Good or bad idea?

[blank8ball]

Some sports writers for a newspaper in Kearney have an interesting competition going. They compete against one another in sports and then post a video of their competition on the web.

Looks like they're having pretty good success with it, too.

Are web shows like this worth a journalists time and are they worth a newspaper's expense?

Here's a link to one of the shows (I believe they've done 5 so far). I find them rather funny especially them running the 100-yard dash in this one.

http://hubvideo.kearneyhub.com/?p=3262

 

[HandsomeHarley]

I'm 5-8, 220 and 46 years old. The SE in the neighboring town is about 6-2 and about 23 years old.

Not. a. good. idea.

Maybe in sambo, but other than that, forgettaboutit.

 

[Shaggy]

Hell, they got a sponsor. Why not?

I was planning on doing a 500-meter swim against the defending state champion at one of our local high schools when I was covering preps. I ended up leaving the beat before I could do it.

In hindsight, it would've gotten ugly. She would've finished in 5 minutes and I would've been dead after about 50 yards. It might have been a funny story if done right but I would've been careful and made sure to make the story more about her instead of me.

This stuff works a lot better in small towns, I imagine, where everyone knows you.

 

[TrooperBari]

1) Kearney isn't that small.

2) I'd rather have seen Buck Mahoney's athletic skills.

3) The Hastings Tribune did it first. Just sayin'.

 

[copperpot]

Hell, they got a sponsor. Why not?

I was planning on doing a 500-meter swim against the defending state champion at one of our local high schools when I was covering preps. I ended up leaving the beat before I could do it.

In hindsight, it would've gotten ugly. She would've finished in 5 minutes and I would've been dead after about 50 yards. It might have been a funny story if done right but I would've been careful and made sure to make the story more about her instead of me.

This stuff works a lot better in small towns, I imagine, where everyone knows you.

We had a guy who was a pretty avid tennis player take on the reigning state champ, and it worked. Like you said, the column was chiefly about the kid, not the writer, and, IMO, gave an even better picture of just how dominant he was.

 

[reformedhack]

The sports staff is competing against other members of the same newspaper's sports staff? Pointless, except maybe to drive some cheap Web traffic from the initially curious lookie-loos.

I'd like the idea better if they (A) play it for laughs while (B) making it somehow informative, a la Mythbusters. ("John from the copy desk here is 25 times slower in the 100 meters than Carl Lewis and 50 times slower than this 1974 MG Midget.")

It would be even better if the sports staffers were doing this as an ongoing series, competing against local athletes in a variety of sports ... again playing it light and showcasing the abilities of the athletes. Doing it this way would enable the newspaper to market the sports department's personalities as well, and maybe build more rapport with readers while demonstrating that they're in touch with the community.

But if they're just competing against each other, who cares? Maybe they could post the results of the weekly office football pool online as well.

 

[CR19]

The sports staff is competing against other members of the same newspaper's sports staff? Pointless, except maybe to drive some cheap Web traffic from the initially curious lookie-loos.

I'd like the idea better if they (A) play it for laughs while (B) making it somehow informative, a la Mythbusters. ("John from the copy desk here is 25 times slower in the 100 meters than Carl Lewis and 50 times slower than this 1974 MG Midget.")

It would be even better if the sports staffers were doing this as an ongoing series, competing against local athletes in a variety of sports ... again playing it light and showcasing the abilities of the athletes. Doing it this way would enable the newspaper to market the sports department's personalities as well, and maybe build more rapport with readers while demonstrating that they're in touch with the community.

But if they're just competing against each other, who cares? Maybe they could post the results of the weekly office football pool online as well.

Agreed. I'd watch a writer face off against a state champion in their sport. I'm not really interested in watching sports writers play each other in games like softball or track. I think it's a waste of time and money in it's current format. But that's just me.

 

[MonsterLobster]

I found this very entertaining.

 

[schiezainc]

This is retarded.

Like you guys said, it'd be interesting to see them line up against high school kids who are dominant. Hell, I'd even pay attention if this was like a state-wide competition of reporters from Paper A vs. reporters from Papers B, C and D.

But the way this is, it's no different than me playing my coworker at Mario Kart. Who gives a ****?

 

[H-Dale08]

I've seen reporters go up against high schoolers. It's funny because they usually lose.

Seems like a second-cousin to the classic "I'm going to pick this week's football games against the coach at the local high school" feature.

 

[I Should Coco]

Agree with those who say it's much more interesting to go against/profile top high school athletes. And keep the majority of the focus on them.

BTW, is the thread starter one of the two athletes?

 

[HanSenSE]

I'm suddenly reminded of the time one of the local TV stations included highlights of their flag football game against a rival station in one day's sports package. Yes, a cheap stunt ... unfortunately, that's what we're reduced to.

 

[Mark2010]

Or the annual coaches team vs. media team basketball game at the local college. It was fun for a while. But now I'm too old for that ****.

Leave the playing to the real athletes and I'll stick to the journalism end.

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

Quite the athletic prowess out there, especially in track and field.

I don't have a problem with it, especially if they have a sponsor, but it would work better against a high school or college athlete -- like many of you have already said.

 

[doubledown68]

A few guys from my shop once played a few guys from another shop in what was supposed to be a two-day golf event called the "Writer" Cup. Get it? Yeah.. we're wordsmiths.

It was just for grins. We only got one day in, and the score was tied. And it involved one of the most epic blowups I've ever seen, in any sport, at any level. It was about a three-minute epic of profanity that deserves to be on a plaque somewhere.

 

[Drip]

These assclowns have too much time on their hands.

 

[apeman33]

If there's an "asthma-attack triggering contest" as part of the proceedings, I'll kick ass ... as much as I can do in my weakened state. If I can get up off the ground.

 

[TheHacker]

I guess I see the logic in building up the sports staffers as "local personalities," but my gut instinct is that if you're going to spend the time and effort to do video, the video should be about the people you cover, not about you. I think this extends to roundtable discussions too, which I've seen a few papers do -- two or three guys BSing about high school football as though they were doing an episode of The Sports Reporters or PTI. I don't think it works for preps.

When it comes to prep sports coverage, I don't think the personalities of the writers will drive reader interest/Web traffic. Maybe it works with college and pro sports, where you have longtime beat writers and columnists who everyone knows. But in most places the people on the prep beat come and go. Turn the camera on the kids and the coaches and make the videos about their personalities, not yours.

 

[Stitch]

The PTI-style videos on prep sports is funny, especially when reporters get worked up about a game, but can't actually criticize an athlete because you are still talking about high schoolers.

 

[pffft]

I think some of you are taking it way too seriously. Of course it's not "news," but rather, something that's entertaining and some people might enjoy. If you don't, then you don't.

The personalities and the guys' willingness to do it all in good fun is what makes or breaks things like this.

As a 23-year old, I would absolutely love to get involved with something of the sort. Not too long ago, I did a feature on a discus thrower and included in the story my attempts at throwing. It was more of a "it's not easy" type of thing since I was doomed for certain failure, but felt it was an entertaining/interesting tidbit that added to the story.