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

I have a vague recollection of hearing a seemingly far-fetched rumor a year or two ago that Oklahoma State was considering eliminating most media access to its players and doing its own stuff, including providing canned quotes, on its website. Think I heard the Tulsa and OKC papers said, fine, we'll put your scores on the agate page and if you ever need one of our reporters you can find them at OU.

Maybe one of the Okies amongst us can tell me if there was any truth to that or if I just dreamed the whole thing.

 

Yes, absolutely - you've obviously never been to RickStainville!! [\crossthread]

 

If local paper coverage is insufficient then any school is better off hiring seasoned reporters to provide additional content for its web site.

 

If big schools like UConn were to cut access and "go it alone" on the university website, I think they would face the same thing we in the media do: A highly fractured audience with a fickle attention span.

Most of this (excellent) thread has focused on the "content" of the coverage-- i.e. homer vs. critical coverage... But what about the sheer volume of coverage?

Enright's job is ultimately to help put butts in seats. Watch how agita schools like UConn get when attendance is off. What helps attendance? Publicity. Hype. Buzz.

Take away the "free media," and suddenly your program isn't as buzzed about anymore.

I would call his bluff on this. Limit the sheer volume of publicity, and watch interest erode.

 

How much publicity does a DIII school need?

 

Depends on how you define "need."

In some places, Division III schools get the same intensity of support as Division I schools, especially if there are no Division I schools nearby.

If a schools is closely connected with its community, it "needs" the same kind of publicity that Oklahoma gets from the Norman paper.

It would not surprise me if a paper like Ithaca gave fairly balanced coverage to Ithaca and Cornell, especially with the success Ithaca has had.

There's also "want," and certainly Division III schools want publicity just like every other school.

I see some real geographic differences in how people perceive Division III athletics here.

 

If all the CT papers stopped covering UConn tomorrow, attendance would not drop by a single body.

At UConn, the program long ago outgrew the mass media.

 

I grew up in a state without DIII colleges.

 

Respectfully disagree. Remember BYH, Enright was talking about kicking TV stations to the curb, too, because he mentioned video restrictions.

If big schools want into the (treacherous) media biz, they'll have to look at who does it well, like ESPN.

ESPN's approach, as we all well know, is "to broaden." TV. Web. Radio. Magazine. More TV... The attitude seems to be that they will extend *to* their audience-- not to narrow to one or two avenues, thereby forcing the public to find them.

Enright talks about advertising. Tough game. And advertisers are in love with "reach."

He brags that UConn has 5,000 followers on Twitter.

In TV, that's a .001 rating, or as we affectionately call it, "hash marks."

 

The Big Ten started its own network. The SEC struck a major deal with ESPN and CBS instead of following suit. Which deal looks smarter?

If school's want to change the game they should start charging a hefty premium for seats in the press box, press row, entry to press conferences, and all of the accompanying services. They could have different levels of media access just like premium seating for ticket holders. The only added criteria would be that the other party has to agree to produce a specified level of content about the team.

That would get the riff-raff out of the press box, which is becoming a big headache for SIDs, become another source of revenue for the school, preserved independence in coverage while assuring sustained levels of coverage, and would help the big boy media by keeping enough people out to allow them to do a better job.

 

What is your definition of a hefty premium, and how many of the "big boy media" have the money lying around to splash that out for multiple seasons and multiple schools in a given year?

 

It's just an idea that had been swimming around in my head. That's where a lot of research and behind-the-scenes negotiation would be needed. If I were just throwing out a number, I'd say you could probably demand anywhere between $10,000-25,000 per year for an organization to get seats in the press box, press conference access, parking on game day, meals, quotes, copying, Internet, press releases, video feeds and associated services for an athletics season. You could offer a less expensive package for things like small dailies that might only cover games, say like $5,000 a year.