Frisco Thunder's Junior Journalism Program

Jersey_Guy · Jun 8, 2008

daytonadan1983 said:

I will tell you this, there is no way I'd kill a story if the media also has it. If a player makes a decision that affects his team and his future career, dealing with the media is part of the process. And if it's a stupid decision that keeps me at the office late ...
Click to expand...

Kudos to you then, Dan.

But if your GM or owner told you to kill it, you'd kill it.

And there are many instances where things like that have happened, so - again - there's a pretty clear difference at play here.

daytonadan1983 · Jun 8, 2008

zebracoy said:

I'll agree with nearly everything that reformedhack had to say.

I understand that it can be tough when you're trying to do something, promote your product, gain awareness, etc. and the media isn't there to cover you. Such is the pitfall of minor league sports, where many newspapers and television stations feel that more people care about the major leagues than the minors (and that, unfortunately for you, is true).

I've seen the work you've put together on the Web site so far and I say that you are doing a good job with it. The plus, as you're aware, is that you don't have a limit for how long, how far, how deep, etc. you can go. But the problem comes when, as reformedhack said, you find out that the star player was arrested at a club or whatnot. What will you do then? It's an issue that you're likely going to find out you'll have to brush under the rug, so you're going to have to deal with the backlash from that, especially if something big happens.

It appears that the work that you're doing in the community is invaluable, which is a plus. I'm not sure of the franchise's situation, but I still believe that if you can get enough people to go to the games, and a strong following, the attention will come.
Click to expand...

If we had that type of situation...

I'd sent out an official statement as promptly as possible. And it would be posted on the web site as an official statement. Depending on the situation, there'd be a coverage story on how the incident affects the team.

If we tried to kill the story or ignore it, we'd be insulting the audience and putting our credibility at risk as well. Agree?

zebracoy · Jun 8, 2008

daytonadan1983 said:

zebracoy said:

I'll agree with nearly everything that reformedhack had to say.

I understand that it can be tough when you're trying to do something, promote your product, gain awareness, etc. and the media isn't there to cover you. Such is the pitfall of minor league sports, where many newspapers and television stations feel that more people care about the major leagues than the minors (and that, unfortunately for you, is true).

I've seen the work you've put together on the Web site so far and I say that you are doing a good job with it. The plus, as you're aware, is that you don't have a limit for how long, how far, how deep, etc. you can go. But the problem comes when, as reformedhack said, you find out that the star player was arrested at a club or whatnot. What will you do then? It's an issue that you're likely going to find out you'll have to brush under the rug, so you're going to have to deal with the backlash from that, especially if something big happens.

It appears that the work that you're doing in the community is invaluable, which is a plus. I'm not sure of the franchise's situation, but I still believe that if you can get enough people to go to the games, and a strong following, the attention will come.
Click to expand...

If we had that type of situation...

I'd sent out an official statement as promptly as possible. And it would be posted on the web site as an official statement. Depending on the situation, there'd be a coverage story on how the incident affects the team.

If we tried to kill the story or ignore it, we'd be insulting the audience and putting our credibility at risk as well. Agree?
Click to expand...

Do agree. To be honest, I don't doubt in the slightest that you'd actually follow through. You do seem committed to doing this the "right way," which is a positive.

2muchcoffeeman · Jun 8, 2008

daytonadan1983 said:

What's the difference between quality game-day coverage and day-to-day coverage on a team web site or team publication and game-day coverage and day-to-day coverage in a newspaper or on television or radio?
Click to expand...

"Coverage" on a team- or league-owned web site isn't "coverage" at all. It's "public relations."

Have the lines of public relations and journalism become that blurred?
Click to expand...

No. And it won't.

It's hard for minor league teams to obtain a maximum amount of coverage, given the media's shift to covering poker, athlete's efforts on reality shows and the social life of Dallas Cowboy quarterbacks so we're trying to utilize new media.
Click to expand...

The league that you're in is the key issue here. Think about it. How many people care about the Intense Football League? Now, how many people care about the National Football League? The one that most people care about gets the attention. The one that's not on the radar? Bupkis.

daytonadan1983 · Jun 8, 2008

Bupkis? Didn't he play for the Bears?

We're simply trying to build an audience in a market with potential. In 3 months, my e-mail subscriber list has grown to 1,500, we averaged 2,000 a game attendance. It takes time.

2muchcoffeeman · Jun 8, 2008

daytonadan1983 said:

Bupkis? Didn't he play for the Bears?

We're simply trying to build an audience in a market with potential. In 3 months, my e-mail subscriber list has grown to 1,500, we averaged 2,000 a game attendance. It takes time.
Click to expand...

Yes, and you're using PR and marketing tools and techniques to do it. But please don't twist that up as being the same thing as coverage by independent media.

Cadet · Jun 8, 2008

I applaud your efforts at engaging local high school kids. I do hope you are teaching them the difference between what you're doing -- public relations -- and journalism.

And I've never even heard of the Intense Football League before this thread, so y'all must not be doing that good a job of relating to the public.

daytonadan1983 · Jun 9, 2008

Well, I've never heard of you Cadet until this post, so we're even... Just kidding.

Point taken. I have some challenges ahead of me and I'm going to try to get it done one way or another.

So let me get this straight: We're not practicing sports journalism, we're practicing sports public relations using sports writing and sports broadcasting techniques. Is that right?

reformedhack · Jun 9, 2008

Emphasis on "techniques."

Log in or Sign up

Frisco Thunder's Junior Journalism Program

Jersey_Guy Active Member

daytonadan1983 Well-Known Member

zebracoy Guest

2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

daytonadan1983 Well-Known Member

2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

Cadet Guest

daytonadan1983 Well-Known Member

reformedhack Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Frisco Thunder's Junior Journalism Program

Jersey_Guy Active Member

daytonadan1983 Well-Known Member

zebracoy Guest

2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

daytonadan1983 Well-Known Member

2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

Cadet Guest

daytonadan1983 Well-Known Member

reformedhack Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches