Sports Media: Lazy; Bias; The Kids that got C- in journalism; mixture of all

[Fijimn]

So, I got into a pretty heated argument with a friend of mine that works at a local sports radio show and writes articles. I find this usually happens when I challenge the industry because these sports writers circle the wagons. Basically, yesterday Sam Ukwauchu (sp?) a DE at Baylor was convicted of sexual assault. There was nothing reported about this crime or case in Houston (which is 120 miles from Baylor). Mind you, the radio was and is still full of misinformation about Jameis and FSU. Moreover, it wasn't until an article in USA Today did we learn that Art Briles lobbied for this kid who was kicked out of Boise St. for assaulting his girlfriend and had a history.

My position was that local sports media--especially pseudo-journalist (that all seem to have graduated from Syracuse)--merely repeat AP stories and do not work on their own (Lazy). They are hesitant to report adverse stories about local teams because of repercussions (i.e., credentials pulled, no access to the lounge set up for the media at sports stadiums, etc.). Seriously, I think most of these "reporters," are in the business to eat and drink at the stadium....the stuff I have seen put out for them and how much they sack away and take home is embarrassing. Lastly, they are simply not good at journalism because they want to be radio/tv personalities. So I guess I'm on the side of: a mixture of all three.

 

[seminole97]

My position was that local sports media--especially pseudo-journalist (that all seem to have graduated from Syracuse)--merely repeat AP stories and do not work on their own (Lazy). They are hesitant to report adverse stories about local teams because of repercussions (i.e., credentials pulled

I think that's the main thing. They need access, and if denied access they'll be replaced by someone who isn't.

 

[NDallasRuss]

Specifically regarding the guy from Baylor - from reading the Deadspin stories about it, it seems like it's not an accident that there was nothing reported on it. It appears that it was a very concerted effort to prevent any information at all from getting out. All of the information that was ever made available was very sparse and very vague, referring only to a "personal matter", until it came out that he was indicted for two counts of sexual assault - even then there were no details released regarding the investigation or the circumstances around the charges.

Here's the first article I saw on it: http://deadspin.com/the-baylor-football-sexual-assault-trial-you-havent-hea-1723776958

I think that, like anything, it varies from place to place, station to station. I always thought that The Ticket in Dallas did a really good job of getting their own sources, developing their own stories and not just repeating what was on the AP headlines, or the ESPN ticker.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

So, I got into a pretty heated argument with a friend of mine that works at a local sports radio show and writes articles. I find this usually happens when I challenge the industry because these sports writers circle the wagons. Basically, yesterday Sam Ukwauchu (sp?) a DE at Baylor was convicted of sexual assault. There was nothing reported about this crime or case in Houston (which is 120 miles from Baylor). Mind you, the radio was and is still full of misinformation about Jameis and FSU. Moreover, it wasn't until an article in USA Today did we learn that Art Briles lobbied for this kid who was kicked out of Boise St. for assaulting his girlfriend and had a history.

My position was that local sports media--especially pseudo-journalist (that all seem to have graduated from Syracuse)--merely repeat AP stories and do not work on their own (Lazy). They are hesitant to report adverse stories about local teams because of repercussions (i.e., credentials pulled, no access to the lounge set up for the media at sports stadiums, etc.). Seriously, I think most of these "reporters," are in the business to eat and drink at the stadium....the stuff I have seen put out for them and how much they sack away and take home is embarrassing. Lastly, they are simply not good at journalism because they want to be radio/tv personalities. So I guess I'm on the side of: a mixture of all three.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[Fijimn]

Now it a bit of a twitter war with Sports Radio 610. This is the same dude that I have gone round and round with when he regurgitates the NY Times. Specifically pointed out mistakes in the report and inaccuracies in her statements/actions that paint a better picture. The radio slobs get so butthurt when you call them out.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

Based on what I can tell about these guys, their daily routine is as follows:

Pre-show prep is reading a few sports pages on the Internet, taking a few notes. Then surfing porn.
Have a few surface-level talking points about current news, Plan B is always low-hanging fruit on the local sports teams. God forbid a caller asks about the World Cup (during the World Cup). In any event, soccer is for pussies, amirite?!?
Use your press pass to get into the evening's sporting events. Doesn't matter what game because you're going for the buffet.
Try to impress the women with your press pass and insider stories. Because you sure aren't doing it on your $25k/year radio show salary and remember you're on radio because you're ugly.

Every couple of years the local stations recycle their hosts, same predictable results. And yes, they ALL went to Syracuse.

 

[Fijimn]

A boom goes the dynamite. Yep, that's it. The response is when called out about the lack of journalism ethics, integrity or ability is: "I'm a sports radio host, not a journalist." Essentially, these guys try to be the Howard Stern of their trade. I find it sad. Unfortunately, the writers with the local paper are not much better. We have this guy: The General John McClain that hasn't had an inside story since the Oilers were in town. Dude just regurgitates AP information and stuffs his face at the buffet.

 

[given2fly]

I don't really think it is any of those things (aside from bias).

Let's use the hated ESPN for a moment. There is this interesting juxtaposition regarding fans when it comes to ESPN. ESPN simultaneously sucks and has dominated (and I mean dominated) the industry for 20 years. I think what ESPN does well, and I mean really well, is create dynamic news feeds based on consumption levels. Cowherd talked about it a lot on his show. He doesn't generate a list of topics, social media/emails/twitter/message boards generate his list of topics. Just look at how much the front page of ESPN changes on a daily basis.

All this to say, if we are to take the position that sports media presents lazy journalism that is because the market is demanding lazy journalism. Jameis Winston didn't dominate the headlines because ESPN wanted it, he dominated the headlines because of all time high consumption levels.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

real journalism requires money, corporations hate spending money and quality is irrelevant to them if their product is already being bought.

as readers/viewers, we're partly to blame, we'll click and watch anything regardless of quality -- we crave new content, subject matter be damned, and they're providing it. proving out the new media model and killing old school journalism practically overnight.

 

[JohnnieHolmesNole]

"Local sports" are now generally meaningless, and are usually limited to high school, little league and maybe minor league sports in a given community. Ergo, media jobs in "local sports" are generally very low-paying gigs. They generally don't attract the best or brightest people. This is doubly true in local radio and print media. Sure, you may occasionally find someone sharp or hard-working, but, generally, you are getting people who don't have better options.