Speculation stories

So Bill Self may or may not be meeting with OSU on their bskb job.
Brett Favre may or may not be planning on coming out of retirement.
The NFLPA may or may not be planning to oust Gene Upshaw.
Condi Rice may or may not be vying to be McCain's veep.
Bush may or may not be going to China for the Olympics.
Katie Couric may or may not be on her way out at CBS and onto the set of Larry King Live.

Anybody else have a problem with news stories (not columns) that are based in speculation and ahead of anything from happening? Are there more stories like these these days just to give radio and TV chat shows something to talk about? My biggest gripe is when one of these stories is shot down, it just creates another cycle of "what if" stories. It's not like there is a law that no one can talk about these stories once something is actually decided.
Maybe its just me or maybe it isn't.

 

You may or may not be the first person to recognize this trend.

 

Some experts say this thread may be long and tedious, while others think it will be largely ignored, just like a violinist on the Metro.

 

I know a lot of coaches who do ...

I would argue that stories are a reaction to radio and TV chat shows, and not fodder for them. Traditional media outlets are trying to compete with talk shows by "speculating," which is what talk radio in particular does all day long.

 

A sidebar to that is the one news story that takes up 3 (or more) news holes and anywhere from 60 to 150 inches of space.

"Sparano frontrunner for Dolphins job"

"All signs point to Sparano"

"Sparano to be named Dolphins coach"

"Sparano named Dolphins coach"

And each 20-inch story is one-half background, one-quarter speculation and one-quarter actual news or new quotes.

 

I think we could do without pure speculation. We're in the news business, after all.

If it's based on fact or likely outcomes, I'd feel a little different. But all we need is for a speculation story to blow up in our faces and we've just lost a bit of credibility.

 

This is going to be a rambling mess, prepare yourselves.

It seems to me that readers don't care about the actual story these days but moreover what 'could' happen.

All week leading up to a game it's speculations and predictions....'Will so and so play? What kind of defense is the opponent going to run? Joe Columnist thinks that Podunk U's defense will stop Anywhere State College's offense and the final score will be 10-7.

By the time State College and Podunk U play the game, all people really care about is the score. A sack on 3rd and 8 in the 3rd quarter is of really no consequence because they'll see highlights on ESPN in the next four minutes anyway. What happened five minutes ago doesn't matter, it's what could happen in the next five minutes.

Think about fans on message boards.... 'Any news on Joe Bob's injury? No? Well, can't you just make something up? Just tell us something!'

Fans really don't care if you're speculating just so long as they have something to talk about.

'Joe Bob left practice limping, it could be a broken leg that will have be amputated or it might be a stubbed toe. Coach Smith declined comment.'

The fact that Joe Bob left practice is almost immaterial, fans want to know why and what it COULD BE! Who will replace him? Hopw does it affect the offense?

Digging up possibilities and speculating is infinitely more exciting and edgier than simply reporting boring old facts! Grasp it people! /sarcasm for that little bit

'Podunk U. won the game! Could that mean that State U's coach is going to be fired? State U' athletic director Joe Bob says no but here's a list of possible replacements if he's not telling the truth.

Meh, got to go somewhere so I can't continue rambling. I could be going home, could be going to lunch, but once I decide and it happens, the story is no longer relevant.

 

I pay no attention to violinists, but I'm a sucker for a guitar.

If I see someone playing guitar and singing on the Metro, I'm digging into my wallet for George.