Olympic Coverage

[CNY]

I spent about the first eight years of my career on the composing room floor making sure my marked dummies were followed and type was placed straight (and without finger and thumb prints everywhere). 2-3 hours a night, every night. Some of the best conversations I've had in the business happened on the composing room floor. Some of the best lessons in work ethic were learned there. Not to mention the countless stands of .5 pt and 1 pt hairline rules brought home on the bottom of my shoes (only to be found a week later in the corner of the bedroom).

I have some fond memories of those days. I was also tickled pink when I figured out, pre-pagination, how to send my stories in modular blocks so they could just be laid on the page as a whole. And I didn't have to spend three hours a night down there.

(Talk about a thread-jack. )

I recall in my youth making a big mistake and catchingit on the composing room floor just as the page was about to be sent. WHEW!!!!!!!!

I've been really embarrassed about my own proofing skills when the guys in plate-making called about an error they found in a story that they were reading on the plate.

 

[fishwrapper]

I have some fond memories of those days. I was also tickled pink when I figured out, pre-pagination, how to send my stories in modular blocks so they could just be laid on the page as a whole. And I didn't have to spend three hours a night down there.

(Talk about a thread-jack. )

The last thread was winding down, anyhow

 

[Padre]

we've been using the roundup, which has something for everyone, starting it on the front and jumping it ... with several photos, of course, and anything major separate, like the badminton scandal. I you cant find a solid AP package from what they're givin us every day, you aint tryin real hard

 

[Diego Marquez]

A lot of incorrect agate. Something must be getting lost in translation from the UK.

 

[nietsroob17]

OK, who had the chutzpah to use the name of this Iranian weightlifter in a headline today?

Saeid Mohammadpourkarkaragh.

 

[Tarheel316]

Inverted pyramid. Now we need a reference to the proportion wheel. I still have one on my desk as kind of a souvenir.

I see your proportion wheel and raise you a

I've got one of those too.lol

 

[Mark2010]

Inverted pyramid. Now we need a reference to the proportion wheel. I still have one on my desk as kind of a souvenir.

I see your proportion wheel and raise you a

I've got one of those too.lol

The tool that inspired the famous statement: "If you don't shut up, I'm going to take this pica pole and shove it up your ass." Can't do that in the digital age.

 

[Mark2010]

My apologies for derailing a good thread. Shame on me.

So.... how do you balance Olympic coverage with anything else? I suspect it is easier in August than when the Olympics are held in September.

But what are you running out front and what inside?

 

[HanSenSE]

My apologies for derailing a good thread. Shame on me.

So.... how do you balance Olympic coverage with anything else? I suspect it is easier in August than when the Olympics are held in September.

But what are you running out front and what inside?

It's taking up about 2/3rds of my front. Usually a roundup and lots of pictures, or I'll a) break out a major event, like USA-Canada or when the local boy makes good was still in boxing,or b) grab a column to get beyond the fields (Plaschke, Purdy or Dahlberg). Only agate I require is medal count, but we've been throwing up the boxes for Team USA men and women's hoops.

Rest of the page is whatever local we can dig up (football camps started last week, and we're launching preview package next week) or MLB.

 

[Mark2010]

Sounds about normal for this time of year. It's soooo much better for most papers when the Games are in July/August.

 

[Harry_K_Parker]

AP appears to be doing a fine job with Olympics coverage. Their writers will never dazzle, but then again, we all know what sort of deadlines they're facing and -- now -- what other duties have been heaped upon them. I think some of their writers are tweeting too much in London when they should be concentrating on writing better stories.

But, overall, let's give them a 5 or 6.

 

[HanSenSE]

Sounds about normal for this time of year. It's soooo much better for most papers when the Games are in July/August.

Yep. Without the Olympics, I'd be devoting a lot more space to the pennant races and the start of the exhibition season. Even nonsports fans eat up the Olympics ... if only to see if they won a free bag of fries.

 

[HanSenSE]

But regarding the roundup: Whose brilliant idea was it to put the five bullet points at the top of the story every night? At least here, that's the first thing that gets lopped off.

 

[Mark2010]

Good call, HanSen. (Summer) Olympics only come around once every four years. If you're fortunate enough to have someone from your community competing, all the better. If not, it's still the best time to shine the spotlight on things that normally get relegated to briefs and agate.

I realize the philosophy on preseason games differs from one person to another. I would NEVER run games on my cover. I'd consider interesting features or breaking news (injuries, contracts, etc.), but the games don't matter and the players and coaches don't treat them seriously, so neither would I. We'll have five months to digest all the football even the most passioante soul can handle.

And, to be fair, this goes for ANY pro sport. Again, if there is a STORY there, that's different. But not run of the mill gamers on exhibitions. I'll even ditch roundups if space gets tight on a given day.

 

[Mark2010]

One of the things I LOVE about the Olympics is that there is so much variety that you can run stuff every day and never run the same thing twice. Different sports, different athletes, different nations. Most action-packed time of the year.

 

[jr/shotglass]

I realize the philosophy on preseason games differs from one person to another. I would NEVER run games on my cover. I'd consider interesting features or breaking news (injuries, contracts, etc.), but the games don't matter and the players and coaches don't treat them seriously, so neither would I. We'll have five months to digest all the football even the most passioante soul can handle.

Ooooooo ... no.

Preseason football is still football after the crazies haven't had it for six months. There's a lot of fan passion in exhibition games, regardless of what you or I think about them. And we're not making decisions for you or I. We're making decisions for the reader, the fan.

IMHO.

 

[Cosmo]

Completely depends on where you are in regards to running preseason football on your cover. You're in Montana? Of course not. At the Washington Post if you move the Redskins and RGIII's debut off the cover in favor of a feature on Olympic BMX racing? You're insane. People want football. They eat it up. And most writers don't write "gamers" off preseason games. You know what's important going in. How does the rookie quarterback look? Who's winning the position battle on the defensive line? Of course who wins and loses doesn't matter.

 

[Mark2010]

That's my point. AP doesn't do a real good job with that.

If I worked in an NFL city (hope I don't), then, sure I would play things differently. I've always try to give every sport its due (even ones I may not personally like). I've worked with others who were sort of one or two-sport people and didn't care about anything else.

 

[jr/shotglass]

But if you're saying you'd NEVER run NFL exhibition games on your cover, are you giving them their due?