Monthly Archives: January 2013

Deadspin’s Koblin on ESPN: ‘They have been dumb’; says his coverage of network is fair

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The quotes stood out.

John Koblin, who covers ESPN for Deadspin, said in a recent interview with Gelf Magazine: “The second ESPN stops being so dumb, sure, sports media won’t be nearly as fun a beat.”

Later, he said: “Well I used to cover places like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and Conde Nast and I can tell you ESPN is much dumber, and plays fast-and-loose with fairly standard journalistic practices far more, than any of those other media organizations.”

OK, now.

I don’t think I’m breaking any news by saying that Deadspin has made its mark in part by taking on ESPN. Koblin has been very aggressive in reporting on the network since coming over to the site earlier this year.

I called Koblin to discuss his comments. I asked if his statement about having fun with ESPN being dumb implies that he is on the “Let’s-catch-them-with-their-pants-down beat?” I came away with that impression, and several folks at the ESPN feel the same way. The comment, in my mind, reinforced the notion that Deadspin is out to get ESPN.

Among the many reasons why ESPN would have that view is the headline for a 2012 year-in-review piece: “The Year in ESPN being dumb.”

Koblin, though, expressed surprise that folks at ESPN believe he and Deadspin have an agenda toward the network.

“Really? I’m not familiar with their problems of my agenda,” Koblin said. “The comment was tongue in cheek. ESPN being dumb, I was trying to make a funny. I hope it came across that way.

“I have no agenda. There’s no, ‘Let’s-catch-them-with-their-pants-down.’ With that being said, I am a reporter with a point of view. And let’s face it, ESPN has been dumb over the last month. The Rob Parker situation, Tebow, Brent Musburger, the whole John Walsh thing. You know as well as I that there have been some dumb things…But for the stories we’ve discussed, where has an agenda crept into a story?”

The “Walsh thing” has been well documented: the ESPN legend telling a college class that Koblin’s coverage of a plagiarism story involving Lynn Hoppes was influenced by a romantic rivalry over a girl. The tale became even more preposterous when Koblin, who is gay, said he had an interesting time explaining it to his boyfriend.

Koblin, though, insists that Walsh situation hasn’t affected his coverage of ESPN. “I believe I handled it with a ton of restraint,” he said.

I asked Koblin about how he views the assignment and mandate from his editors at Deadspin? Koblin replied that he has been fair and objective in his coverage. He said while covering the media for the Observer in New York, an editor told him to “cover the New York Times the way the New York Times covers the Pentagon.” Koblin said he takes the same approach regarding ESPN.

“I cover them skeptically,” Koblin said. “Considering the size and reach of ESPN, they should be covered skeptically. ESPN is bigger than the NFL. There’s nothing like ESPN in any other industry. They have a massive amount of influence in sports coverage. There are interesting and important stories there, and they are going to be vigorously reported.”

Deadspin does what it does, and Koblin is very good at it.

Does Deadspin have an agenda in its coverage of the network? You be the judge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gelf interviews with Richard Deitsch and Richard Sandomir on covering sports media

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In addition to chatting with Deadspin’s John Koblin, Gelf Magazine also conducted interviews with two King Richards of the sports media beat: Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated and Richard Sandomir of the New York Times.

From the Deitsch interview:

Gelf Magazine: What is the best thing ESPN produces, in any medium? What’s the worst thing?

Richard Deitsch: The one thing I’ve always tried to keep in mind when I report and write on ESPN is to be specific to the person, programming, and thesis of what I’m writing about. ESPN does great work every single day of the year. ESPN.com has an exceptional writing and reporting base. Same with Grantland. The network’s 30 for 30 programming has been high-end. Outside The Lines, especially its Sunday programming, provides important journalism. (We’ve seen it recently with its role in investigating gambling in South Florida youth football.) There are a multitude of talented producers, directors and behind-the-scenes people in Bristol. Same with on-air talent. But what bothers me, and I think bothers intelligent viewers as well as many ESPN staffers, is the Baylesization of some of its programming. The oleaginous First Take is the worst thing ESPN does because it is reflective of the network’s worst tendency: a lust for cheap debate, social media buzz, and a look-at-me ethos that leads to the kind of nonsense we saw from Rob Parker or when Skip Bayless race-baits or makes of fun of athletes by referring to them with names such as Bosh Spice. The company’s thirst for owning a story has prompted sourcing controversies, and other reporters and media entities are right to call ESPN out on it when it happens. And it happens too often.

Gelf Magazine:Would you want at some point to have a more traditional sportswriting job, rather than covering the sports media?

Richard Deitsch: I’m a writer and reporter who happens to cover sports media. That’s how I look at myself—it’s amusing and incorrect when people call me a critic—and it’s just one job at SI for me. I write and help conceive special projects, I’m one of our principal writers on women’s basketball, and I’ve been to the last six Olympics, where I write our daily previews for SI.com. I’ve also covered Super Bowls, NCAA Final Fours, tons of college basketball games, the NHL, and the NBA. It keeps me sane. I could not simply do sports media: I need to work on beats with smaller egos.

From the Sandomir interview:

Gelf Magazine: You’ve been covering TV sports business since 1991. What’s changed the most about the industry during your career?

Richard Sandomir: One thing that comes to mind is that the broadcast network executive producers don’t trash each other in public, nor do the network P.R. people. It used to be a free-for-all that could fill a lot of column inches. The folks are much tamer now. It’s too bad. More broadly, it’s the breadth of sports TV now that’s changed. Back in 1991, it was pre-internet and there was only one ESPN. Nobody talked about platforms, except if they were discussing disco-era shoes. There were no CBS Sports Networks or NBC Sports Networks, or their antecedents.

Gelf Magazine:Outside of covering it, do you consume a lot of sports media? Which are your favorite?

Richard Sandomir: Well, I watch far less than I used to because of my evolving job at the Times. From early 2011 to March 2012, I covered two primary stories: the Mets’ legal fight against the trustee for the Madoff estate, and the sale of the Dodgers. Neither was a story that required that I watch much sports TV, so I didn’t; you gotta have a life! Since then, I’ve been engaged in a series that I’m still in the midst of reporting. So I don’t watch as much as I used to from 1991 until about 2005, I watched nearly everything on weekends and a lot of stuff on weeknights. The idea was to keep finding out what was really good and really bad; that turned into a job with diminishing returns. Generally, sports TV is pretty good and as long as announcers and producers and directors generally do what they’re supposed to do—and you have to realize that they’re not all Al Michaels or Roone Arledge or Fred Gaudelli—then there’s little to write about. My favorite viewing now is probably Mets games, with Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling. Follow that with Marv Albert’s basketball calls and Sunday Night Football.

Gelf Magazine: Do you ever wish you were free to rant like Phil Mushnick?

Richard Sandomir: I used to rant more than I do now; but, no, I’ve never wished to fulminate like Phil. It’s tough on your innards. Phil has his shtick, and it works for him. Anybody else in New York sports journalism who tried to do that consistently would be accused of imitating him.

 

 

New York Times sports editor on blank front page: Chance to capture dispiriting story of steroids in baseball in a freshly powerful way

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The front page of the New York Times’ sports section certainly got everyone’s attention this morning.

The Times made a statement via a huge block of white space. I asked sports editor Joseph Sexton why the section went that route.

Sexton replied via email:

“Wayne Kamidoi, our boundary pushing art designer came up with the idea, and Jay Schreiber our baseball editor saw the chance to capture the very old, very dispiriting story of steroids in baseball in a freshly powerful way. Yes, it was not a surprise that Bonds and Clemens didn’t make it. But felt like history had spoken. How to convey that to our readers? I think we did it — a striking, profound emptiness.”

Definitely makes a point. It shows how design can be a profoundly powerful tool.

Also on a side note: The New York Times are among the outlets that prohibit their writers from participating in the Hall of Fame vote.

What do you think?

 

 

 

Vitale, Albom elected to NSSA Hall of Fame; Dan Patrick, Peter King voted best in 2012

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Congratulations to all. With Dickie V., you can be sure the induction ceremony won’t be dull.

From the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association:

Hall of Fame inductees Dick Vitale and Mitch Albom lead the list of winners of the 2012 National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Awards, announced by executive director Dave Goren.  National Sportscaster of the Year Dan Patrick and National Sportswriter of the Year Peter King will join Vitale, Albom and 106 State Sportscaster and Sportswriter of the Year Awards.  They’ll be honored as part of the 54th Annual NSSA Awards Weekend in Salisbury, NC, June 8-10, 2013.

After many years of coaching on the scholastic, collegiate and NBA levels, Vitale joined ESPN in December 1979.  He did their very first televised college basketball game, DePaul vs. Wisconsin.  Everyone knows him as “Dickie V” for his enthusiasm and passion for the game.  Vitale was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.  In addition to his television work, Vitale is also a fervent supporter of several charities.  His Dick Vitale Gala, held in Sarasota, Florida, has helped to raise more than $10 million for the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Albom is a longtime sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press, who has enjoyed crossover success as a best-selling author.  His books – Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, For One More Day and Have A Little Faith – have sold more than 33 million copies.  Albom hosts his own radio show on WJR in Detroit and is an accomplished playwright, screenplay writer and musician.  He has also founded seven charities.  One of those —  A Hole in the Roof Foundation — operates the Have Faith Haiti Mission, which cares for Haiti’s impoverished and orphaned youth.  Albom previously won the NSSA National Sportswriter of the Year Award in 1998.

Patrick is one of the most versatile sportscasters working today.  Host of The Dan Patrick Show on radio (distributed on television through DirecTV Sports Networks), Patrick has also hosted several events on NBC TV and NBC Sports Network, including Football Night in America, the London Olympics and the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Patrick’s first network tv job was as a CNN Sports reporter and anchor.  He moved to ESPN in 1989 and paired with Keith Olberman on the network’s highly-successful sports news flagship, Sportscenter.  Patrick also won the NSSA National Sportscaster of the Year Award in 1999.

A former sports reporter at the Cincinnati Enquirer and Newsday, King is widely regarded as one of today’s most-respected NFL writers.  King joined Sports Illustrated in 1989 and has earned legendary status for his 8,000-plus word Monday Morning Quarterback posts on SI.com.  In addition to his SI work, King appears on NBC’s Football Night in America show during the NFL season.  He also won the NSSA National Sportswriter of the Year Award in 2010.

VOTING PROCESS

NSSA members in each state nominate up to three people for state and national awards from mid-October through mid-November.  The names of the top two vote-getters (plus ties) appear on the final ballot.  If a minimum of two candidates fail to earn a minimum number of nomination votes, that category requires a write-in vote on the final ballot.

Final ballot voting is conducted throughout the month of December.  In the event of ties, a tiebreaker vote is conducted.  If there is still a tie after the tiebreaker vote, that contest is declared a tie and the candidates are declared co-winners.

 

Laid-off Washington Times sportswriter: Hope have more tomorrows than yesterdays in my career

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Newspaper layoffs. We’ve become numb to it by now. They seem to happen almost daily.

Still, I was struck by an item at Romenesko.com last week. He ran a tweet from Patrick Stevens, a sportswriter who just found out he was being laid off by the Washington Times. The tweet said: “Can go ahead and cross ‘live tweeting while being fired’ off the bucket list.”

I found the tweet amusing, and it gave me the idea to contact Stevens. I told him I wanted to provide a snapshot of what it’s like for somebody to be going through this experience.

Stevens agreed. At the top, he said he is upbeat even though his future is uncertain.

Tellingly, he said, “I’m hoping I have more tomorrows than yesterdays in my career.”

His situation: Stevens was in his second stint with the Times. He worked there from 2002-2009. Then he was rehired in Feb., 2011. Stevens covered the DC college sports scene for the paper. “It’s a terrific beat,” he said. “Something always is happening.”

Stevens, though, got a bad feeling when the paper announced in November that it was going to have more layoffs.

“Let’s just put it this way,” Stevens said. “When they announced that, I felt it was time to update the resume.”

Sure enough, Stevens wasn’t surprised when he received the news Friday. Earlier that morning, he found out the hard drive in his computer was dead.

“At least I didn’t round things off by getting in a car accident,” Stevens said.

What now?: Stevens is 32 and isn’t married. He said he might feel differently if he had a family to support.

“I’m in a much better spot because of my situation,” he said.

The first thing Stevens did was restart his website, D1scourse.com, which focuses on DC-Baltimore college sports.

“I launched it when I was in between jobs the first time,” Stevens said. “The worst thing that can happen is that you disappear. This will keep me busy.”

Stevens said he isn’t going to flood the market with resumes. With all his connections, Stevens hopes something will materialize in the DC area.

“Things have a way of presenting themselves,” Stevens said.

The future: The last time Stevens was out of work, he started thinking of what else he could do. He couldn’t think of anything else.

“It was a bit unnerving,” he said.

Stevens is a sportswriter. That’s what he wants to do. Yet the rug already has been pulled out from him twice. Given the volatility of the industry, how can he be sure about any kind of security if he does get another job?

“Regarding the state of the industry, it’s fair to say that the odds of me making it to the finish line, of doing this another 30 years, aren’t very good,” Stevens said. “Do I think the outlook is bleak? Yeah. You have to be blind not to think that. That’s knowledge that I will have to act upon at some point. I don’t know when.”

Now isn’t the time, Stevens said. Not at age 32. He stressed repeatedly that he is feeling confident about his prospects.

“I don’t think it will be impossible to find another job,” Stevens said. “I’m not going, ‘Woe is me.’ I figured it out before and I will do it again.”

If anything, Stevens said the support he received in the wake of his firing has given him a huge lift. There were numerous tweets, texts, emails and calls.

“It really meant a lot to me,” Stevens said. “The outpouring (of support) far outweighed how much that morning sucked. It made me more optimistic about where things are headed now.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An inside look at Francesa: Claims he wasn’t sleeping on air; Not a big fan of Internet

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Interesting piece on Mike Francesa by Joe DePaolo of SB Nation Longform. DePaolo gets into the essense of the WFAN personality by describing his self confidence/arrogance.

DePaolo writes:

This is a frequent criticism of Francesa – his aggressive treatment of callers. The critics say he talks down to callers and belittles them. To a certain extent, Francesa will plead guilty as charged. His every utterance on the air is governed by his unshakable belief that he knows more about sports than his audience.

“I don’t believe this idea that everyone knows as much as I do,” Francesa says. “If I go to the doctor’s office, I don’t think I know as much as the doctor. He’s spent his life learning his trade. If I go to my accountant, I don’t know as much about the tax laws as he does. I’d better not.”

Then there’s this passage:

Until you prove yourself, you get long, meandering answers. The man often repeats himself – a habit, one would assume, attributable to the fact that he must fill five-and-a-half hours of airtime daily. He doesn’t trust you to talk. Why should he? You simply aren’t as good at it as he is. So he’ll do it himself, thank you.

“I don’t lack confidence. I admit that. I know I’m good at this. If I don’t think I’m good at this, why would anyone else think I’m good at it?”

As for the sleeping on the air episode, Francesa says it didn’t happen:

“Honestly, I don’t think I had fallen asleep on the air. And I still don’t think I fell asleep on the air. I actually know I wasn’t asleep. I know what the video looks like, but if you listen to it on the radio, no one got anything out of it because I didn’t miss a question. I didn’t miss a beat in the interview. I was clearly nodding off, but I was listening to Sweeny the whole time. So I was still there. I was still conscious. That’s why, to me, I never really thought like it happened. I know what the video looks like. But I was still awake, even though it looks like I was asleep.”

The video of the episode went viral, giving Francesa, 58, yet another reason to sound off the new age of media.

If there is a media outlet that attracts more of Francesa’s vitriol than YouTube, it is Twitter. Francesa believes Twitter is the enemy of reason and pragmatism. The kind of extreme, profane opinions that are commonplace on Twitter are nowhere to be found on Francesa’s show. He is the rare sports talker whose takes are measured. He cautions that the potential ramifications for those who participate in these heated, nasty conversations on the social networking site are enormous – particularly if they are public figures.

“I did a very controversial rant on Twitter one day, and warned people about Twitter. I said, ‘It’s gonna get players in hot water. It’s gonna get broadcasters fired. It’s gonna get public people sued. It’s gonna cost people their jobs.’

“And we’ve already seen that since I said it,” Francesa added, referring to Exhibit A in his case against Twitter,  Scott Torgerson, a Columbus, Ohio, based talk show host. After tweeting that he wished Desmond Howard, a host of ESPN’s College Gameday, “would get fired or die so I could watch Gameday again,” Torgerson was fired.

If you’re interested in Francesa, it’s a good read.

 

 

 

 

Programming alert: 60 Minutes Sports debuts tonight on Showtime: More Armstrong allegations

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60 Minutes has done plenty of sports stories through the years. So doing a monthly sports show with 60 Minutes branding makes a lot of sense.

60 Minutes Sports is bringing out the heavy hitters for the debut on Showtime (tonight, 9 p.m. ET). Scott Pelley will have more bad news for Lance Armstrong; Bob Simon has a feature on Lionel Messi; and a report from Lara Logan on rock climbing.

I’m all for more sports journalism on TV.

Here’s the official rundown from Showtime:

The first edition of 60 MINUTES SPORTS will feature a rare interview with Lionel Messi, the record-breaking soccer player considered by many to be the best of all time.  Bob Simon went to Spain to talk to Messi, an Argentine who plays for FC Barcelona, to interview the man who just broke the 40-yr.-old record for scoring the most goals in a calendar year.  Messi is only 25 years old.  The profile will be featured on the series premiere of 60 MINUTES SPORTS, a new magazine program from the makers of the iconic CBS News series 60 MINUTES, the originator of the television genre.  The monthly, one-hour 60 MINUTES SPORTS premieres on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME and represents the first time original 60 MINUTES content will air on premium television.

Messi was already being compared to soccer legends like Pele and Diego Maradona and last Sunday scored his 86th goal of 2012 to break the record set by Germany’s Gerd Muller in 1972.   Messi tells Simon he’s hungry for goals and, given his appetite, more records should fall.  “I always want more. Whether it’s a goal or winning in a game  I am never satisfied… I always push my limits. And I always try to get better every day,” says Messi, who has years ahead of him in an already historic career.                                 

Also on the 60 MINUTES SPORTS  premiere will be a Scott Pelley report that looks inside the case against Lance Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team that led to the stripping of the cyclist’s seven Tour de France wins.  

A third story will feature Lara Logan’s update of her 60 MINUTES story on free solo climber Alex Honnold, who climbs rock walls using only his hands and feet.

Silliness continues: Katherine Webb appears on Today Show; says apology wasn’t necessary

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C’mon Matt Lauer. How can you have Katherine Webb on the Today Show and not ask her about Barack Obama’s handling of the fiscal cliff?

OK, OK. Here’s the video of Webb saying ESPN didn’t need to apologize for Brent Musburger’s comments about her Monday. She was flattered, she said.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

And here’s the likely reason why ESPN felt compelled to issue an apology. The New York Times did a story quoting people who were critical of Musburger. It includes this passage:

Almost immediately, Webb’s name began trending on Twitter and her account added nearly 100,000 followers within hours, including athletes like LeBron James. Meanwhile, Musburger’s comments, which some saw as harmless fun, struck other observers as off-putting.

“It’s extraordinarily inappropriate to focus on an individual’s looks,” said Sue Carter, a professor of journalism at Michigan State. “In this instance, the appearance of the quarterback’s girlfriend had no bearing on the outcome of the game. It’s a major personal violation, and it’s so retrograde that it’s embarrassing. I think there’s a generational issue, but it’s incumbent on people practicing in these eras to keep up and this is not a norm.”

It’s official: Even though it is only Jan. 9, this looks to be a solid leader for the most overblown story of the year.

Move on, everybody.

 

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Fun has been sucked out of Hall of Fame day

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Nobody gets into the Hall of Fame today. The formal announcement comes at 2 p.m. ET on MLB Network. Special coverage begins at noon.

I might be wrong. Perhaps Jack Morris slips in, but it seems unlikely that he can get 75 percent of the vote.

Even if Morris or somebody else gets elected, there will be questions about whether they were deserving. Did the voters simply vote for them because they didn’t want to turn in an empty ballot? Were these default votes?

This is a crummy situation. Hall of Fame day used to be a fun occasion for baseball. Not anymore.

Seriously, on a ballot that features normal first-ballot locks like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, and perhaps even Sammy Sosa and Mike Piazza, it’ll seem like a letdown if somebody like Morris (3.90 career ERA is a no for me) or Tim Raines (short window of greatness) gains entry to Cooperstown today.

There’s too much angst and confusion over the entire process. And unless somebody defines the standards, it’s going to be that way until all the juiced stars from the steroid era move on down the road, which will be a long time from now.

Writes T.J. Quinn in ESPN.com:

An issue as serious as this deserves answers to those questions. If the BBWAA continues to serve as the Hall’s electoral body, the organization must develop guidelines with the Hall of Fame about how to handle it. Noting that character is a criterion simply isn’t enough, especially for any club that includes Ty Cobb as a member.

Quinn, who hasn’t covered baseball regularly since 2002, said he hasn’t voted during the last two years.

I have come to the conclusion that it isn’t my mess to solve, and I wouldn’t be qualified to solve it even if it were. I’m out.

I agree. Whenever somebody asks who should vote if the writers aren’t going to do it, I have a standard reply: “That shouldn’t be our problem.” I assume baseball has plenty of smart people who can figure that out. A panel of historians, broadcasters, even astute Hall of Famers should be able to get the job done.

Regardless, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, and Mike Piazza and other steroid users (hello, A-Rod and Manny) aren’t going away. Their names will loom over future Hall of Fame votes, taking some of the attention away from deserving players; 300-game winners Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine are up next year.

Something needs to be done to clear up this situation. To see if the fun can be restored to Hall of Fame day.

 

 

 

Not necessary: ESPN apologizes for Musburger’s comments about girlfriend of Alabama QB

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It must be politically correct day at ESPN.

Following the network’s decision to dump Rob Parker, ESPN decided to apologize for Brent Musburger’s comments about Katherine Webb, the girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron.

In a statement, ESPN said: “We always try to capture interesting storylines and the relationship between an Auburn grad who is Miss Alabama and the current  Alabama quarterback certainly met that test.  However, we apologize that the commentary in this instance went too far and Brent understands that.”

In my view, this was totally unnecessary. Yes, Musburger might have gotten a bit carried away with his statements, but it wasn’t grossly over the line. People were more amused than outraged.

An apology only serves to focus more attention on Musburger and his comments. It elevates the story instead of letting it fade away.