So where did you play the NBA story today?

I'd be interested in knowing how it played in your town. It's not the slam-dunk cover story (ha ha) that it seems.

I was at the newsstand this morning and noticed The New York Times put Liz Robbins' title-clinching story on Page SIX of an eight-page section today, with a one-column teaser photo out front.

I think it was the right decision, but it was still somewhat surprising, even in light of Sandomir's story about lagging TV ratings. The U.S. Open, Yankees story and (another) steroids story were on the front.

My kids, who like basketball, said they weren't interested in watching the (beginning of the) game last night because they knew the Spurs would win eventually.

 

Not speaking for NY Times, because every paper has indiviudal reasons for choosing where to play stories but...

I sure as hell wouldn't choose the FIRST DAY of the US Open over the DECIDING game of The Finals for the cover, if the choice came down to that.

I've yet to see our paper but on the web the local MLB team received top billing. NBA was No. 3 slot; Open in the No. 5 position but still on the "cover."

God, I just realized that news might push Chuck Taylor over the edge.

 

I'd guess most papers had NBA out front.

 

We had U.S. Open as the centerpiece, but NBA stripped across the top...

 

In cities where there's no particular local interest, I still think it's low cover at worst. It is, after all, the NBA Finals.

 

We're an NBA city.

We had an NBA column related to our team stripped across the top.

NBA Finals Game 4 was our centerpiece package, big art, staff story, smack dab in the middle of the page.

Other stories: MLB team sweeps evil-doers on the road; Story/column from US Open.

 

Not sure if there's also a headline thread, but one of the smaller local papers in Cleveland had "Fourlorn."

I liked that.

 

NBA Finals and U.S. Open both low on the cover.

 

But the Times is saying it doesn't matter that it's the NBA Finals. The editors there are saying that its readers would rather read a lead and a Selena Roberts column about the U.S. Open, a story about the Yankees heading into the Mets series and an enterprise steroids story.

I also checked out the Daily News. The back cover is a big Yankees-Mets cartoon. The NBA Finals only received a small refer box at the bottom right corner of the page. The papers have different readerships, but what this is saying to me is that even a big event becomes less important if there's a perception that people don't care -- or care more about other things.

 

This NBA Finals had no juice and no interest. I would say the NBA is at the point where the NBA champion isn't the most important news nationally.

If you are no on the Cavs or Spurs market, there is probably more interest in your local baseball team. If you didn't staff the NBA final, then I think a photo on the cover and a refer to an inside story is fine. That is, if yo have legit stuff to go outisde.

Also, maybe some editors didn't want to destroy the cover because the game went on late. It's either to replate an inside page or just change the stand alone photo and run AP inside.

If I was at a medium sized paper under 100,000 that's the way I would go.

 

Except that who would have to tear up their front for the NBA Finals? It's not like Game Four was breaking news...I'm pretty sure it was even on the AP Sports Digest that moved early that afternoon.

 

Top of page two... refer on the front...

small paper, midnight deadline, so I didn't want to mess with the front for a game that ended at 11:45ish... still missed deadline by about three minutes, but I guess life goes on...

We're way out of either team's coverage area....