The fans of teams on your fringe

Talking with an SE in a neighboring area, he has the same issue I sometimes have to deal with, and i was curious if it's a common situation.

We're smack-dab in the middle of two SEC teams, Ole Miss and MSU, that take up most of the oxygen in the room.

But every once in a while I get the call from the Alabama fan (not the same one each time; different people) who wants to know why we don't have more about Alabama in the paper.

The quick answer is "because we're in Mississippi."

The more nuanced answer: "When, other than hiring Nick Saban, has Alabama done anything worth putting in the paper?"

My friend, in Alabama, gets similar calls from Tennessee fans.

I know there's no way to make these people happy – especially when they're calling and comparing what we can do to what some 150K is doing.

But I thought it might be a topic for your consideration.

 

I'm sure readers in Hawaii wonder why there isn't more Yankees or Red Sox coverage in their local paper. You can't please everyone I guess.

 

Just explain to the readers that they are SOL.

 

Screw 'em. Tell them to move to Alabama ....

Oh, wait ... no one wants to do that.

 

The ones we run into here are "Why don't you run more on Notre Dame?"

Of course, we only hear that when they're winning.

 

Stitch is right. You can't please everyone, you have to please the majority of your readership. When Alabama plays Ole Miss and Miss. St. then they will get their coverage. Thems the breaks for an out-of-state fan.

 

Where are you in the state? If you're close enough that you have a decent number of Bama fans/alum, perhaps the question isn't invalid. I worked at a paper where we were closer to four I-A schools in a neighboring state than any in our state, and the coverage reflected that.

 

HH:

A certain copy editor in your employ once covered Alabama for the Meridian paper. It isn't unheard of. But in these belt-tightening times, it's a lost luxury, I'm afraid. Heck, B'ham probably has as many MSU football fans as UAB football fans, but they can't really do more than the occasional Croom feature and wire copy as space allows.

 

It's not just you, Henry.

Try being in an area with a ton of transplants who want more Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State coverage in the heart of SEC/ACC country. As if it wasn't hard enough to get in all the South Carolina, Clemson and Georgia coverage the locals want.

 

Tell them you're stepping up your junior high coverage.

 

When I get those calls, I basically say "You know when times get tough in your house, you have to give things up - like going to the movies every week or eating out for really nice meals? Well, covering Alabama is our weekly movie and it's something we can't afford right now."

They're generally understanding.

 

Have the same problem, Henry, except we're more toward the LSU side. We try to balance the SEC coverage around with some AP stuff (like a notes package here and there, separate SEC roundups on Sunday, maybe an occasional standalone preview if it's a big game like LSU-Auburn or LSU-Bama). State and Ole Miss still get priority, of course, but we don't get a whole lot of those calls.
Maybe our readers are just smarter here