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More whining parents

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Mark2010, Nov 14, 2010.

  1. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    I never said the kid choked, but, come to think of it, would not be inaccurate if I had. I think he might have missed one PAT all year (not sure, because I'm not the regular prep guy). So now he misses the most important one of the season?? Is that not the definition of choking?

    Frankly, I'm just a little tired of all the crap that goes on with parents and on the verge of saying I flat out refuse to cover high school sports (at least the rest of this year). There are plenty more and better ways I can contribute to the paper and spend my time on.
     
  2. Diego Marquez

    Diego Marquez Member

    They call and complain that we wrote about their kid not succeeding, but they go and Tivo the next day's 6 p.m. newscast because little Stevie's going to be on TV again.
    "Maybe today they'll show the 23-yard field goal he kicked in the first quarter."
    When TV shows the miss for the umpteenth time, there's still no call to the station from daddy.
     
  3. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Is it really that vital to the story to name a kid who missed an extra point? Again, I can see mitigating circumstances in which you could more easily defend it. Bad weather. Kid is a USC or Ohio State recruit or something.

    But just some average everyday 16-year-old misses an extra point in a big game, at a key moment? It just seems weird to me to have to justify to an AD, parent, or coach why a 30-40 year old man has to name a 16-year-old kid in the name of "journalism."

    I understand that it's a matter of principle for a lot of people, but in most circumstances you can probably write around it without the coverage suffering in the least bit.
     
  4. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    For all the ripping I'm taking, by the way, I would certainly try to talk to the kid. I think that a lot of people wouldn't. I read one high school gamer after another with only coaches quoted.
     
  5. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    Had a basketball playoff game once where the star player mouthed off early in the game and got hit with a technical. Then, at the end of the 3rd quarter, kid got hit with a foul and was all set to mouth off again, and one of his teammates literally put his hand over the kid's mouth, picked him up, and carried him away toward their bench, where he cooled off.

    Funny thing was, the local team was getting clobbered at the time, and the kid's near outburst inspired them to come back and win. And I put it all in the paper, including the confrontation. Everyone thought it was great, of course, because the local team had won. If they had lost, I'm sure I would have gotten a few calls.
     
  6. CA_journo

    CA_journo Member

    Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but I don't think we're trying to be vindictive by saying what happened. If it had a major effect on the game, describe it. I don't think any of us are writing ledes like, "Podunk High would've won Friday night, were it not for the inability of Johnny Uprights to make a stupidly simple extra point. He should be ashamed."
     
  7. reformedhack

    reformedhack Well-Known Member

    Hopefully, no one is, although I've certainly seen plenty of unedited stories filed that way ... and some that actually got into print at newspapers that probably should know better.

    When you're dealing with a kid -- someone who hasn't yet reached the age of maturity and are still developing their psyche, beliefs and sense of self -- be accurate, be complete, but tread lightly. Be fair. Be as objectively compassionate (if there's such a thing) as you would be if you were writing about a family member. (Not that you would be, but, still ... .) It's the right thing to do, in the grandest sense.

    That said, you'll never please every sheltering parent. The correct response is, "I hear what you're saying, and I appreciate your feedback, but I'll have to politely disagree. We exist to inform the community what happened and why, and the fact of the matter is, the missed kick did make a difference in the game. Every story has a who, what, when, where, why and how. To leave any one of them out means we didn't do our job. We didn't belabor the point, we didn't make fun of your son/daughter. Sometimes disappointing things happen. Maybe next time we can write about the joy of winning. Thanks for calling."

    If you'd like, you can follow that by hanging up and muttering the word "dumbass" under your breath. But that's optional.
     
  8. RedCanuck

    RedCanuck Active Member

    If it's important enough to report on or staff, it's important enough to tell people what happened in the game.
     
  9. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    Not by a long shot.

    "Choking" is when you are overcome by the moment mentally, and that causes you to something physically you would not ordinarily do.

    You can miss a PAT by timing your approach wrong, or not following through correctly, or because you might have hit the ball an inch or so higher than you would have liked, or because the snap or hold wasn't quite right and your timing was thrown off . . . or you might have choked.

    But to extrapolate "important miss = choke" is just wrong.

    It's one of the most overused words in our language (with love and hate coming in at 1-2).
     
  10. zebracoy

    zebracoy Guest

    WILLIAMS MISSES KICK
    Late EP wide left; Smith out of playoffs


    That's how we roll.
     
  11. bydesign77

    bydesign77 Active Member

    I think an interesting angle to take would be, sure the missed PAT seemed like the reason the team lost the game, but here are some other missed opportunities that could have changed the outcome. Like a failed fourth down conversion or a shanked punt or a missed block.
     
  12. LevinTBlack

    LevinTBlack Member

    If you did that every parent would be mad. They would say you piled on the whole team and digged for every mistake they made.
     
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