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So, AP ...

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by wisportswriter, Jul 1, 2009.

  1. Nice selective use of quoting, Mr. Rove. Of course, there's also this nugget.

    I didn't say I wasn't bitching at all. Sure, I was a little. I'm probably the first one in the business to ever do that, right?
    But ... again ... I was more trying to determine whether this was going on just on our wire or everywhere else.
    Either way, I'm not really concerned what you think of me, and nobody else seems to give a hoot about this particular angle in this thread (go figure), so I'll move on now.
     
  2. sg86

    sg86 Member

    I understand how relatively easy it is to make your own roundup, hell I even do it myself, but why should he have to do some other guy's job on top of his own?

    His paper pays AP. Not the other way around. If their job is to get the capsules out in a timely manner, then that's their job. Excuses be damned.
     
  3. WS

    WS Member

    exactly. No reason a first roundup shouldn't be out by 10 p.m. (I'm in central time), and an updated one an hour later.
     
  4. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    That's strange. The occasional time I needed something from AP, Jeffrey Collins usually answered in Columbia and couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. Perhaps things have taken a dive into the swamp since ...
     
  5. MileHigh

    MileHigh Moderator Staff Member

    Having been in the AP sports newsroom for a couple of nights, I can guarantee you those guys are busting their asses to get stuff out as soon as possible. It's not easy. I understand the frustration on the other end because I've been there many times before. But it's not like those guys are sipping martinis or anything.
     
  6. Johnny Dangerously

    Johnny Dangerously Well-Known Member

    Back in the day I almost always made my own roundups, rarely waiting for the capsules. Gave me a lot more freedom and control and less worry about waiting out the caps on deadline.
     
  7. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    You gotta make your own roundups. The AP folks don't exactly follow the theory of "put stuff in the roundups that's not in the box score." And you can probably write a roundup that sings, rather than coding up something AP slapped together under the gun.
     
  8. DirtyDeeds

    DirtyDeeds Guest

    I find this discussion kind of amusing. I don't see the big deal about putting together a roundup from the games as they move. It'll read much better, and it seems to me it's more efficient. Now, if you're so swamped that all you can do is slap the capsules in there and run with it, I understand that. But I've rarely had to do that.
    As for the sloppy copy getting through, I'd imagine that the AP desk is just as short-staffed as everywhere else these days. And as others have said, it's not like they're sitting around playing pinochle. Cut 'em some slack.
     
  9. SCEditor

    SCEditor Active Member

    Sam: They've started regional hubs, where most of the time if you call after 10 p.m., you get re-routed to Atlanta. Trust me, I long for the days when Jeffrey Collins (or anybody, for that matter) answered the phone and could immediately offer assistance. Those days are gone now.
     
  10. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    Wow, SCE. So no one wins.

    The local papers are flooding the lines, and any bets there are too few people taking entirely too many calls - justified reasons for doing so or no - at these regional hubs? Good freaking grief ...

    South Carolina was nice. I usually got Jeffrey Collins, though I know Pete Iacobelli would man the lines himself at times. In North Carolina, they were great ... long list there ... then again, maybe I'm not terribly young ...
     
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