Offical titles of games?

Exactly. If they want to pay us, we'll put their name in there. Otherwise, fuck 'em.

 

Our football state tourney has been called the 'KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl' for the last two years. I don't know of one paper who has used those words in print.

 

Newspaper A:
Don Bosco Prep's 34-13 victory over Bergen Catholic in the NJSIAA/Gatorade Non-Public, Group 4 championship game last night at Giants Stadium

Newspaper B:
Don Bosco sewed up its third straight Non-Public Group 4 title, stopping archrival Bergen Catholic, 34-13, at Giants Stadium.


Now, guess which paper is a sponsor of other NJSIAA events?
Then, guess which paper just bought out half of its newsroom staff?

 

This happens a lot in NASCAR (as, of course, you might expect.)

My last paper's style -- and we had the biggest gearhead SE in the business -- was always to get rid of the sponsor's name unless you could not avoid it.

The Coca-Cola 600 is the Coca-Cola 600; no other way around it. But the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola is just the Coke Zero 400.

 

Dan Lowry is not happy...

 

Oh, the namesake of the Dan Lowry 400 is plenty happy if he read our paper. But I would bet Crown Royal is not happy.

 

What about the Houchens Sweet 16?

 

One of my favorite golf events this year was the "Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open." If we left the whole name the title would almost be as long as our cap for the event.

Fuzzy Zoeller was the first winner of the event in 1983. I doubt JT's name was attached to the event then.

 

Wow. That ties Canon Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open for the record, does it not?
Hey, World 600 = Coca Cola 600. I know our paper uses Brickyard 400 instead of Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

 

I used "Timberlake Open" in heds this year for brevity and just to be a dick. No one cared.

 

Recently, we had a simple regular season basketball game that a local restaurant decided it was going to sponsor. I was ordered to write in the cutline that the game was sponsored by said business. I felt like I was ass-raped at gunpoint.

I also was told that this was never going to happen again, it was a one-time deal. So basically, if another business wanted to smear its corporate logo all over a game and requested that we write it up as such, we basically would have to explain to them that we only did it for that one business.

How's that for compromising our integrity?

 

Is it compromising your integrity or is just getting it right?

If it is the John Hancock Sun Bowl, you need to list the whole name on first reference. The whole name. After that you can refer to it as the Sun Bowl or the Gator Bowl.

Contrary to popular opinion here, you DO need to list the WHOLE name on first reference.
It ain't about integrity. It's about being correct.
If a company wants to sponsor and event what does it matter to you? You have to cover it anyway, regardless of what it is called.
If a company is paying money for the naming rights or to sponsor the event, good for them and the event. It is not up to you to judge whether it is right or not. Your job is to report the facts, and the name - the whole name - is part of those facts.