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Indoor Football Team Asks for Feedback

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by daytonadan1983, Apr 22, 2008.

  1. daytonadan1983

    daytonadan1983 Well-Known Member

    Greetings, Professional Scribes:

    I'm asking for some feedback.

    My team is the Frisco Thunder of the Intense Football League, a nine-team indoor football league based in Texas. We are in the Dallas market, and while the Dallas Morning News has given us the coverage a minor league team drawing 2,000 a game warrants ... well, let's face it, the outdoor team over in Irving will always get the lions share.

    So we decided to do it ourselves. Each game gets a lead story, sidebar and notes on the web site. The coverage package, including photos and stats, is e-mailed to a database of 1,075 ticket holders and subscribers. We've also launched a junior journalism program for broadcast journalist students from two area high schools and the work has been impressive.

    Here's a typical gameday page:
    http://www.friscothunderifl.com/gameday0413.php

    The student videos can be accessed on the home page. Scroll down to the last one and see where one student asks our QB if he's dating Jessica Simpson as well. Classic.

    For those from Minnesota, our owner is former Vikings WR Jake Reed.

    Thank you for your time.
     
  2. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    You might want to fix your website so people can actually look at the roster.
     
  3. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    I'm with you, "the outdoor team over in Irving" gets far too much attention.
     
  4. BigSleeper

    BigSleeper Active Member

    For a league and team I've never heard of, the site looks far more professional than I expected. It's probably better than most college athletic sites.

    As for your approach to coverage, it's probably what the fans of the franchise want and you appear to serve their needs. As for the quality of the writing, well, I only needed to read two paragraphs of a game story to see it is pretty much what I expected from a team and league I never heard of.

    However, you've got a great foundation. Just needs polish.
     
  5. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    IJAG loves your website b/c it doesn't put a period in Dr Pepper. :D

    And I was going to say this will not end well, but that's a sharp-looking site and the writing is better than I've seen on many official sites. Good luck with it.
     
  6. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    Damn, who the hell decided it would be a good idea to play seven straight home games, then seven straight road games?

    Also, minor quibble, with a name like Deja Blue Arena at blah blah blah...don't try to use the arena name as a modifier. Just say "in front of a crowd of 2,001 at ..."

    Other than that, good luck. If/when the team folds, try to keep the site up to show future employers.
     
  7. mdpoppy

    mdpoppy Member

    Burn.
     
  8. daytonadan1983

    daytonadan1983 Well-Known Member

     
  9. Diabeetus

    Diabeetus Active Member

    Count me among those impressed with how the site looks. If you have someone to devote to editing stories with a styleguide (think AP), you'd be even better off. Good luck!
     
  10. -Scoop-

    -Scoop- Member

    That's a very impressive site. I actually used to cover Coach Esprit and Jackson a year ago so it's good to see they're doing well.

    But to answer the original poster's question, I think it's accessible and is very nice considering the league. Shows a lot of the effort that was put into it.
     
  11. daytonadan1983

    daytonadan1983 Well-Known Member

    I want to thank everyone who took the time to view my web site and provide feedback. It was very helpful.

    Now here's my second question: Do you see minor league teams such as mine needing to produce their own coverage on their web sites and e-mail lists as a future norm or is this something we have to do because we're in a major market?
     
  12. TheHacker

    TheHacker Member

    The original poster doesn't mention what position he has with the team, but if it's a question of trying to generate more coverage, I'd suggest digging into the smaller media outlets -- the suburban dailies and community weeklies in the region -- to see if you can get them to see where they might have some local angles.

    My paper covers a team in a league similar to this and roughly half the guys on the team played their high school ball in our area. And at this level of football, of course, they all have day jobs, so it makes for some interesting stories. Still, few people go to the games, so if you've got a decent fan base, you're doing better than a lot of other indoor football franchises. As others have said, Web site looks good. Try to dial down the homerism and cliches in the stories, but it does look like something that was done with care.
     
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