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AP bowl bitching thread

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by shotglass, Dec 30, 2008.

  1. spud

    spud Member

    Hopefully just for now, but yeah, that's every night. We just went through some major restructuring and are being told it's being held back "until further notice." News side doesn't care much I'm sure, but it puts a major dent in our sports coverage.

    You can't even imagine the call-ins we've taken over the last couple weeks. I don't know how much beef the higher ups are getting, but I can't imagine them getting blasted any more than we are on the front lines.
     
  2. apeman33

    apeman33 Well-Known Member

    The main reason I feel for you is because I'm pretty certain your higher-ups don't care.

    When we switched to mornings, our weeknight deadline was going to be 10 p.m. until I reminded our publisher, who played high school basketball herself, that games aren't only on Friday nights.

    So I got 11 p.m., which is better, if not always manageable. That extra hour makes a lot of difference.
     
  3. Desk_dude

    Desk_dude Member

    AP doesn't have a sportswriter based in San Antonio. So AP used its news correspondent to cover the game.
     
  4. micropolitan guy

    micropolitan guy Well-Known Member

    AP sucks tonight. NBA agate is glacial, final two boxes still haven't moved more than 30 minutes after the games, Holiday Bowl agate nowhere to be found.
     
  5. Blitz

    Blitz Active Member

    I wondered the same thing, and was sure it was being mulled here on the board (though I haven't gone back and looked)
    I mean, most every other player on both teams had parents likely at the game but we didn't see diddly of them.
    Only the Daniels clan.
    Mom, clutching her face in disbelief over an 8-yard completion. Mom, crying at one point prior to OT.
    Awful production in the truck by someone making the decisions on what to cut to.
    Awful.

    As far as the 5.2 inches of Alamo Bowl copy ...
    First, it should have been put on the wire quicker.
    But, as far as length goes, that's about all that's warranted in most papers that aren't in Illinois, Missouri or San Antonio proper.
    Grab an AP photo, wrap the text around it, go with it.
    There are 34 bowls, remember. Most readers only want to see the final score and a brief recap.
    I truly believe that.
     
  6. Big Circus

    Big Circus Well-Known Member

    Humanitarian Bowl agate wasn't in by our deadline either. It's understandable - the game only started at 3.
     
  7. shotglass

    shotglass Guest

    That's not our philosophy, even though it may be that of your paper's.

    It's not our philosophy, and we're not alone.

    And that is the reason AP has to recognize they need to get us more than 5.8" 30 minutes after the game.

    If your paper doesn't care at all about college lacrosse and we do, it's the AP's responsibility to get us a good 22" optional on the NCAA final. Whether you care a whit ... or not.

    In return, we'll ignore the good 22" optional on the Frozen Four final ... and be happy that those papers that want it got it.
     
  8. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Wow, that 12-inch story on the Sun Bowl sure was a doozy. Thanks AP.
     
  9. DirtyDeeds

    DirtyDeeds Guest

    This whole APNewsNow crap is the most frustrating thing, when they only move three grafs. Doesn't do anything but clog up the wires early in the night and screw you later in the night when you're on deadline. Sure, sometimes you only need a few grafs, but what if you need 4 and they only send 3 (which has happened here many times)? Aggravating. I'd rather just wait for a decent 10-12'' story than not have enough and THEN have to sit here and wait.
     
  10. BillySixty

    BillySixty Member

    From what I understand, AP News Now is written by someone in New York. At least that's what a member of my bureau told me when I bitched about AP News Now earlier.

    It's meant for people with cell phones and PDAs. Obviously not meant for print.
     
  11. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    the only nice thing about ap news now is it is perfect for my brief column.
     
  12. DirtyDeeds

    DirtyDeeds Guest

    Yeah, my understanding is that it is more for the Web or other multimedia, but it's still a pain in the ass. I can't say how many times during baseball playoffs or other big events that we'd get a couple of grafs and then just sit here and wait for a real story. I know it's because we have earlier deadlines these days and they surely have fewer editors on their end to get the stuff out, but it sure is aggravating.
     
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