Using a message board in a story.

I equate this with interviewing fans at a local sports bar. Hi Gannett.

 

I gotta agree with spnited and 21's take on this. The fans aren't the experts, regardless of how they think of themselves. Get somebody with attribution, somebody with credentials, to make the point.

 

Those were never fun to do. It was the only time in my career when I thought it would be better to actually make stuff up. Thanks Gannett for poisoning my mind. Sorry to threadjack.

 

You mean local-local isn't the greatest journalistic formula? : Darn.

And no on the message board references for a story.

 

I honestly think the world would not crumble if you did this. The point about what a closed, biazzaro world message boards can be is a good one, but I think what you outlined doing is just fine. If possible, I would refer to more than one board in the story, because I have seen this done where the one board that's mentioned suddenly gets all puffed up because it was mentioned in the "mainstream media" and thus has legitimacy. This is an unfortunate byproduct.
I'm not trying to get into it with anybody here, but I really think most fans care more about seeing their views represented than they do about what some guy the newspaper annoints as an "expert" thinks. There are "experts" on in-game adjustments? Who would they be, other coaches? And they're going to talk for the record about coach-so-so?? With no ax to grind, of course, not like they're recruiting against him or anything...
Making an offhand reference to a board or boards would not cause me to break out in hives. In many cases, these idiot fanboys are our readers.

 

I think that's OK. For that matter, what about callers to the local sports talk? Are they calling for his head, too? And are they swarming the newspaper with letters calling for his dismissal? And what's the reaction at games?

 

Using quotes from a message board is forbidden at this Gannett shop.

 

There is that. Sound advice, if there are multiple sites to choose from.

But tread carefully: if said fanboys get the idea you're dissing them or their opinions -- whether it's true or not -- they will never ever ever forgive/forget. Some members of one particular D-1 hoops board still bash a local columnist TEN YEARS after he wrote an uncomplimentary piece about the site. (And yeah, speaking as a participant on that board then and now, he was absolutely right.)

 

Pretty much who Wetzel's referring to, right? IU fan boards? Because he doesn't quote anybody in here:

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=ApNCxJiYfi1ldXRh_uTgvz85nYcB?slug=dw-sampson022108&prov=yhoo&type=lgns