr. Johnson was named editor in chief of Men's Fitness.

美国媒体公司对此事的来龙去脉有不同解释。在上周四的一封电子邮件中，该公司发言人萨曼莎•特伦克(Samantha Trenk)表示，有关采访的想法来自于伍兹。“伍兹阵营接触了我们，他们很高兴老虎和罗伊之前就熟识，”她说。

American Media disputes that version of events. In an email Thursday, Samantha Trenk, the spokeswoman for American Media, said the idea for the interview came from Mr. Woods. 'Tiger's camp approached us, and was happy that Tiger and Roy had a previous relationship,' she said.

在5月下旬，《媒体投放统计》(Media Industry Newsletter)的主编史蒂夫•寇恩(Steve Cohn)接到了一家公关公司打来的电话。电话中说，他们代表美国媒体公司讲述一件事，那就是通过让伍兹登上《男性健康》封面，约翰逊使出了漂亮的一招。于是，寇恩在2007年7月16日的文章里写道，由于和伍兹的长期友谊，约翰逊得到了那次采访机会。

In late May, Steve Cohn, editor in chief of Media Industry Newsletter, took a call from a public-relations firm that said it was working for American Media pitching a story that Mr. Johnson scored a coup by getting Mr. Woods to pose for the cover of Men's Fitness. Mr. Cohn wrote in his July 16, 2007 issue that Mr. Johnson secured the interview based on a longstanding friendship with Mr. Woods.

不过在本周，约翰逊却表示，他和邀请伍兹接受采访一事并无关系，也从未被告知那场让人艳羡的访问到底是如何安排下来的。他说，“我对发生了什么事情并不知情，我当时是个自由职业者，他们让我写这个访谈，我也乐意效劳。”

This week, however, Mr. Johnson said he had nothing to do with securing Mr. Woods and was never told how the coveted interview was arranged. 'I wasn't privy to anything that transpired,' he said. 'I was a freelancer. They asked me to write the story and I was happy to do so.'

美国媒体公司表示，他们从未声称约翰逊安排了对伍兹的采访。

American Media said it has never claimed Mr. Johnson arranged the interview with Mr. Woods.