Anyone else getting bombarded by angry parents?

Agreed, we should just sticky a "Vent about your dealings with pissed parents" thread at the top. It just seems the "my kid is entitled to have a front page picture and more stories" emails and calls are on record pace this year ...Must be the economy or something...


The funny thing I was just reviewing my emails, and i had emailed a local track coach recently to apologize to him for not covering a championship meet that I told him I would cover (long story, plans to go got derailed by circumstances beyond my control). In my email to him I gave my competitor a pat on the back for being there while I wasnt, and he proceeds to rip the competitor because he said they covered the other high school in town more than his school!!

His words: "You would have thought Team X was the only school there, they give us little meniton. I understand it is hard to be everywhere .... But People have no idea how hard those young men and women work, but it is paying off and will pay off."

It never ends...

 

No, many are not.

Perceived better access to scholarships is one reason; plus, parents just like to see their kids recognized. It's often irrational, but sometimes it's not that sinister.

When she was in high school -- and she just graduated from college Saturday, so this is a while back -- my daughter scored seven or so points in a basketball game, and she was like the 10th player on the bench.

That was one of the few box scores that didn't make the paper that season. I didn't call because I know how that works, but yep, I was disappointed.

 

I mean no disrespect when I ask this - and part of it is curiosity, because I'm going to have my first one soon enough - why did it matter to you? Who ever would have noticed anyway? Or seen it? Would your daughter have cared?

I guess I'm just fascinated by the psychology of what parents latch onto when it comes to seeing their children "recognized."

The classroom is an interesting petri dish, as well. My wife is an elementary school teacher, and she says that parents absolutely flip out over spelling words. They obsess over how their children are doing at spelling. Meanwhile, getting them to help their children write or understand, say, science or reading comprehension - more subjective subjects - is a losing battle.

I imagine the two are related. Success in sports - along with spelling and math - are black and white and parents can understand them.

I talk all this shit now. I'm sure that in 12 or 13 years, I'll probably completely understand the instinct that leads to this.

 

The worst is when publishers or higher-ups get wind of these angry parents, and force you accomodate these "customers."

As a result I'm thinking of having my mom call the Pulitzer Prize committee. I work hard and I deserve one.

 

No, they do not get it.

Spring is probably the worst season of the year to deal with it. There are so many sports, plus it's a short season to begin with, then you have to deal with rainouts, etc. You can't cover everything, so you try the best you can.

If someone has a complaint, you try to reason with them. Most of the time, you can't.

Some of these people are very predictable. We have a retired school teacher here who goes with his wife to every girls sporting event at the main local high school. If we don't have a photographer at one of those games in the first week (we always cover those teams' home games, but whether we shoot them depends on what else is going on), he will send in a letter to the editor bitching that we never give the girls sports any coverage. Of course, by the end of the season, when we've probably shot more photos there than anywhere else (usually because those teams are pretty good), we never hear from him again.

Our main problem here is the seasonal overlap. Iowa plays its prep baseball and softball in the summer. So in two weeks, when soccer, golf and tennis are in their postseasons, the baseball and softball teams will begin playing games. Naturally, the postseasons in the other sports get priority (we always get an area soccer team to the state tournament), so we know the first couple of weeks we can't do a lot of baseball and softball. Naturally, those are the people who start bitching.

 

Um, probably because they're living vicariously through their kids.

 

One thing I've tried to start doing is invite these angry parents to serve as my point person for their team, in case we're not able to cover their games -- turning it back on them to make sure we're informed.

Sometimes you get folks who are willing to call in scores or let you know when the schedule changes (which happens a lot in spring). Sometimes, they just fuss at you more about "that's your job." But I have gained a few helpful correspondents out there by doing this... And sometimes that just stirs the hornets' nest more...

FB

 

Right, but what I'm saying is the phenomenon should be so well-known by now that I'm surprised people don't recognize it in themselves when they venture into that territory.

 

Just got an e-mail from a mom who was angry because our softball beat writer finally covered her kid's team, and they lost. We planned it that way, you know.

Earlier in the week, same day we run an anchor piece on an unbeaten freshman kid in an individually oriented sport, I get a fax from his father, who is a lawyer. Actually, it's from his secretary, who typed his letter for him, pointing out that we hadn't yet run a three-paragraph brief on some players from the same school's girls team (the girls version of this sport is played in the fall here) winning a coaches association award for having high GPAs.

Does he bother to have his secretary thank us for the front-page splash? Of course not.

Because, you know, everyone deserves this kind of coverage.

 

"You only cover us when we lose" is my favorite complaint.