LA TIMES Non Coverage of local event

Since I think they should be at golf, of course I think they should be at NCAA baseball.

 

I have another angle on this, and while it may not be perfectly germane, I think it speaks to some of the other things we talk about.

You have a captive audience of golf fans there.

Why not cover with a stringer at least and have a box or two (or a stand) at the tournament (and the baseball stadium for that coverage).

Now, I know that 50 or 100 papers might not make a difference for LAT, but I also think about it in terms of smaller papers.

Let's say the state high school baseball tournament/state amateur golf tournament/similar event is taking place in the same town as your 25,000 daily (or 12,000 daily).

You've got hundreds of people hungry for that info. Cut a guy loose, give it a good run and have papers available. You'll get folks buying one and -- if there's something on someone from their local area -- maybe more than one.

Gives you a bump and cements your rep.

Yes, I know I am still thinking in terms of print, but the local paper here does this big-time with web stuff.

 

Is there something that does run that you think should be eliminated for the sake of NCAA golf? If so, what is it?

The pages aren't rubber, and newsprint costs money. Not even the LAT can say, "Well, maybe we'll just run a 36-page section today."

I once thought that drive-by buyer made a difference in the long run, raised rep and all that.

That drive-by buyer is one drive-by buyer. On that day. Because one particular event is in the paper.

 

I saw what the AP had and it was about 10 inches. If the AP doesn't consider it worthwhile to write a decent story, what does that tell you about the tournament's overall news value? It's NCAA golf and a story does nothing to "cement" a paper's rep, except for a few parents and oa he's who do care.

 

Well, that IS the point. We don't do stuff we used to do because there are not as many of us around to do it anymore.

I agree with Hans that it's probably a manpower issue. If you have a staff of 20, you probably send someone. If that staff of 20 has become 10, you think long and hard about your coverage priorities.

 

I would try to cover that, for sure. Again, it all comes down to resources. I wouldn't ditch the Kings in the Stanley Cup Final to cover it, or the pro teams. But I would probably have my college beat person on that event, with a photog if possible.

 

If UCLA goes to the final in match play, I'd send somebody.

Prior to the tournament, I think a well-written 800-word feature on Patrick Cantlay (No. 1 amateur in the world) would have been just fine, depending on when the last time the LAT wrote about Cantlay beyond wire/brief. He was the overwhelming favorite to win the NCAA title (which he did not).

Staffing the thing day-by-day? Eh...I dunno. I'd probably send a shooter for art (Riviera is dramatic topographically in spots, so there should be a good shot somewhere) on day one, display if a good shot, refer to 3-4-inch brief. If not a good shot, run the art.

No offense to AP, but I just don't like (theoretically) relying on them for art. A good LAT shooter goes there for an hour, gets the shot, comes back.

The LAT brief's for shit, too, because it doesn't mention Cantlay.

 

Everything factors in. If this was being played a few weeks or even a month from now, I think they'd probably do a little more with it. Maybe not cover it every day, but as Alma said, a short preview, maybe some standalone art and then if one of the locals is in the mix on the final day, you send someone out to cover it.

 

I was just looking for some other opinions. I think both should be covered. The Cantlay factor was enough of a draw for the golf event. USC and UCLA are both in it and golf has huge interest in SoCal.
Manpower shouldn't be the issue.
The college writers are available, there's nothing else going on since spring football is over. Golf, baseball and track are the only sports still going.
Every paper has prep guys available, at least. The only prep stuff still going are the baseball finals today and Saturday and the state track meet in Clovis. Everything else is done.

I'm close to drawing the conclusion that we're spending too much time figuring out ways to NOT cover stuff than figuring out ways TO cover stuff.

(Personal note: The Palisadian Post nearly became my first job out of college. I was offered the job, but turned them down, not because of the $160 a week salary, it was because they wanted me to be the sports editor and photo editor. I didn't feel comfortable enough with my photo ability to do that and I didn't want spend half my time shooting garden club events.)

 

Cantlay is going to land a huge endorsement when he turns pro, BTW. In that market segment? Viagra and Cialis have found their muse.

 

In a perfect world, you have a staffer there.

There are big papers that aren't staffing every road game for professional teams. This is due to money and staffing issues.

The LAT presumably has several writers and photographers covering the Stanley Cup Playoffs and they had quite a few who just got done covering the Clippers and the Lakers. Then there's the two local baseball teams.

In a perfect world, you cover it, but these days the newspaper world is nowhere close to perfect.

Not to be blunt, but it's college golf. Very, very, very, very few people care.

 

As I said before, stop out at that NCAA event and count the bodies lining the fairways.