from a notre dame fanboy site

From Blue and Gold Illustrated, which "covers" Notre Dame: Thoughts?

By RYAN O'LEARY
Assistant Editor
Red Smith is turning over in his grave right now – quite possibly to make room for sports journalism.

Actually, that’s probably unfair to say. There are still thousands of men and women out there who care about delivering the news and/or informed commentary. You just can’t hear them anymore.

The name of the game now is ratings – and for reasons unbeknownst to me, people focus their attention on the same obnoxious windbags they claim to despise. That’s how Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern and Bill O’Reilly found fame – strike a nerve, strike it rich.

More than ever, sportscasters and writers are following that lead, largely because in this media-saturated world, saying the outlandish often seems like the only way to get heard. If some people get trampled on your way to an ESPN appearance, so be it.

One of the more recent victims was Oklahoma State quarterback Bobby Reid, who saw his character decapitated in a sloppy, rumor-filled local column (Note: some writers’ names will be omitted to protect the guilty from more free publicity). Admirably, OSU coach Mike Gundy rushed to Reid’s defense in a press-conference salvo that has been the toast of YouTube.com (the Gundy clips totaled more than 750,000 views as of Thursday - 9/27 - afternoon).

Predictably, the media buzzards almost all rushed to the defense of their own, with one nationally-read clown going so far as to suggest that Gundy should be fired. A select few jumped ship – most notably Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star, who wrote such a thorough undressing of the Oklahoma gossip queen that I need not add much more.

Suffice to say, journalism school (the educational equivalent of giving your resume breast implants) didn’t teach her simple math – hearsay plus your opinion does not equal “the facts.”

This is hardly the first time the media has blurred the line between quality and fecal matter, though. Similar situations have been popping up all over the college football world this season, and that’s probably not a coincidence. Peep this exchange between Navy coach Paul Johnson and a local scribe:

Writer Guy: “I was talking to a Navy fan and he said he follows the coverage and that he noticed something and I'm just going tow put it to you. He says that it seems like when Navy loses you blame the players, i.e. ‘We can't execute fundamental plays,’ but that the success of the team the last four years has been attributed to brilliant coaching. How do you respond to that?”

Johnson: “Whatever he thinks. I don’t go down to McDonald’s and start second-guessing his job so he ought to leave me alone…If you could ever find one time that I said we won the game because of brilliant strategy I will kiss your butt at city dock and give you two days to draw a crowd. Find it and bring it to me. Tell that guy that if he wants to talk to me I live at (address given but deleted) I will be right there. Come ring my doorbell and I will be glad to talk to him.”

Note to any coach with a microphone pointed at you: if anyone opens a question with “I was talking to a fan,” you have every right to humiliate that reporter publicly. In fact, you should almost feel an obligation to do so.

Why do media members ask questions that they know don’t do any good? There’s no answer Johnson could’ve given that would’ve added merit to any real story. The question was put out there with the butt-naked intention of causing trouble.

Of course, the pen is indeed mightier than the headset nowadays – the press is supposed to be responsible for painting an accurate picture of the day’s events and the people involved. Unfortunately, that picture only gets ratings these days if it gets a dose of verbal Photoshop on the way to print.

You want the hot scoop, guys? Guess what – you’re taking the wrong route. Do you think Charlie Weis is going to be as forthcoming when someone frames a column as though it’s coming from the mind of the coach himself? Charlie will usually respond with a quick jab at a subsequent press conference, but a Gundy job wouldn’t always be uncalled for.

Such a retort from the subject probably should be viewed as a sign – “Hey, maybe I’m not doing my job so well.” But instead, it has become a badge of honor. Around here, the guy who strikes a nerve with Weis and gets a reaction during media sessions gets numerous pats on the back from his fellow “Around The Horn” wannabes as they leave.

It’s like a secret society, except the only membership requirement is the ability to be annoying.

I’m thankful that the coaches are fighting back, because it’s at least some side entertainment in a saga that makes it infinitely harder to do this job well. True, Weis is not the most forthcoming guy in football – but it’s not his job to be that. A smart person would realize this and do the best they can with the dealt hand, not push an already-tough interview toward the point where they clam up for good.

What’s funny is that while ratings indicate that the public seems to gravitate toward the controversial, the people causing the stir are usually cast as the bad guy. A pair of recent Oklahoma City TV polls revealed that more than 75 percent of viewers felt that Gundy “acted appropriately” in calling out the columnist publicly.

After all, her writing – which “belittled an amateur athlete,” as Whitlock so astutely noted – was very public, printed in a paper with a circulation approaching 300,000. Why can the writers dish it out, but not take it?

And why should anyone let them? It’s no wonder that sports figures view us scribes (or “flies,” as former NBA player Oliver Miller so fondly called us) with such disdain. The sad part is that it wasn’t always this way.

Athletes and coaches used to give reporters close personal access, and home phone numbers, all the time. A mentor of mine recalls how one night during a slow news cycle in the mid-1970s, he and some coworkers decided to pick the 10 most famous athletes in the world and, using his contact list, see how many they could reach in one night. After talking to Muhammad Ali for over an hour, he called a stable in the middle of the night and literally got Secretariat on the phone.

Unbelievable, right? It wasn’t always. But there’s a reason that stuff doesn’t happen anymore. Regrettably, I’m forever linked to it.

 

I take umbrage with this lede! I don't know if I can be an Irish fan anymore.

 

There are still thousands of men and women out there who care about delivering the news and/or informed commentary.

Let me run that thru idiotfanboyfish:

"There are still thousands of men and women out there who care about delivering the news and/or informed commentary the way I see it."

 

So, the media hates Notre Dame?

 

I think of mine as 17-inch biceps.

 

Actually, I think it's extremely well-written. This guy might be a fan, but he's clearly also a journalist. I think it's sad that we've labeled someone a "fanboy" simply because they have decided to write about their favorite team. It's not as if some dude who works at Pizza Hut is writing this.

 

He left out Keith Olbermann in mentioning obnoxious windbags.

 

Be careful knocking Olbermann on here you might catch some flack from the leftist loons. He is God to them.

 

No, God is God to me. But thanks for playing.

 

Fucking dolt.

Most writers are good, honest people who are simply there to get FACTS. Sometimes, those FACTS aren't favorable to those we cover.

But ... yeah ... just go ahead and lump us all in together ... fucking dolt.

A few columnists will throw several pieces of shit on a wall to see what sticks. A vast majority of beat guys don't.

Anyway, how dare we question those players and coaches! They give it their best! We don't understand that! We never played the game! We just want to sell papers! (blue font).

 

SAY IT AIN'T SO

 

I wonder if Blue & Gold made the writer change his name to the oh-so-Irish Ryan O'Leary.

You can't make shit like that up.