Double coverage: Fiesta, NFL playoff

[SockPuppet]

If you were a sports editor and had a writer(s) covering the Fiesta Bowl, would you have assigned one to cover Saturday's Atlanta-Arizona NFL game? Regardless of the interest in NFL in your paper, would you take the "cheap" chance to staff an NFL game for the Sunday paper?

Just curious. Have at it.

 

[mb]

Players with local connections playing in the game? Staff it, but just for the feature -- not to do a gamer.

No locals and staff it just to staff it? I'll leave that to the world's largest newsgathering organization.

 

[prezclinton]

Players with local connections playing in the game? Staff it, but just for the feature -- not to do a gamer.

No locals and staff it just to staff it? I'll leave that to the world's largest newsgathering organization.

You pay a subscription price for AP, if I have no local angle, then it becomes double work.
If some of the kids from the Fiesta Bowl are attending the game, namely Beanie Wells, I might do a story about him experiencing the NFL atmosphere.

 

[Mark2010]

If I'm spending money to have a reporter at one, might as well do both.

 

[prezclinton]

If I'm spending money to have a reporter at one, might as well do both.

Yea, but you're also already paying for AP.

 

[mb]

If I'm spending money to have a reporter at one, might as well do both.

And if I'm spending my money to send a reporter to one, I want him concentrating on the team I sent him to cover. Unless there's a hell of a local story to be found at the other game.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

I'd rely on BLOGS! myself.

 

[Mark2010]

Here's the thing: Fiesta Bowl had its media day. If I'm covering that game, I can get enough material to do multiple stories on different days. I don't need to hang out at the team hotel all day.

So, if I'm even in TOWN as a reporter, I find a way to go to both games.

 

[write then drink]

I certainly think just about any paper in the country that's staffing the Fiesta Bowl could find a strong angle at the Cards-Falcons game that the AP wouldn't go near.

I'd staff it.

 

[Mark2010]

Does the reverse work?

If you are covering Falcons-Cardinals, do you have a reporter hang around an extra couple of days to cover the Fiesta Bowl?

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

I'd let him freelance it for a different publication.

 

[deskslave]

Does the reverse work?

If you are covering Falcons-Cardinals, do you have a reporter hang around an extra couple of days to cover the Fiesta Bowl?

If you're the AJC, for example, and you staffed Falcons-Cardinals, does having a reporter at the Fiesta Bowl do you any good, with as late as the game's going to finish?

And aside from the AJC, is anyone else going to be staffing the Falcons?

 

[MileHigh]

I can't imagine the AJC has much interest in Texas-Ohio State. Just a feeling.

 

[Mark2010]

Does the reverse work?

If you are covering Falcons-Cardinals, do you have a reporter hang around an extra couple of days to cover the Fiesta Bowl?

If you're the AJC, for example, and you staffed Falcons-Cardinals, does having a reporter at the Fiesta Bowl do you any good, with as late as the game's going to finish?

And aside from the AJC, is anyone else going to be staffing the Falcons?

That's a very good point and another reason the newspaper business is dying (as pointed out on other threads).

Having lived on the west coast for the past six years, it isn't as bad, but, yeah, the east coast gets hammered on most of these premium events (World Series, NBA/NHL Finals, NCAA Final Four, Bowl Games) that start so darn late for TV purposes.

I remember former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said he would always preserve the print deadlines for the Super Bowl coverage, by not allowing the kickoff to be moved later into prime time. That's the only event that has been spared.

 

[deskslave]

Does the reverse work?

If you are covering Falcons-Cardinals, do you have a reporter hang around an extra couple of days to cover the Fiesta Bowl?

If you're the AJC, for example, and you staffed Falcons-Cardinals, does having a reporter at the Fiesta Bowl do you any good, with as late as the game's going to finish?

And aside from the AJC, is anyone else going to be staffing the Falcons?

That's a very good point and another reason the newspaper business is dying (as pointed out on other threads).

Having lived on the west coast for the past six years, it isn't as bad, but, yeah, the east coast gets hammered on most of these premium events (World Series, NBA/NHL Finals, NCAA Final Four, Bowl Games) that start so darn late for TV purposes.

I remember former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said he would always preserve the print deadlines for the Super Bowl coverage, by not allowing the kickoff to be moved later into prime time. That's the only event that has been spared.

Yeah, and he did a hell of a job minimizing the TV timeouts and making sure the halftime show didn't last an hour. Oh wait.

 

[zagoshe]

Unless I am missing something -- how "cheaply" could you really double dip considering the Texas game isn't until Monday -- which means you have at least two extra nights in a hotel, two more days of a rental car and two more days of per diem.

At best that is like an extra $500 or something.

Actually -- scratch that, I just reread the original post and get it now -- the guy is already in town today and thus could easily cover the game --except -- wasn't there some availability today? How could you do both?

 

[Bubbler]

Since you wouldn't know until the Sunday before when there was going to be a playoff game at Arizona or who the Cardinals would play, it would be logistically difficult to pull it off given that the NFL wants your playoff requests in early.

 

[SockPuppet]

Unless I am missing something -- how "cheaply" could you really double dip considering the Texas game isn't until Monday -- which means you have at least two extra nights in a hotel, two more days of a rental car and two more days of per diem.

At best that is like an extra $500 or something.

Um, well, pretty cheaply. Assuming reporters covering the Fiesta Bowl were on site for Friday's media day and will stay through to cover the game, then covering the playoff game Saturday wouldn't add any extra cost.

My opinion: If you want to be a big time sports section, you cover what you can when you can. If you think bylines and datelines don't matter, then just run AP for everything. And, considering how we bash AP's coverage of stuff, wouldn't you want your own staffer to cover an NFL playoff game for your Sunday section, a game that started in the afternoon so it doesn't create deadline issues. Sorry, but the folks on here who said "run AP" are thinking small.

 

[HejiraHenry]

I always try to extend our reach when practical.

Mavs were in town as we were prepping for the Cotton Bowl ... voila, an Erick Dampier story from our sidebar guy.

In the hypothetical example, sure it might be worth it if you had an angle.

 

[D-Backs Hack]

My opinion: If you want to be a big time sports section, you cover what you can when you can.

During those couple of years when the Pacers made the Eastern Conference Finals under Larry Brown, they played at home on Memorial Day.

Both years, our local metro had its guy already in Indy for the 500 staff the Pacers game (one year against the Knicks, the next against the Magic, I believe) the next day. I admired the heck out of that.

Now, our metro doesn't even staff the 500.