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Agate question

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Mark2010, Mar 25, 2010.

  1. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    How much national (NHL, NBA, MLB, golf, etc.) do you run regularly?

    Am involved in a rather spirited debate at present over whether or not to run Major League boxscores. My point is that our space (like so many others) has been reduced and that to run a full load of 15 boxscores every single day takes up an inordinate amount of space. For the same reason, we did not run NBA or NHL agate this winter.

    April, May and September, with seasonal overlaps and schools is session, are particularly challenging.

    Just wondering who else is in the same boat and how you are approaching it?
     
  2. Gomer

    Gomer Active Member

    Got rid of all but Jays boxes two years ago. When you don't get enough space to cover it elsewhere in your section there's no point in giving full agate. I now run linescores and get a roundup in if space provides. Haven't had any complaints.
     
  3. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    Our paper is located more than 10 hours from the nearest major league team. We do have a Class A team, but its so far from the majors there isn't much connection. So, as much as I've tried, there really is no regional team. Red Sox fans, Cubs fans, Cardinals fans, Dodgers fans, Braves fans, Yankees fans, probably at least a dozen other teams. So it seems like an all-or-nothing dilemma.
     
  4. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    We used to run full baseball boxscores, especially in the summer. When we switched to a smaller paper size that quickly went out the window. Now we run a Braves box and that's about it. Maybe for the playoffs or World Series. Similarly, NBA boxes don't run unless there is absolutely nothing else.
    Personally, I like it that way. I'd rather see schedules and standings from six or seven sports instead of nothing but MLB boxes.
     
  5. spikechiquet

    spikechiquet Well-Known Member

    We run no boxes, just standings for the most part. When it comes to golf...it's usually the last thing in and first thing out.

    Of course, the reason why this stuff gets dropped? The all-important 7th grade volleyball or 5th grade swimming agate that MUST run at the top. Why we don't just have all that crap run once a week (along with league bowling, shuffleboard meets and karate tournaments) on its own page is BEYOND my comprehension.
     
  6. RedSmithClone

    RedSmithClone Active Member

    We run standings and the local pro box. Then use the capsules and do a paragraph on each game that is complete. Takes up less room than a box and gives who struck out 20 or who hit the walkoff homer, or who scored the OT game winning goal or shot.

    We still get the occaisional call complaining, but it's a simple answer - we don't have the room.
    If people really want it, they can get all the stats and boxes they want online nowadays.
     
  7. flexmaster33

    flexmaster33 Well-Known Member

    Run the boxscores and use your extra time elsewhere.
     
  8. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Our newshole has been cut way, way back the last couple of years.

    We run schedules for the local pro and college teams.

    Local TV listings.

    Standings for MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL. Local pro team boxes only.

    Golf agate if room permits. Ditto for transactions, league leaders, etc.

    Some fantasy sports geeks call to bitch; we refer them to the publisher, who makes the decisions on page space.

    If he wanted to give us a whole extra page on an every-single-day basis, we could carry all the boxes the way we used to. Until then, we run what we can fit.
     
  9. Hank_Scorpio

    Hank_Scorpio Active Member

    The only problem with running things sometimes, but not others, is the consistency factor. People see it once, and they may expect it more often.

    Probably better to stick with what you can get in everyday, and then add fluff (PGA, LPGA money leaders, etc) to fill out the space.
     
  10. huntsie

    huntsie Active Member

    We run NHL standings and summaries daily. MLB: standings, linescores Red Sox boxscore (Eastern Canada, big Sox country), Blue Jays (Canadian team) and if there's a no-hitter/perfect game for example, we run that too.
     
  11. HandsomeHarley

    HandsomeHarley Well-Known Member

    I'm a small daily 3 hours from the closest major sport team, with 1 1/2 sports pages for the most part.

    That said, I love agate, and try to find ways to get it in.

    I run college standings for baseball, softball, football, volleyball and basketball for our major college conference, as well as the local juco conference. I try to run these on Mondays and Thursdays.

    I try to run major sports standings (MLB, NFL, NBA, MLS) once a week, depending on how big my second page is. Those are the first to go.

    I also run our area high school league standings for two leagues.

    I would love to run the major league boxscore for the MLB, NFL and NBA team in our area, but it takes too much space. In the case of MLB, it's a huge boxscore.

    My philosophy is that, if I can't run boxscores for every local game, then I shouldn't run them at all. Otherwise, your readers come to expect to see the boxscore for every local game (as well they should).

    Consistency is the most important thing. Standings you can run intermittently, but don't run a team's boxscore unless you can do it for every game.
     
  12. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    I'm like Harley. Small daily a couple hours away from the pro teams. Like I said in a post above, we run most of the major league stuff. We also run plenty of local agate -- college baseball standings and a state college baseball schedule (neither of which are provided by AP), high school boxes for football, baseball, basketball and softball, and high school football and baseball stats once a week.
    The local stuff is wildly popular. It always makes me smile when I hear a kid at a practice say, "I'm 50 yards behind Joe Smith from Podunk High," or when they ask what day the stats are going to run. Hell, during football and baseball seasons it might be one of our most popular running items.
     
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