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Post by funkfriss on Dec 19, 2019 2:14:49 GMT -6
Does anybody else feel a general disdain for media personnel that cover the sport regardless of level?
On the pro and college level it seems like every media personality (tv, radio, paper/website) is a Monday morning QB. Or, one of their 20 opinions was right so they have to constantly harp the same issue until you know they were right.
On the high school level I feel like the media has absolutely no clue as to the ins and outs of a HS football team and therefore constantly misplaces credit and/or blame in the wrong direction.
I miss the days of just factual reporting. I don’t need some Ahole’s opinion because he thinks he knows what he’s talking about and has the platform to do so.
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Post by pvogel on Dec 19, 2019 6:10:38 GMT -6
Yes with a caveat.
The yes is that I HATE how "news" became opinion pieces. Remember when espn used to show mostly highlights? Instead of just airing peoples opinions all the times? Remember when the news used to show real news instead of people's opinions on issues (and let's be real people only watch the channels where those opinions validate their own)? Ya those days are done unfortunately. Awful. Poor Walter Cronkite is rolling in his grave.
The caveat is that as a head coach it is your responsibility to still make the most of the situation and to see the tremendous benefit that the media can have on your program. Yes its annoying that these writers set the public narrative with your team but you can steer that narrative! Remember that you convinced a panel of people to hire you. You've convinced a handful of teenagers to play for you. Use your personal skillls to develop a comfortable (but appropriate) relationship with the media. More media is good for your program. Be open and allow them to cover you guys. If you are open and cordial then YOU set the narrative rather than them looking for one. Our kids want to see their name in the paper and they love being interviewed and such. Its a great opportunity for them and it makes your program look good. It also looks good for your sake when the media writes positively about you. Now if you are fired then the media will most likely paint it in a way that is more negative for the admin than it is for you.
I learned this main lesson from a young buddy that took a {censored} job. The local media guy was the ONLY person that truly had his back. Helped him set his narrative and give him a voice in the paper.
So yes it sucks what the media is. But we have to harness it.
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jaydub66
Sophomore Member
Varsity D-Line Coach
Posts: 223 
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Post by jaydub66 on Dec 19, 2019 6:32:04 GMT -6
I don't hate the media at all because on the national level with College and Pro, they're looking to fill a 24/7 news cycle. "Antonio Brown was released" takes 3 seconds to say out loud. Why not bring in a bunch of NFL people to discuss the maybe why or what else might happen.
As per the high school reporters. The only issue I have is when they misplace names because they're half paying attention to the jersey numbers. Outside of that, we work with the local beat guys because we know access to our team is what helps 7th/8th graders stay in town.
"Oh Coach is talking about Player X, Y, and Z on and off the field. He is doing the little things to let people know about his kids." like, that stuff goes a long way.
As per the Monday morning QB thing, everyone is. People in the stands, assistant coaches, players, etc. Everyone is going to say they can do a better job because they're not you. The important thing to remember, why would you listen to criticism from someone you wouldn't seek advice from?
They're just doing their job, talking about a sport. If you don't like what they write or say, don't read or listen. It's not that big of a deal.
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Post by Defcord on Dec 19, 2019 8:18:26 GMT -6
I don't mind the "Sports media" at the national and college level. It's not really media. It's the entertainment business.
I have worked in five different states and the media at the high school level varies pretty widely. My biggest frustration is when local guys bash a kid. A few years back we had a STUD running back. He had a bad game...he's a high school kid; it happens. The local media guy wrote up a big story about our kid let his team down and maybe the kid was overrated and just a story that was complete garbage. Like you guys said...if you want to put the kid's stats in the paper fine, but you don't have to make up some story line about all that other nonsense. That guy was a scumbag.
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Post by fantom on Dec 19, 2019 8:32:16 GMT -6
Does anybody else feel a general disdain for media personnel that cover the sport regardless of level? On the pro and college level it seems like every media personality (tv, radio, paper/website) is a Monday morning QB. Or, one of their 20 opinions was right so they have to constantly harp the same issue until you know they were right. On the high school level I feel like the media has absolutely no clue as to the ins and outs of a HS football team and therefore constantly misplaces credit and/or blame in the wrong direction. I miss the days of just factual reporting. I don’t need some Ahole’s opinion because he thinks he knows what he’s talking about and has the platform to do so. Short answer No. I'm retired so I have sports talk on all day or in the car. Sometimes I like it, sometimes not. If I really don't like it I find something else to watch or listen to. Their job is to elicit opinions. Sometimes I agree sometimes I don't. Does it affect my life in any way? Not one bit. As for showing highlights, that would get really boring over and over. HS coverage is different in different areas. Around here there are a of of HS's so the coverage isn't very opinion based. In fact, with the way papers have cut staff, I wish there was more coverage. |
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Post by junior6589 on Dec 19, 2019 8:47:23 GMT -6
Everything comes down to choice.
I CHOOSE to read and follow media members that I feel give me unbiased information. If I feel that a reporter has overstepped that line into the opinion world then I choose to not read him anymore.
Even things like paywalls. One of the high school media outlets has now gone behind a paywall. I have now chose to follow my high school sports in the area through other outlets that are not asking me to pay money to get high school sports coverage.
CHOOSE where you feel gives you the best information and ignore everything else.
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Post by coachcb on Dec 19, 2019 10:11:43 GMT -6
I understand the sensationalism behind college and professional football journalism; it's an entertainment industry. With that being said, I don't pay much attention to the talking heads anymore; I tend to watch college and NFL games on mute because the commentary bothers me.
Around here, high school reporting tends to be upbeat, revolves around the players (not the coaches) and has a "feel good" vibe to it. Reporters find a lot of great stories to print about the kids, in all sports. They will find a "scandal" story involving a conflict between coach and a community where they do a poor job of being objective and telling the whole story. These get obnoxious because the coaching community is tight around here and most of us will know what actually happened, one way or another.
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klaby
Junior Member
Posts: 389
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Post by klaby on Dec 19, 2019 10:44:01 GMT -6
You guys have no idea...Try being a Cop....But I will say I had a huge smile on my face when I arrested a particular cop hating news lady who crossed my yellow tape at a crime scene...
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jmer
Probationary Member
Posts: 7
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Post by jmer on Dec 19, 2019 11:38:18 GMT -6
The media on a national level does what it has to do to generate clicks and ad revenue. So, polarizing opinions is the way they go. I do miss how sportscenter used to be a show of highlights but ESPN made a business decision to go to more opinion based content.
One thing that annoys me is that most of the color commentators for FBS college football are ex QBs who protect the QBs on the field from criticism. Example being that I see it multiple times almost every game where the color commentator says there is nobody open so the QB had to take the sack and they show the replay and multiple guys break open during it but the QB stays on his first read.
Chris Spielman is one of the better color guys because he will call it like it is and really does a great job of breaking down a replay live.
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Post by fantom on Dec 19, 2019 12:06:20 GMT -6
Chris Spielman is one of the better color guys because he will call it like it is and really does a great job of breaking down a replay live. But I suspect that there will be people here who will hate him for exactly that reason. |
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jmer
Probationary Member
Posts: 7
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Post by jmer on Dec 19, 2019 12:23:26 GMT -6
Chris Spielman is one of the better color guys because he will call it like it is and really does a great job of breaking down a replay live. But I suspect that there will be people here who will hate him for exactly that reason. He definitely has a attitude in the broadcasting booth that could rub people the wrong way because if a player messes up, he calls them out for not doing their job, but if you want a pure football breakdown, he is a good watch. |
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Post by dytmook on Dec 19, 2019 12:51:33 GMT -6
But I suspect that there will be people here who will hate him for exactly that reason. He definitely has a attitude in the broadcasting booth that could rub people the wrong way because if a player messes up, he calls them out for not doing their job, but if you want a pure football breakdown, he is a good watch. I like his approach to calling a game. The local guys who do Thursday night games around here make me cry they are so bad. |
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Post by larrymoe on Dec 19, 2019 15:29:31 GMT -6
I generally disdain HS media in our area, because they're constantly trying to "get you" or create headlines. We played a team when we were really good and were up 42-0 with 8 mins gone in the 1st quarter. They had no business on the field with us, but they were in the conference and kept running hurry up no huddle chuck it spread. One player returned a KO, a punt, a Int, ran for a score and a fumble recovery for TDs. They were horribly coached and wouldn't win a game for 3 years before they folded the program.
After the game the newspaper guy goes "What did you think about the other team's gameplan?"
"I was really happy with the way our kids came out ready to play. That's been an issue for us, and I was happy we went 100% from the opening whistle. "
"But, do you think the other team could have done X,Y and Z to stop you or.."
"I don't know. I don't coach the other team. My team was ready to go and that's all I know."
"But, if you're playing a team of your caliber, don't you think that you'd do..."
"Look, I know you're fishing for a headline from me and you gotta know it isn't happening. We played really well. Do you have any questions about our kids or team?"
"Not really."
"Well, I guess we're done."
It's the closest I've ever come to being Bill Belichick.
Same reporter asked me after we beat an eventual state champion- "What do you think led to your success today?"
"I was really happy when I saw Steve get on the bus"- he ran for 230, caught a pass for 40 had 20+ tackles at safety and an int. Also the same kid from the game above.
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Post by blb on Dec 19, 2019 15:46:14 GMT -6
A reporter who had written articles about our turn-around (from 4-5, 2-7, 1-8, 0-9 under previous coach to 6-1 my first year) including a Pre-Game Preview of our Week 8 game asked me afterwards,
"What does this win mean for your team?"
I replied, "I guess you could say we're off to our best start in awhile" with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
He printed it. |
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Post by pvogel on Dec 20, 2019 5:49:57 GMT -6
A reporter who had written articles about our turn-around (from 4-5, 2-7, 1-8, 0-9 under previous coach to 6-1 my first year) including a Pre-Game Preview of our Week 8 game asked me afterwards,
"What does this win mean for your team?"
I replied, "I guess you could say we're off to our best start in awhile" with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
He printed it. Haha! My lesson I learned is that they don't print the transcript. They print what they choose. So during my time as an Interim baseball HC I was asked about our team's success despite being underdogs or whatever and I talked about how we believed in ourselves and that if you put the Detroit Tigers on the field (best team in mlb at the time... it was awhile ago) we would expect to beat them and if we didn't then we would focus on what we needed to do to improve. He printed the "you could put the Detroit Tigers on the field and we would expect to beat them" part. Community members weren't pleased about the pompous a-hole running the baseball program and our principal called me in to ask me about the quote. But the kids loved it and rallied around it so there's that. But very valuable lesson. |
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Post by fballcoachg on Dec 20, 2019 6:33:09 GMT -6
Most HS guys get it, they also get that the business is struggling so they don’t print too much controversial stuff. That said, there is one reporter I am 100% honest and open with, he does a good job of filtering through my unfiltered comments bc I give him unfettered access and maybe some scoop that’s coming. There are other guys I am very guarded with bc all they print are the tongue and cheek comments or talk to you for an hour and take the one line that isn’t praising your kids or the other team.
Just have to know your audience and, at the end of the day, own what you say.
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Post by fballcoachg on Dec 20, 2019 6:33:56 GMT -6
Also, I love any coverage HS teams get bc in our area it isn’t an emphasis, 90% of space is dedicated to the university
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Post by Defcord on Dec 20, 2019 6:40:35 GMT -6
A reporter who had written articles about our turn-around (from 4-5, 2-7, 1-8, 0-9 under previous coach to 6-1 my first year) including a Pre-Game Preview of our Week 8 game asked me afterwards,
"What does this win mean for your team?"
I replied, "I guess you could say we're off to our best start in awhile" with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
He printed it. Haha! My lesson I learned is that they don't print the transcript. They print what they choose. So during my time as an Interim baseball HC I was asked about our team's success despite being underdogs or whatever and I talked about how we believed in ourselves and that if you put the Detroit Tigers on the field (best team in mlb at the time... it was awhile ago) we would expect to beat them and if we didn't then we would focus on what we needed to do to improve. He printed the "you could put the Detroit Tigers on the field and we would expect to beat them" part. Community members weren't pleased about the pompous a-hole running the baseball program and our principal called me in to ask me about the quote. But the kids loved it and rallied around it so there's that. But very valuable lesson. When I was a head baseball coach, my kids were kicking it around like a soccer match in pregame so I pulled them and ripped them pretty good. I was only 24 and a big dummy so I definitely said some things that I shouldn't have. The game was in the county where I had grown up, so a local reporter came to do a story about it. He didn't even interview me because I was such a douche in pregame. But we went on to beat a top 5 team in state while they were throwing their ace. It was a huge win from us and I never even thought about the article. A couple days later my mom called me and said that her friends were talking about me yelling at my team. The guy had written something about "After a slow start, Coach verbally adjusted his team with a few choice words, but it must have worked because they got a huge win." It was a hundred percent accurate so I can't complain but my mom was pretty pissed about it for a while. |
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Post by canesfan on Dec 21, 2019 10:57:10 GMT -6
Our local media isn’t bad. I don’t care to help them if it gets our kids some good publicity.
Hammer our program, or make one of our kids look bad (blame them for the loss, etc.) and that’s it though.
We’re pretty fortunate. Our guys locally are young and really try to do a lot to support the kids. They’ve got a lot of teams to cover but generally are pretty good about being fair to all.
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