Beat writers on the road

Since you mentioned The Tennessean ... they haven't spent money on shit in months. Bare bones for the Titans on the road, and next-to-nothing on the road for UT and Vanderbilt hoops. Stunning, but their beat guys aren't making the decisions.

I still travel almost everywhere for football and hoops on my SEC beat, but I've noticed the past few weeks that most other papers — even good-sized ones — are cutting back or eliminating travel. The difference in my beat's home and away presence is staggering, too. I've had only one annual trip eliminated so far, but two more are possibilities, and that's much better than most beat guys in the league have it right now.

I'm guessing the league tournament moving from Atlanta to Tampa will also have a negative impact on coverage, too. Some shops (like us and a few others I know) are cutting out a few regular-season trips to make up the difference, and others simply won't cover the tournament.

If the AJC didn't go to Tampa for the Super Bowl, will it go there for the SEC hoops tourney???

 

Yeah, I'll agree. I think you still have to cover the "biggest game in town," whatever that is.

Anything outside of that, the second-, third- and fourth-fiddle teams in the market, we're going to have to start thinking long and hard about. No matter how much that sucks.

 

I can understand how the Buffalo News and the Tennessean might cover the Sabres and Predators differently. Was just wondering how wide-spread this was these days.

I remember years ago, a reader called to ask why a certain metro daily didn't send a beat writer on a west coast trip with its NBA team. The SE responded that because of the late starts, they wouldn't be able to get much copy in anyway. I suspect the truth was 1) the team was in last place and in total disarray and 2) the money could be better spent elsewhere later in the year.

This being only January, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the year goes. What if, for example, you build a budget one way and suddenly your local pro or D-I team makes a surprising run to postseason? And you don't have money in the budget to travel for something you didn't think was going to happen? Will the suits give you enough leeway to cover it?

 

Sorry that -- along with Cosmo talking about staying with family while on a road trip -- is ridiculous. I don't give a rat's ass what the situation is -- if they want you to go on a road trip, they need to pay for it and if they don't want to or can't then you shouldn't cover it.

This is the kind of crap that is going to become expected -- I'm all for cutting costs, I do all kinds of things to cut costs -- but I'll be damned if I ain't staying in a hotel and having all my meals paid for if I am working.

 

Hey, I hear you, but when it's do this or don't go, how do you blow off a years worth of coverage if they handcuff you? I'm just saying. I don't agree with them doing it either and the issue has been discussed

 

You don't go.

I say this all the time -- imagine an accounting firm sending a team of accountants to a city a few states away and asking them to stay with their friends to cut costs.

It is insanity -- and the fact that people in this business are too willing to do it just to be able to cover some event is the reason that it is expected like it is.

It is an embarrassment.

You tell them "I get a hotel or we don't cover it" and let them live with the fall out.

And I'll give you a great example -- a couple of years back our shop was going to make the traveling contingent to a major event share rooms -- those in the party said "hell no, we won't go" -- a few days later, they all had their own rooms.

 

Here in our little corner of the world, which isn't exactly easy to get to, Pittsburgh (Duquesne) and Philly (St. Joe's) papers both bailed on sending someone to cover an Atlantic 10 game in Olean.

That brings up a different question: if it had been Pitt or Villanova instead, would they have made the same decision?

 

Zagoshe is 1000% right. Once you offer to pay for your own lodging and meals to "help out" a company that doesn't need the help and won't ever cut you a break for being a Team Player, it's all over. "Oh well you found a friend to stay with in Town X...can't you do that in Town Y too?"

 

A-fucking-men.

 

Well both of the papers did go with Pitt to Villanova last night -- which I am guessing is a longer drive (and probably more expensive hotel) than Olean, N.Y. so that might be your answer.......

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/college/pitt/s_609302.html

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09029/945405-175.stm

 

Long before this recesssion hit and even oprevious to the last 2-3 years of travel cutback, I always wondered why bother staffing the Super Bowl unless your team is in it.

There are thousands of media already onsite, and what can you possibly expect your writer(s) to get that isn't already being reported by 100 other sources? OK, maybe a must-read columnist, but that's it.