Yahoo levels Miami

[Versatile]

By now, you've seen it: http://sports.yahoo.com/investigations/news;_ylt=AhpQ0r00UmIAgJ84.kFOXXs7MuB_?slug=cr-renegade_miami_booster_details_illicit_benefits_081611

Yahoo's been responsible for breaking a serious chunk of almost every major college scandal in recent years, but they owned this one on a ridiculous level. So thorough. And it seemed -- and I no longer cover college football, so I could be wrong -- that no one saw it coming despite an 11-month investigation.

I don't mean to sound like a shill for Yahoo, but they're pushing investigative journalism harder than any other sports media organization right now:

1. Miami football -- entirely them breaking this story so far, though it's only a day old.
2. Oregon football -- they had all the essential pieces.
3. Ohio State football -- they and the Columbus Dispatch did most of the dirty work, with SI filling in key holes
4. USC football/basketball -- they were at the forefront, though this case was so complex it seemed every national media organization filled in holes here
5. UConn basketball -- this was largely there scandal from the get-go
6. Kansas basketball -- the ticketing scandal was entirely broken by Yahoo

What is Yahoo doing that others aren't? Clearly, these stories are the very best ways to draw ridiculous traffic while producing quality, important sports journalism. I have a hard time believing it's just a matter of Charles Robinson being better than everyone else, particularly since, while it seems he's been the lynchpin in most of these investigations, Jason King, Dan Wetzel, Rand Getlin and others have been very much involved.

 

[HanSenSE]

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/3124138/

 

[Versatile]

That thread seems to focus on the ramifications to Miami; I'd be more interested in a discussion on the reporting (thus the placement on the journalism board). However, I can fully understand why a moderator might want to close this thread.

 

[Football_Bat]

The U will NOT get the death penalty. End of thread.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

By now, you've seen it: http://sports.yahoo.com/investigations/news;_ylt=AhpQ0r00UmIAgJ84.kFOXXs7MuB_?slug=cr-renegade_miami_booster_details_illicit_benefits_081611

Yahoo's been responsible for breaking a serious chunk of almost every major college scandal in recent years, but they owned this one on a ridiculous level. So thorough. And it seemed -- and I no longer cover college football, so I could be wrong -- that no one saw it coming despite an 11-month investigation.

I don't mean to sound like a shill for Yahoo, but they're pushing investigative journalism harder than any other sports media organization right now:

1. Miami football -- entirely them breaking this story so far, though it's only a day old.
2. Oregon football -- they had all the essential pieces.
3. Ohio State football -- they and the Columbus Dispatch did most of the dirty work, with SI filling in key holes
4. USC football/basketball -- they were at the forefront, though this case was so complex it seemed every national media organization filled in holes here
5. UConn basketball -- this was largely there scandal from the get-go
6. Kansas basketball -- the ticketing scandal was entirely broken by Yahoo

What is Yahoo doing that others aren't?

Wellllll . . . for a start . . . they're not eternally beholden to the cesspools in question.

 

[Point of Order]

Yahoo! is definitely doing a lot of admirable, thankless work. My fear is that this is niche work because people want to be fed cotton candy for their sports coverage -- they want to be lied to.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

Fans of teams in trouble want to be lied to. But for every U fan traumatized by this, you have FSU and UF fans who want more. That should help a national outlet like Yahoo, which also isn't in bed with the NCAA.

 

[MileHigh]

It was more than just that story. The probe has its own tab/page off the main Yahoo! Sports front.

http://sports.yahoo.com/investigations;_ylt=AnWBrY5crJRHGjJDc2M_Cm45nYcB

Scroll down. There is a link to to every player and coach and personnel accused by Shapiro of taking stuff. Each link lists the allegations of what was taken, corroborating accounts and the person's response when contacted by Yahoo!.

It's breathtaking in its scope and depth.

And what are they doing differently? They're devoting money, resources and time to these big-time projects. They have smart, bright editors at the top who are asking the right/tough questions and their reporters are dogged and know what they're doing.

Also, they don't have the obvious conflicts of interest that say ESPN has because they're not in bed with these teams and leagues because they don't televise their events. Because bringing down these programs would hurt the TV side's bottom line, and has been mentioned earlier on a different thread, TV runs the mothership.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Yahoo! is definitely doing a lot of admirable, thankless work. My fear is that this is niche work because people want to be fed cotton candy for their sports coverage -- they want to be lied to.

I agree with this. I applaud Yahoo for doing the work that SI doesn't seem to do anymore.

 

[BTExpress]

Where does their revenue come from? Ads are few and small.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Where does their revenue come from? Ads are few and small.

Interesting question. They used to charge for fantasy baseball and football, but don't anymore.

 

[Ace]

Yahoo! is definitely doing a lot of admirable, thankless work. My fear is that this is niche work because people want to be fed cotton candy for their sports coverage -- they want to be lied to.

I agree with this. I applaud Yahoo for doing the work that the NCAA SI doesn't seem to do anymore.

Fixed.

 

[dixiehack]

When do they turn their guns on pro sports?

 

[Armchair_QB]

When do they turn their guns on pro sports?

When it becomes profitable to do so. Pro scandals don't drive web hits the way college ones do.

Unless they can break something that exposes game fixing at the pro level most people won't care.

 

[JimmyHoward33]

Yahoo! is definitely doing a lot of admirable, thankless work. My fear is that this is niche work because people want to be fed cotton candy for their sports coverage -- they want to be lied to.

I agree with this. I applaud Yahoo for doing the work that SI doesn't seem to do anymore.

SI had the story with the confessions of the agent Luchs a year or so ago. Both stories essentially stemmed from the top source, in this case Shapiro was all Miami and Luchs had ties to players across a number of programs.

This seems to hit harder because it obliterates one program rather than spreading one violation here, one there, but the SI expose was a big deal when it hit right?

 

[1HPGrad]

I wake up every morning generally thankful to have escaped 1HP, but holy hell I would not want to be there right now trying to chase these guys while dodging F-bombs hurled from pissed editors. Ain't often Ma Herald gets taken to the woodshed. That was impressive.
Yahoo is at a different level.
Have editor friends in Raleigh who sought my advice during the UNC mess. Told them the same thing: This is Carolina-Clemson hoops in Chapel Hill ... and you're Clemson.

 

[BTExpress]

Ain't often Ma Herald gets taken to the woodshed.

Q-Ray (or "cue ring").

Fake Russian fans.

Jon Gruden to be new coach.

Macy's ad congratulating the Heat on its title.

I'd say their residence has been 1Woodshed for quite some time now.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Where does their revenue come from? Ads are few and small.

Yahoo is a $17 billion company with $2.5 billion in available cash and earnings per share of 88 cents. You can't seriously be wondering if they have enough money for something like this.

 

[BTExpress]

I know they have money. I'm trying to figure out where it comes from.

 

[SF_Express]

To me, it's not that Yahoo is doing the work that SI used to do.

It's doing the work that the big local papers once aspired to do, and can now only dream about given the slashing of resources.

Not just the Herald; back in the early 1980s, papers were hiring investigate reporters for their sports departments. I ran two seminars for IRE on investigative reporting in sports.

We're having a similar discussion on Facebook, and it's been noted that this is exactly the sort of "hyperlocal" story papers should be doing. But they have neither the writers nor the lead editors to do so. Those days are long gone, and it's a shame.