Does the public care?

Depends on who the two people were....

 

No clue.

 

Then I just can't help you...

 

I wrote once or twice in five years about Saban's access policies and their impact upon fans, and I'm here to tell you most fans not only don't care, they will flood you with hateful e-mails and bond even more with Saban because they "hate the 'effin' media."

Then, of course, when they aren't getting the info they want on the team, they will e-mail you and ask wtf. If you reference the access restrictions, they will say "Get off your lazy ass and do some investigative journalism instead of wanting to be spoon-fed."

What they don't know is Saban locks down his people so tight, there will be no leaks. Wait, there will be one -- and that person will be reassigned, and then there will be none.

Except on message boards. From 100 different people who claim to have a friend of someone who talked with Saban's barber last night at 31 Flavors. And fans will enjoy the hell out of reading all 100 threads, not sure which to believe, and dissecting 1,000 different topics the same way, because they know they "don't need the media anymore."

And you will laugh at the suggestion you can do any investigative work to find out what's going on in Saban's program. Oh, yes, except for the playbook that will be on file at the public library, right next to the journal he keeps.

And every victory will embolden them more in their love of Saban and his policies: Fuck the media, they'll say in their sleep.

Lessons here, children: Fight the good fight behind the scenes, mention when an interview request is denied (if it's relevant to the story), stockpile quotes (you'll need them for days when there's no access), find the angles nobody else will think about -- and always remember the fans don't care how hard it is for you to do your job covering Saban.

I visited one of his practices at Alabama last month and visited with him for a few minutes. There are about 10 different ways I can write the story. Nine of them are snapshots of the force field he's already installed around the program. I'm pretty sure I might not write anything. You can't ask him hypothetical questions or for predictions, evaluations and comparisons. That doesn't leave much else in the spring, so I still have no idea if there is a story or column there -- especially after being unable to get almost anybody at the school on the record about Saban.

Nobody cares but us, and it will come across as whining. I know.

 

No, the public doesn't care. They all think we're out to get people and that we're scum _ except when they think we should be going after the people they don't like, and then we're accused of being lazy or covering up for those people.

 

Doesn't Saban himself ever find this to be a miserable existence - being this paranoid? Making a real effort to hide the most insignificant details from the public?

I couldn't imagine.

 

It would never work, but you know -- for $32 mill guaranteed, he'd better have his lnumber in the phone book and answer every call himself...

 

Stories like this always make me appreciate the access we have in Microville. Different cultures, I guess.

 

I could tell you stories, micro. Wait, I probably have ...

 

www.al.com/sports/press-register/pfinebaum.ssf?/base/sports/117619684436990.xml&coll=3

 

Maybe it's the whole comparing himself to Oprah thing, but I dare to say he goes a little over the top. Placed in its proper context of trying to best relay to the readers what's going on, references to media policies could be insightful to the reader, but not here. This self-aggrandizing column misses the point entirely.

 

your wrong! the media is only concerned about they're free media buffets! Next time you should review you're post before you hit send!