Actual V-ball mommy e-mail

TP, I've had that same sort of conversation countless times. Stuff like that used to get me irritated. Now I just accept it as part of doing business. There will always be parents who live vicariously through their kids.

I chuckle over the way people react to stuff that is so unimportant. During one prep basketball game I got there too early and the end of the boys' JV game was being played out. Anyhow, this one dude was screaming so loud at the refs that his veins were bulging out and his face was crimson. Over a fucking JV game! You would have thought someone had killed his wife, stolen the dog and burned down his house. Unreal, just unreal.

 

Hey! Those kids play quite as hard you know!

 

Aw, we're fucking with parents who are living their lives through little Johnny or Jenny, come on now.

And yes, like a previous poster said, read this post in blue font and you'll get exactly what I'm talking about.

 

well, did you?

 

Nah, somebody else did.

 

I'm sure they also have T-shirts, mugs, mouse pads and buttons.

 

Had a guy call in the other week saying that we should print every name of every cross country runner that finishes the race, even if they aren't in our coverage area, because they all work hard (tried not to laugh on the phone). He then said that if we didn't he would cancel his paper.
After I hung up, the SE and I looked at each other and basically said it was nice knowing him. People just don't get it.

 

You know, I read these threads and I wonder who doesn't get it.
Preps coverage in most places was not great to begin with, and with the slide it has only gotten worse.
Lots of niche websites and print pubs have stepped up and filled the gap.
That's readership and ad revenue that newspapers are basically pissing away.
We talk about the unlimited space online, would it bust the newshole budget to run the top 10 and then throw in a line at the end that said, "complete results can be found at the paper's online prep site, localpreps.com?
Papers used to pride themselves on being the paper of record for their community, region or state. Some had ambitions beyond that. Now, it seems, that's not the case.

And every time they tell Tony Romo's story on TV, he being the player that got a scholarship because of newspaper clippings and turned into an All-Pro, it inspires every parent in the country.
Preps coverage is actually a reason why people buy the paper in some places of the world and the expectations are pretty basic: coverage.
What do many papers give them? Nothing and then tell the readers that they should like it, because the section had to find room for an NFL notes wire package that has already been on yahoo for 18 hours by the time the paper is read.
And if the local reader doesn't understand why the paper couldn't have local coverage, then that's their fault for being stupid.
*sigh*
If somebody comes into see you, you go see them. You don't think about punching the receptionist in the uterus.
As a reporter don't you go to see people and have an expectation to be seen? If you dropped in on a coach or an admin person you would expect to do some beat maintenance or an interview.
I just don't get that attitude.
I hear people in my office, let their phones roll over to voice mail because they know, thanks to caller id, that someone is calling complain. Then they won't call the person back because they don't want to get unloaded on.

 

Word for frackin' word.

The last great prep call I took from a baseball grandmother. "You haven't had anything on the Podunk baseball team since they won sectionals a month ago. You know, they're doing very well in summer American legion play; they just won a weekend tournament! You should have a writer at all of their games."

"We actually honored the team pretty heavily in our season-ending package."

"yes, but you always write about the same boys."

"Well, they have a pitcher and a couple of hitters who always seem to be in the middle of the action."

"Yes, but there are so many other boys on the team who work just as hard . . . .including, heh, my grandson. You should write about them too."

(finally has the proof that this is just another dork family member who wants to show off the articles at her weekly bingo night)

"Well, it's been my experience that these young athletes care more about being with their friends playing a fun game, doing well and winning for each other, than they do about whose name gets in the newspaper."

(pause).

"(angry voice): You think that?!?!"

"Absolutely. had quite a few young people tell me so."

"Well, I think you're WRONG!"

"Fair enough. I think we'll just agree to disagree. Was there anything else I could do for you?"

"(blubbering . .) Uh, transfer me to your supervisor!"

"Sure."

(I knew supervisor wasn't in, she left a message. We ended up - of course - doing an 8-inch notebook item on the team, trying to get as many names in as possible. You bet I didn't write it).

Yeah, preps, when covering a game and dealing with athletes who are pleasant youngsters and fun to speak with (which, let's be honest, they are fun since most of them still have that "thrilled to be interviewed" vibe), can be great. When dealing with coaches who understand exactly how many schools you have in your coverage area and try to gt as much information to you as possible while asking for no obligation, preps can be great. When dealing with parents who understand the demands of a large coverage area and who are happy to see you at events and friendly in ways that don't promote their own kid, preps is quite a nice experience.

But when dealing with these hanger-on loser "adults", who ignore the fact that yes, club performance gets a kid a scholarship nine times out of 10, who think our little writings influence college coaches in any way, and who act like their school and their kid are the only ones in existence . . . . preps is something that, when left in the rearview mirror, it is a joyous occasion.

 

Eeh, you're absolutely right. But deadlines trump parents complaining about a lack of coverage every time and if the receptionist is too clueless to understand this, and paints you into a corner where simply saying "please come back later" is unacceptable, you have a right to be pissed.

You also then have a right to come online and bicker about it and be an immature jerk.

That's what the internet was made for.

 

When I was covering preps, I was making 32 percent of the median income in the county.

Simply put, I was not getting paid enough to get unloaded on by members of the public.

My boss wants to get on my case? Fine. A coworker thinks I'm in the wrong and calls me out? We'll discuss it. A coach wants to take me to task for something I wrote? Let's talk.

Suzie's mother wants to yell at me in front of the other swimming parents? I'm walking away. My salary did not correspond to that level of responsibility to the public at large.

 

Should have said, "please hold," and then transferred him to circulation.