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NYT Regional Papers eliminate lines

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Rockbottom, Apr 3, 2008.

  1. Rockbottom

    Rockbottom Well-Known Member

    Hey ... I noticed in picking up my local rag this morning that an "editor's note" on the section front said that the section would no longer publish The Latest Line. In asking around, I found out that this was a "corporate" decision that evidently carries across the rest of the NYT Regional properties.

    Am I the only one who thinks that said decision is a bit naive? I mean, sure, "gambling is illegal at Bushwood" ... but still. Not running the line is sorta like not running stocks.

    Thoughts?

    rb
     
  2. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    I'm usually not one to say newspapers ought to cede anything to the Internet, but in this case the betting line may be outdated by the time people see it in the paper. I consider it like the stock listings -- people who care about it aren't going to get it from the paper.

    I've never been all that comfortable about it from a moral standpoint. I mean, why not run a daily chart with street prices for marijuana and blowjobs on Lower Main St.?
     
  3. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    What does the line cost? It isn't free. That could be a factor.
     
  4. People use betting lines to get an idea of how games are supposed to go, however, to put the matchups in some kind of big-picture context.

    I understand that it's a gambling concept and I'm not naive. But I think it transcends that, in a way. Non-gamblers check it out, too.

    Point spreads, I mean. Not, say, money lines.
     
  5. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

    Neither America's Line nor the Glantz/Culver line are free. And Sheridan/USA Today is well-compensated.
     
  6. JayFarrar

    JayFarrar Well-Known Member

    Dumb decision.
    I gamble a little, mostly pride brackets or game picking pools where you toss in $5 at the start of the season and the pool winner takes home a chunk, so I look at the line to see who is favored.
    It isn't the same as scoring a dime bag or hiring a hooker. Plus some form of gambling is legal in 48 of the 50 states. So I don't think it is a moral issue, not now at least.
    I also wonder, does that mean references to the line will also be eliminated in wire copy?
     
  7. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    Non-bettors do, but they probably don't understand that when the spread changes, it's not necessarily because a team's chances improved but to balance the betting. So it's irrelevant for information purposes.
     
  8. fishwrapper

    fishwrapper Active Member

    You could run it on the Op-Ed Page.
    So the politicians wouldn't have to look far.
    Good thought, Frank. Make us a utilitarian destination.
    I see you working.
     
  9. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

    Joe Medill used to call the Tribune's sports pages "the gambling pages".

    Dead-on.

    Doesn't make it bad.
     
  10. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    News You Can Use. I read the memos.

    Hey, why not? Craigslist.com is kicking ass with the sex ads. Time newspapers went one step further and added consumer reporting to the mix. Prices and a rating of one to five stars for each trollop.
     
  11. How so?

    I'm not a gambler, but I have smoked weed on a handful of occasions...Just curious how that is such an obvious moral distinction.
     
  12. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    I work at an NYT Regional Paper, and we have yet to cut the lines from our section.
     
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