Monthly Archives: February 2009
What They’re Saying- February 27th, 2009
Here is what some of the sports media columnists are writing this Friday…
First here is the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News…
Even though he has been eliminated, there is still much chatter around the return of Tiger Woods. Here is some from the NY Times’ Richard Sandomir…
And more from Ray Buck at the Fort Worth Star Telegram…
Here’s one from Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star…
And don’t forget Diane Pucin at the LA Times…
Along with Jay Posner at the San Diego Union Tribune…
Elsewhere in Gotham Neil Best at Newsday has a talk with SNY’s Ron Darling. The papaer also announced a change on how they will serve online readers.
Phil Mushnick at the NY Post takes MLBPA head Donald Fehr to task..Justin Terranova sits down with ESPN’s Barry Melrose. He also has 5 questions for Johnny Miller.
Michael Hiestand at USA Today looks at the foray into TV for the Bengals’ Dhani Jones…
Tom Hoffarth at the LA Daily News finishes his “best and worst” series.
Dave Darling at the Orlando Sentinel previews Charles Barkley’s attempt to fix his golf swing on the Golf Channel.
David Barron at the Houston Chronicle sits down with HBO’s Jim Lampley.
Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald tackles ESPN’s “Interactive Tuesday”.
Scott D. Pearce at the Salt Lake City Desert News continues with his analysis of the MTN.
John Maffei at the North County Times gives us a look at the Spring plans for the MLB Network…
Bill Doyle at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette looks at Comcast Sports Net seeking to hand out some hardware…
Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Sentinel has ESPN Baseball analysts’ veiw of the 2009 Brewers.
Nancy Marrapese Burrell at the Boston Globe reports on the demise of another local sports radio show…not on WEEI.
Marc Katz at the Dayton Daily News looks at why Ohio wasn’t given a shot as part of ESPN’s Mount Rushmore promotion.
Mel Bracht at the Oklahoman talks with Thunder analyst Grant Long. Mel also brings us his weekly local notes…
Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post Dispatch gives us some local sports radio news…Dan also gives us the local Cardinals Spring Training broadcast schedule…
Ray Frager at the Baltimore Sun has his always interesting local sports media notes…
R.I.P. Rocky Mountain News
The economy and technology has claimed another victim…
Thank you Rocky Mountain News.
SBN and Yahoo Sports Join Forces
It is becoming more and more evident that sports media entities are looking to expand their content with little or no financial obligations. We have recently seen collaborations between newspapers in coverage of local professional sports.
Another major sports media organization is expanding its content through partnership. Yahoo Sports is now incorporating content from the SB Nation family of bloggers.
With the news that ESPN has done the same- linking with idependent blogs for basketball and football coverage- do we really need to continue the discussion as to the quality of some blogs? Respectability has arrived. We should all accept, and embrace it.
The Big Lead Interviews ESPN.com Editor in Chief
TBL has a really good interview with Rob King, the Editor-in-chief over at ESPN.com. (courtest Boston Sports Media Watch for the link) It’s arguably the most important job in sports journalism today as his editorial decisions can have a huge impact on not only the way stories are covered by the sports media at large, but the way they’re viewed in the long term. ESPN has been, for most of its existence, a TV-based outlet. But after the last few years when I hear “Oh, did you hear about so and so and the Rays? It’s on ESPN” I think ESPN.com, not the channel.
It’s a small change, but it’s a very important one because ESPN.com (along with Fox Sports and Yahoo Sports, to be fair) represents what will, most likely, be the long-term future of journalism: web-based outlets dedicated to one area of coverage where a few national sites are the sort of go-to for their subject, but who branch out and link to a wide array of diverse opinions to better cover their little part of the world.
On the subject at hand, however, King was surprisingly candid in his remarks about Rick Reilly and Bill Simmons as well as talking about ESPN.com as a whole. It’s refreshing to see somebody in such a position of editorial power to be so open about his job and what it entails.
As the media , and especially the sports media, has become big business it has become less and less common to see the real movers and shakers of the industry openly discussing the decisions they make — especially when they work for what is arguably the most-watched (and most-critiqued) media outlet in your business. Transparency, which should be the hallmark of a free press, now seems to come at a premium.
Honestly, it’s great to finally put a face on ESPN.com that isn’t a writer and that he’s so enthusiastic about where his business is going, unlike a lot of people who seem to be already mourning the death of journalism. Here’s what he had to say about just that topic:
I also consume a lot of news online, whether on individual sites, through feeds or via search. That said, when I hear phrases such as “Print is dead,” I know what folks are saying. Paper and ink and trucks are expensive. But writing and reading are priceless, and they will endure. Of course they will. That’s why you do what you do with this site, and why so many newspapers and magazines are working so feverishly to re-imagine their futures. That’s why mobile devices aren’t just telephones, and why they have to feature (for now, anyway) full keyboards. That’s why the online versions of the NYT, The Washington Post, USA Today and many others enjoyed such dramatic growth in 2008. And I have every confidence that systems built to deliver what is commonly referred to as “print” will continue to emerge, whether they’re things like the Kindle, or the iPhone, or something else altogether.
It’s important not to lose sight of the human toll of this transition, however. Pension plans suspended or abandoned, furloughs, buyouts, layoffs and shuttering of newsrooms … These developments are exacting a terrible price on the energy and commitment that have always driven American journalism. That’s why examples of work such as Eric Nalder’s Polk Award-winning series on malfeasance in military housing contracts, work generated against a backdrop as worrisome as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s, seem more courageous than ever before.
Well put.
What They’re Saying- February 20th, 2009
Here’s our weekly look at what the sports media columnists from across the country are writing about today…
Michael Hiestand at USA Today has the story of how ESPN is going all out to cover the Bassmaster Classic…
In recognition of this weekend’s Academy Awards, Dave Darling of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the best sports scenes in non-sports movies…
David Barron at the Houston Chronicle tells us about the cancellation of a local television football show…
Still talking about the A-Rod story in New York, Bob Raissman of the NY Daily News analyzes the reaction of GM Brian Cashman…
Phil Mushnick at the NY Post casts more blame on Bud Selig. Justin Terranova talks college hoops with Fran Frischilla. He also has 5 questions for SNY’s Ron Darling.
Neil Best at Newsday stays away from A-Rod and talks wrestling with Nick Foley, again with an eye toward this weekend’s Academy Awards…
Richard Sandomir at the NY Times has the story of politics and religion playing a role in tennis in Dubai…
Ray Frager at the Baltimore Sun sums up national and local media news in his weekly column.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports on the return to TNT of Charles Barkley…
As does Diane Pucin at the LA Times…
And Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel…
Scott D. Pearce at the Salt Lake City Desert News critiques the college basketball coverage of the Mountain West Conference.
Tom Hoffarth at the LA Daily News talks with Angels TV analyst Mark Gubicza.
John Maffei at the North County Times chats with MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds…
Mel Bracht at the Oklahoman sits down with Dick Vitale…
Bill Doyle at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks with NESN host Cole Wright…
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell at the Boston Globe chats with hockey analyst Mike Milbury…
Marc Katz at the Dayton Daily News talks to Wright State University radio voice Mark Adams…
Dan Ceasar at the St. Louis Post Dispatch has a piece on so many TV sports offerings with little viewers…Dan also has the latest local sports TV ratings.
