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Poll: Running feature stories submitted by SIDs

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by BillySixty, Apr 24, 2016.

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Would you run a feature story submitted by a college's media relations department?

  1. Yes, both from schools both inside and outside of our coverage area (for local grads)

    6 vote(s)
    14.3%
  2. Only from a school outside of our coverage area (for local grads)

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  3. Probably, but it would depend on the quality of the story

    9 vote(s)
    21.4%
  4. Never

    27 vote(s)
    64.3%
  1. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    I hope I wassn't showing contempt. SIDs have a hard job. Most do it well.

    Their goals and our goals don't always align.

    I already have enough contempt and dismay for journalism. Don't have much left for SIDs.

    Oh, but if you send a release about an athlete -- include a frigging mug shot!!!!
     
    Big Circus and Batman like this.
  2. Big Circus

    Big Circus Well-Known Member

    Second-last graf.
    GWSports.com Official Athletic Site
     
  3. Twirling Time

    Twirling Time Well-Known Member

    Most of our SID releases from our three local colleges (DII, DIII, Juco) end up as briefs, so no worries. If anything warrants a bigger story, we're usually on top of it.
     
  4. dixiehack

    dixiehack Well-Known Member

    That's why God made milesplit.com
     
    Donny in his element likes this.
  5. albert77

    albert77 Well-Known Member

    With very few exceptions, when I send out a gamer, I include a box score, summary or linescore. I'm not being paid to promote opponents, but I will include their highlights in gamers (top stats guys in football, leading scorers in hoops, goal-scorers in soccer, W/L pitcher in baseball/softball), and if we get no-hit (or one-hit or two-hit or three-hit), it's in the nut graf, though probably not in the lede.

    The bottom line, my job is to make the media's coverage of our teams easier. As a former newspaper guy that means putting together succinct, copy-ready game reports that need a minimum of editing as soon after the end of the game as possible.
     
    Batman likes this.
  6. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Most schools do include a box score or linescore. It's the events with multipple teams -- track, wrestling, golf, tennis, cross country, swimming, etc. -- where the results aren't always included.

    Also, Academic All-America teams. They pick the District Teams then All-America teams and the schools seem to get the heads up on who makes the district teams before they are on the CoSIDA website. So it's often a pain to find the original list to compare.
     
  7. MNgremlin

    MNgremlin Active Member

    OK, tangent here.

    I visit some team message boards from time to time. One of them (a FBS school site) recently was complaining about the lack of coverage in the papers about the star player. One of the suggestions they had is "our beat writers should be coached" by the school to publish articles on said player. The poster claims beat writers of SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12 are told by the schools/coaches to write a certain article in exchange for first rights when a big story breaks.

    Am I the only one who finds this preposterous? Or am I simply naive and this happens all the time?
     
  8. reformedhack

    reformedhack Well-Known Member

    In my experience, there's always some behind-the-scenes give and take between SIDs and beat writers. But as far as "coaching" or official agreements, no newspaper worth its ink or reporter worth his notepad would give into that stuff. I'm sure it happens occasionally with small-time papers that cover colleges, but they'd be the exception to the rule. It's preposterous to say this is flat-out the way the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, etc. — and those who cover them — operate.
     
    BDC99 likes this.
  9. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    Ahh, the dreaded "reporters should be fanbois and boost Podunk State" argument.
     
  10. LanceyHoward

    LanceyHoward Well-Known Member

    What does Advance receive in return? What does the paper use for a byline?
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2016
  11. steveu

    steveu Well-Known Member

    That's a good question and the answer to that is above my pay grade. :)

    We do staff some college events, by the way, like college football and basketball and the occasional minor sport.
     
  12. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    "Ethics" comes into play here only if you try to pass off someone else's work as your own.
    Otherwise, not relevant to this conversation.

    In our market, with two SEC schools, I've only ever used one SID-produced feature in 10 years. An Ole Miss guy happens to be (or was) the practice partner of Serena Williams. The Ole Miss assistant SID for tennis turned up with a very decent story, including a quote or quotes from her, and art to boot.

    Well, hell.

    I ran it, with thoughtful edits, and never gave it another thought. It was interesting, and I thought the reader would benefit from seeing it.
    But, as I say, that's once in a decade. I've shrugged off many more.

    PS, "Good for the reader" doesn't get discussed enough around here, if you ask me.
     
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