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UConn: Papers? We don't need no stinkin' papers

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by GuessWho, Dec 29, 2009.

  1. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    I totally agree with this. (Even though I never read anything PoO writes because he is always so negative).
     
  2. Point of Order

    Point of Order Active Member

    Haha! I was about to get mad b/c I always read your posts. Once again, you get my nomination for Poster of the Year.
     
  3. budcrew08

    budcrew08 Active Member

    That's horseshit and you know it. LOTS of people do care about the lower classifications of college sports. Not everybody gets off on Division I fucking athletics.
    And Rusty, who is really good people, does a hell of a job as the SID at WPI.
     
  4. BillyT

    BillyT Active Member

    I don't see his comments as all that negative.

    Michael is, at heart, a newspaper guy.

    It's funny, if you have followed UConn for 30 years or so, you can still see Timmy Tolokan's influence in the attitudes of its SID. Tim was another newspaper guy. There was a time when the Norwich Bulletin was cranking out some pretty good ones, (e.g., Peter Abraham, and others).
     
  5. Pete Incaviglia

    Pete Incaviglia Active Member

    To me, the scariest paragraph was the last:

    “It used to be the job of an SID was to call the papers,’’ he said. “Now, if we’ve got a guy from Boston, we’re going to write the story ourselves and put it on our web site. The profile can be sponsored. We can say to our sponsors, why advertise in the Hartford Courant, advertise on uconnhuskies.com.’’

    Not only is that a story, but also MONEY, out of our papers' pockets.
     
  6. nate41

    nate41 Member




    I had the chance to work with Rusty and the D3 baseball regionals this spring and he was most helpful with anything I needed. They did a sidebar for WPI's site to go along with the game story- if I remember if was how the .230 hitting catcher got the game winning hit. Earth shattering? No, but it was a nice accompanying story to the gamer.

    With that being said, I think school websites can beef up their coverage beyond the bare bones gamer, but I don't ever think they can replace hard hitting news and actual analysis that media outlets can provide.
     
  7. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    This, to me, is why newspapers have been missing the boat for at least the last 15 years -- we should have stopped wasting time re-writing press releases and writing blowjob features to appease the dickhead SIDS like this dude who we think will help us do our jobs and to appease the athletic directors and coaches and gone full blown into investigative reporting.

    Fuck access, fuck gamers, fuck all that shit - just go out and do good old fashioned reporting - the kind you won't get from these ridiculous fanboy team sites.

    Instead, we allowed them to lull us to sleep and now they are going to try and put the final knife through our hearts and most of the people who have been hired in the last 15 years wouldn't know how to write an investigative story if you offered them $1 million to do it.
     
  8. SportsDude

    SportsDude Active Member

    Exactly. But people are too dumb to realize 1.) these sites aren't for their benefit, just to make an extra dime and 2.) to control information. I can't wait to watch the message boards froth when all they have is a bunch of washed-over quotes from a presser after a bad loss.

    If papers want survival, it's time to start digging. Get the dirt, drop FOIAs on them like bombs over Pearl Harbor and let them have it with both barrels. Do it now while there are still some full time reporters left to do it.
     
  9. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    See "National, The".
     
  10. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    This is great, thought provocing thread.
    Your line was classic: "Their bosses have turned the paper from essential to irrelevant in the blink of an eye."
    So true. I think if the colleges stole the main beat writer from the best paper that covers the team, the demise would be complete. Fans do just want the shiny happy coverage. And if they want the coach out, they'll get him out without the newspapers forcing the issue.
    Newspapers have cut so many pages from their sections, they really are pretty much worthless now, certainly not worth buying with the stuff free online that's for sure.
     
  11. Karl Hungus

    Karl Hungus Member

    From the SID perspective, these two are right. They're right because a lot of schools like WPI or other mid-major Division I schools that have to compete with the cross-town BCS school simply aren't going to get a lot of coverage.

    I agree with everyone's sentiments that solid enterprise and investigation are good things. And no, no one will go to Texas Tech's official site to read about Mike Leach. They'd be beyond stupid to expect that. But good writing about soccer, baseball, lacrosse, etc. that don't get the attention certainly has value for the fans of that school.

    Bottom line is, for most schools, this will be about the other sports and other things that may not get the attention. A school like UConn won't have to worry about a lack of football or MBB or WBB coverage. Good sections won't need to do "blowjob" features. You should be able to get those from the school site, if you want.
     
  12. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    If enough people cared, why don't newspapers travel with DII and DIII schools on road trips? Most official college Web sites offer ho-hum gamers and a story that such-and-suck athlete was named to the Viagra third-team honorable mention regional all-star team. Those sites won't generate money because who will sell ads? If newspapers can't do it, I don't see a college making money.
     
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