Gainesville Sun gets it very, very wrong

No way... I would hide my head in shame if my paper ever referred to a local team as "We" in a headline...

That's pretty bad...

 

And seriously, perhaps I should quit while I was ahead, but top blue-chip recruits can turn programs around, and of course the fans of those programs care where the top players are leaning toward, commit to, or sign with. It's news -- it's too much these days, granted -- but it's news.

 

I'm not looking to weigh in on either side here, but here's some clarification or additional info.

The quote attributed to the student paper came at a gymnastics media op.

Now whether Robbie should've been there because the gymnast has become almost a football story, that's certain debatable, but I just wanted to clear that up a bit.

 

Given the amount of publicity said gymnast has gotten since she arrived in Gainesville and her link to the football program, there's no question Robbie should have been there.

But that's how the Sun works. If it falls into their lap, great. If it doesn't, someone else will report it first.

Don't get me wrong, Robbie works his ass off and being the football writer at that paper has got to be one of the most neverending, thankless jobs ever, but after being at a paper like that for that long, it's understandable that someone could get a little complacent about their job.

 

One of the problems with recruiting news is that many newspapers have allowed themselves to get a little bit pregnant and relax their sourcing rules -- which is ludicrous considering they're flaky 18 year old kids and if anything, the sourcing should be a bit tougher.
Newspapers really can't compete with rivals.com, talk-radio or fan sites because those entities are not playing by the same rules, or any rules, for that matter. When you don't care if you're wrong and don't care about credibility, then it's easy to claim scoops, and easy to forget the times you stepped on it.
I don't think I'll ever be a sports editor but if I did, here's how we would cover recruiting news:

1. Try to stay on top of the best kids in your coverage area.
2. Try to keep up if the school you cover is in serious contention for that one kid in 10 years -- Tebow, Herschel, etc.
3. Do a full page two weeks before signing day wrapping up what you know to that point.
4. Cover the hell out of signing day.
5. Don't worry if some dweeb blog or fan site breaks a four-star safety going to your school.

 

If you were in an NFL market, would you avoid draft stories until the day of the event?

 

I pretty much agree with this. Basically, just do the best you can, and don't fuck up because you gambled with some info because some dork on the internet pressured you into it.

 

i can't believe i'm going to type these words, but here they are -- hondo has it nearly 100% right

(his only foible, of course, comes with his man-love for tebow, comparing him to the greatest player in college football history)

 

Yeah, I caught that, too.

 

oh, absolutely -- i don't disagree it has to be covered (though not necessarily the way many currently do)

i just can't fathom why people care so much

 

dixie,

recruiting and the nfl draft are hardly the same thing.
aint like reggie bush comes out and says he's going to play for the raiders then changes his mind.