Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Cranney's late post (classic)

I have a hard time believing any President has had a vested interest in sports other than the opportunity to appeal to young/blue collar voters. I don't understand why Barack Obama has been hailed as a "sports president," when he's clearly one of the least athletic presidents in recent memory.

I'll never forget his bowling posture during the 2008 election, nor the first pitch he threw out in a White Sox/Nationals game that went 10 feet up the first baseline. He likes basketball, and his appeal to young voters as a "cool guy" lends itself well to the idea that he has an interest in sports.

But one of the finer points of the Green article is that almost every president has been hailed as a "sports president." Just in the past decade, I have a hard time taking Obama over Bush as a sports president. Just look at the first pitch Bush threw out (from the rubber) in that post-9/11 game and compare that to Obama's. One of the two was a constitutional law professor, the other owned the Texas Rangers. Discrepancy, eh?

The EURO 2008 article is an interesting case study in the effects large sporting events can have on a small economic market. I learned about the economic benefits that a large sporting event can have on city in a sports economics class I took last year.

In the case of the Olympics, there's an interesting history of cities overspending to get rights to host the games, and the IOC taking advantage of it. Prior to the 1984 games, cities overspent to convince the IOC to allow them to host the Olympics, such as building stadiums to host the games. Montreal, for example, spent $3 billion to host the 1976 events, and it took the city 30 years to pay off the debt.

As a result of cities spending so much, Los Angeles was the only city to offer a bid for the 1984 games. Since the IOC had no other choice, it gave L.A. the upper hand. The city used existing facilities and it was the first Olympics to have official sponsorships. As a result, the L.A. Organizing Committee made a profit of more than $230 million.

Cities then recognized the potential economic benefit that the Olympics can have, and bids for the Olympics have become more ridiculous by the year. Athens spent $12 billion on 2004 games and China spent $40 billion on the 2008 games.

The IOC has used this leverage it has over cities to provide more elaborate facilities, luxurious accommodations for IOC officials and even payments to IOC officials.

All because of the economic events of a large sporting event, such as EURO 2008, has on a city.


Bellino Sport and Politics


The Green article I thought was more interesting than the Hachleitner and Manzenreiter article for one main reason, I’m not that interested in the business behind soccer.  I thought the article on sports and politics was much more interesting because it related to me and what I thought was newsworthy.

While I may not be interested in the topic the article about Euro 2008 still raised some interesting points. The first thing that caught my eye was the sentence that talked about how the soccer sports writers were the sport’s biggest advertising agency. If that was said about my writing for The Temple News I think Joe Cranney would be going to jail for a very serious crime against me. Furthermore, the talk about the media in this article reminded me of the stories we read about Babe Ruth as they called the sports media, “myth-makers.”

Green describes in one of his first paragraphs that sports have taken center-stage, even using United States President Barack Obama to reinforce his point by calling him the “sports president.” Then directly after that he said that G.W. Bush was once called the “sports president.” Green then goes on to compare sports to a bar, which is an excellent comparison and then goes to talk about how women are blocked out of the political realm. When one sits back and really looks at it it’s amazing how much sports and politics are related, although unfortunately I don’t think President Obama will be taking his talents to South Beach any time soon.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Sports and Politics - Dunn

Well, now that Blogger has kicked me off of blackboard, I've got to write this thing with no outside help!

I thought the article was interesting. It was a little redundant near the end, but the point was well received. Sport and politics are a part each other. A political race is seen as a sport, as it has the name of a sport (race) in it!

It can be hard to separate the two, as discussions get heated, and words get exchanged between opposing foes and their followers. I think that the political spectrum is exactly like sports, but that doesn't mean I take politics any less seriously.

It seemed to me that the author was trying to say that the two can only go together when no one really realizes that they are similar. I don't agree. I think that we just ignore it all together. People don't think any less of the two because they're so closely related. But then again, that's my perspective. If Obama said his favorite team was the Phillies, I would talk about it amongst my friends and probably say a few mean things about how they're terrible and whatnot, but it isn't going to make me vote against him.

Sports and politics feature the best and worst of people, and often times, those people lose sight of the real reasons they're fans. This happens a lot in sports, and the arguments I've had with both opposing sports fans and opposing political party people are very similar.

People love to bicker and argue whenever they get a chance.

Hot dogs 5:15

     One thing I took away from the Green article that is relevant today was the using of tax money for stadiums and having politicians get involved. This is a topic brought up with the Marlins and how they got their fans and tax payers to pay 40% of their new stadium because the promised to compete and one year after opening the stadium they sell off all their top players. Also, back when Tampa built their dome there were threats unless the city of Seattle paid for a new ball park the Mariners would leave. It took Slade Gorton a senator to intervene to keep the team in Seattle. They eventually built Safeco but without public support. One final example was the controversy over the Sonics leaving and how former Mayor Greg Nickles made a deal with the ownership group for them to be allowed to leave before the end of the lease before the courts decided what would be done. They finally agreed to build a new arena in order to get a new basketball team and most likely a hockey team. But even this, after so much public outcry over them leaving, took a great deal of political arguments with the city council.

   On the Euro 2008 article I was surprised to see that the Euro cup had virtually no impact on Austria's national economy. When I think about it logically though it makes sense because like it says they had to build so many structures and such and then the jobs created are fleeting. That's not to say however that there won't be lasting impacts. They now have all the stadiums if they were to host again or possible the World Cup. Also, people might have been so impressed they could move there families that, not that there would be some great migration but as the article states it puts a positive aspect on the country as a whole.

   

And then there were tres

     Sports is more intertwined with local economies than the national economy. The article talks about EURO 2008, an event that has an extremely large appeal to different masses of people. However, it is not concentrated enough to have a lasting effect on the national economy. Jobs are created, but only in the cities or countries in which the games are being played. Therefore, the effects that we see are on a microeconomic level.
     The article uses revenue numbers and percentages in order to dispel the myths that the sports media created about the economic impact EURO 2008 would have. While soccer (futbol) continues to dominate the sports market globally, there is not enough economic impact to emphasize it the way the media does. Sports support more national moral values and have greater societal impact on a more wide spread audience. (Really hope i am drawing the correct conclusions here)
     Politically, sports is very involved, like the article showed as well as the video we watched in class. Everyone can remember when Rudy Giuliani walked on the field of Yankee stadium after 9/11. There is a fair amount of transparency as far as a national politician's fan-hood and the community, such as the Green article suggests. Sports after all, does bring community together over a common interest. These politicians are nothing more than just a fan in a jersey and a hat at the end of the day.
     With three of the major sports leagues having lock out within the last three years, there is no questioning that the current sports world is still a political battle. It is being fought between the players association and the owners. Revenue is still the biggest debate, and how to divide them "fairly". Politics will continue to be a ruler of any world, especially the sports world until its power is realized.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Cranney Nolan Ryan Reading

"the phallus is a cultural construct: it bears a culture's meanings of masculinity and attempts to naturalize them by locating them in the physical sign of maleness - the penis," an actual quote from the Trujillo article.

Awkward sexually-explicit quotes aside, I thought the Trujillo article brought up many good points about the glorification of masculinity in sports. Specifically, I found the part about how Nolan Ryan was described by sports writers as the portrait of heterosexuality interesting.

The description of the "Texas Ranger" ad made me laugh. To think that advertisers purposefully used phallic imagery and purposefully position two baseballs on his holsters unsymmetrical is comical to me, though I'm not ruling it out.

Nolan Ryan is obviously a case study for the Trujillo article, but the idea of masculinity and heterosexuality, specifically, is evident throughout the four major sports. There hasn't been a single case of an athlete in the NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB to come out while he was still playing.

Real Sports recently did a piece on homosexuality in sports, and through some of the interviews they gathered, they found that there is a significant number of homosexuals in the four major sports, but none of them want to come out. Real Sports pointed out that young, gay kids, who are statistically more likely to become depressed or suicidal, could use a gay role model in sports to look up to.

I think it's about time we lose the misplaced sense of masculinity in sports. I cannot think of anyone better to categorize the masculine culture of baseball vs. football than the late, great George Carlin.


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Nolan Ryan's power makes us all cower

Nolan Ryan may go down as one of the best pitchers of all time, if not THEE greatest. Of course things like this are pure opinion, even with the stats to back it up.

Ryan sure was a work horse, and a guy that reminds me of him would have to be Justin Verlander, the Tigers pitcher. But I digress.

The article wasn't anything spectacular, but it made some good points. The way men and minorities are treated in the media is quite different. I don't really see how this is just a sports problem though. These social "norms" are norms for a reason, that's they way it's been for a long time. I'm not saying those are right in any way (just to save myself fromt he wrath of Gwen and Breland), just that the idea of the American Cowboy and the pure masculinity of sport and even society's view of these subjects stems from the building of America itself.

It is hard for me, and other white males I presume, to fully understand what being put on the back burner feels like, because for so long, as seen in history books, white men have run the civilized world. I know I'm digging an extremely large hole for myself, but that's just the way history has gone. The people who win wars write the history books.

One thing I really enjoyed about this piece was the idea that in his heyday, Nolan Ryan was the epitome of masculinity, or the "Embodiment of Male Athleticism" as Trujillo says. It reminded me a lot of the way we view James Bond on the silver screen.

If you look through the years of James Bonds' you see a trend: the Embodiment of Masculinity seems to change with every new James Bond. When my favorite Bond actor was playing the 007 agent, Sean Connery, the idea of maleness was a physically fit, but not overly muscular man who was extremely well spoken, and a true lady's man. Through the ages that has changed when Roger Moore took over the role from George Lazenby, the idea of masculinity has changed, and has continued to change with every new Bond, all the way up to Pierce Brosnan and current Bond, Daniel Craig.

I'm sure that Bond films and actors show people the "new masculinity" but they sure do a good job showing the world exactly what they think masculinity means to them.

As this relates to the article, I think that it is unfortunate men and women are treated differently on and off the playing field, but as we've seen with the recent reelection of Barack Obama, anything is possible with the right people. (Think Bobby Riggs vs. Billie Jean King in the Battle of the Sexes). It only takes one person with one idea.

-Ean Dunn

Noaln Ryan Iatesta

     I really don't like this article. First off the author continually spells Rickey Henderson's name wrong. It's Rickey not Rickie. How can you  not spell an all time great baseball player's name right? It also bothers me how sexist this entire article is. That to be masculine you must domineer over women and children. That's BS. When I read something like that I think of a sexist, abusive, asshole. That isn't something to look up to. He also talks about Ruth Ryan and how she failed at life basically. He made her out to be some weak worthless woman but it's ok because you have All-American masculine hero Nolan Ryan as your husband. I realize this was written probably 20 years or so ago and values change but still it disgusts me.

    I would also like to point out how romanticized Ryan is. He was dominate yes, but he isn't an all time great pitcher if that makes sense. He's not on the same level as say a Steve Carlton, Bob Gibson, or Sandy Koufax. Granted I never saw him pitch but I know what my father has said about him since he's been following baseball closely since about 1960. That's not to say he wasn't a great pitcher but what makes him the face of masculinity? Because he could throw hard? What about Steve Carlton's 1972 season where he won 27 of the Phillies 59 wins with a 1.97 ERA. To me that shows just enough about masculinity and dominance as this piece about Ryan without the inherent misogyny.
     I think the article is a little rash, and really kind of make sports a chauvinist thing. I would suggest that of any sport, baseball or basketball would be the least masculine of the four major sports. Hockey is very physical, and what better way to decide who the better man is than throwing the gloves off and plugging at each others jersey? Football, need I say more? Hitting as hard as you can, playing physical with a cornerback, or trying to get past a 300 pound lineman is certainly something that requires great strength and masculinity. One of the measures at the NFL combine is how many reps of 225lbs a player can do. Those numbers certainly show something about how masculine a player is.
     The cowboy designation that the media gave Nolan Ryan is not exactly something that I would classify as masculine or desirable. The media took the "cowboy image" and made it seem alot more desirable than it actually is. If I wanted a cool look with a cowboy hat, I would watch the rodeo or look at Woody from Toy Story (Joey that is for you). To me, pitching fast and throwing 100 is absolutely awesome. Overpowering a hitter and blowing them away with speed, but I would have to think that there are much better examples of masculinity in sports than Nolan Ryan. Hell of a pitcher btw.

Bellino- Nolan Ryan


This week’s reading on Nolan Ryan took me back to earlier in the semester when we did the reading on Babe Ruth. Ryan’s baseball career spanned over 25 years and the media was calling him “the last real sports hero.”  Last time I checked there was never an athlete protecting the streets of Gotham City protecting it from super villains. An athlete shouldn’t be a hero for what he does on the field of play, he should be remembered forever for it, but not considered a hero. Would a hero throw right under the chin of countless players with a 90-plus m/ph fastball?

While Babe Ruth was portrayed as basically a fictional character in the 1920’s as we learned, Ryan was described as the man’s man, or hegemonic masculinity, as Connell defines it in the article. Of the 5 features of hegemonic masculinity, I’m pretty sure Ryan hit’s all of them. Physical force and control, check. Occupational achievement, familial patriarchy, frontiersman ship and heterosexuality were all qualities Nolan Ryan possessed according to the article and I truly don’t know why he was praised for it. I’ve said it once I’ll say it again praise him for 300 wins, 5,000 strikeouts or seven no-hitters but don’t call him a hero because of it.

The article goes on to have a headline titled "Castrating Steers in the Off-Season: Ryan as Baseball Cowboy" that sums up my feelings for this article. When I think Nolan Ryan I think of the crazy guy throwing 97 at some dudes jaw not a cowboy. Nolan Ryan didn't need to be portrayed be the media as a masculine character anymore than he acted it in his every day life.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Cranney Fantasy

I believe fantasy sports has completely changed the way both fans and the media interpret sports. The overwhelming amount of fans, as pointed out in the Fortunato article, that participate in fantasy sports care less about a team's overall character and more about the successes/failures of individuals. Media now cater to this individualized sports world, where stories often are centered around one player's game rather than the team's. In today's fantasy, Lebron James and the Miami Heat are glorified and the San Antonio Spurs are forgotten.

The Nyland article makes another very good point: that not only is fantasy changing the way fans and media perceive the game, its changing the very nature by which sports are covered by journalists. How Matthew Berry has a job at ESPN is something I have a very hard time understanding, but there is a high demand for an analyst like him because some people only want to hear about sports in the context of their fantasy teams. This has an effect on beat writers and typical game coverage as well. Journalists who feel more pressure to talk about how an individual does will focus more of his/her story on that person's game. This leads journalists to talk more about how Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-3 rather than the bench player who went 4-for-4.

Fantasy sports is individualizing professional competition and altering the way sports fans and journalists alike are perceiving sports.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Fantasy football, and the death of my social life

I will start out by saying that neither article was as awesome as I had thought it was going to be, but that's neither here, nor there, nor anywhere.

In the article written by John Fortunato, I saw a lot of fancy words, math, and numbers. This could only mean one of two things... Either Sabre Metrics, or fantasy sports! I never played fantasy sports until this year, and boy has it taken a toll. But in a good way, I guess. Before Fantasy football, I used to just watch football and root for the greatest franchise ever, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, I get to watch them, AND root for individual players, so I can crush my loser friends' teams. The Nadal Wedgie Express has beaten many teams this year, and as Fortunato suggests, it has increased my viewership.

Last year I never would have cared how many yards Arian Foster or CJ2K had, now, I'm all over it. It really is a cool experience to sit down and feel like an All-Star team manager, unless you suck at it and end up in the basement. I think Fortunato's idea of the networks choosing their schedule based on fantasy players is a good idea. The only problem would be the lack of Buccaneers on tv.

The second article, I wasn't really sure what the study was supposed to prove. It seems pretty obvious to me, unless I'm completely wrong (which the author points out I'm not), that when you participate in fantasy leagues, you consume and participate more in social networking and sports news consumption.

I will say, after reading Foltzy's blog post, I am quite pleased with his picks. He knows what he is talking about, as he's 4-2 on the semester. And 1-0 when he picks the Bucs. Keep on keepin on.

-Ean Dunn

Bellino fantasy sports


Well first and foremost I would like to thank Steve for his “expert” advice on what teams my money should be riding on this weekend.

 This week’s articles are based on fantasy football and the way it dominates today’s society. People become obsessive over their fantasy teams and the pride that winning brings them. Fantasy sports, football in particular have sky-rocketed in popularity ever since the inventions of rotisserie baseball, which ESPN’s 30 for 30 series did an hour long special on.

When it comes to the media’s coverage of sports because of an individual player’s impact the change in the past few years has been drastic to say the least. ESPN, CBS and just about any other website that covers sports now have their own individual pages just dedicated to fantasy games where people get the opportunity to own their own team, and the decisions made by said owner decide whose wins and loses money,  if that’s how the league is run. Each of the media outlets listed above also have their own fantasy “experts” who host shows that run from half an hour to an hour, telling the owners who to start and who to sit for that given week. The fact that these outlets are dedicating an individual solely for fantasy sports goes to show how important these games are in the public’s eyes.

The articles talk about how the more time one spends on fantasy sports the more knowledgeable that person will be in the given sport. If you want to be the best at a fantasy sport you are checking your leagues several times a day and it becomes a borderline obsession. Whether or not these leagues are good for the sport as a whole or for society will be an interesting talking point for our class, but for now I have to go edit my lineup before tomorrow night’s NFL game.
Week 9 Picks
Thursday Night: Chargers (-7.5) over Chiefs
Gerbec or Green? Holmes or Larry Johnson? Wait these guys do not play for the chiefs anymore? Will Dante Hall be returning kicks for them this time? Oh no I am stuck in the past when the Chiefs were not a joke. Although I think the Chargers might also be a joke, I think they are much less of one. Chargers NEEED this one badly, and I think they will get it at home.

Sunday's Games
Bengals (+3.5) over Broncos
Bengals off the bye should come back strong. Like taking the points at home against a Broncos team that has come off with two wins against not so impressive looking teams. I'll take the points here.

Packers (-11) over Cardinals
Going to give the Packers another shot at covering a double digit spread. Although their defense is no where near as good as the 49ers, Cardinals are back down to Earth, and Rodgers should tear them apart. If Nelson plays, laying all those points seems a bit easier.

Colts (+2.5) over Dolphins
Dolphins have a solid defense and Matt Moore played very well stepping in for the injured Tannehill. Although it looks like the rookie will be back this week, he isn't offensively enough to match Luck. I love Luck at home. Their defense is not terrific, but they should be able to help keep the game close for Luck and company. Luck has to win this one through the air as Miami's run defense is the best in the league. Luck gets it done at home. Take the Moneyline cough cough.

Ravens (-.3.5) over Browns
Ravens are elite, and should win this one comfortably. Browns may be a little better than their record suggests, but after the bye, I'll take Ray Rice and company to beat their division opponents. Browns beat a struggling Chargers team that they were statistically favored to cover. Can't find the trend that says an elite team in the NFL will lose on the road in this one.

Texans (-10.5) over Bills
Line perhaps could not be high enough. Texans best team in the AFC, with a strong defense. Should be able to come up with the stops that allow for a double digit win. Although I normally hate giving so many points, not worried about this one.

Redskins (-3) over Panthers
RG3. RG3. RG3. Cam Newton? Frustrated quarterback, coming off yet another lose. They did not play terribly against the Bears who have a much better defense than the Redskins do. High scoring game, that RG3 comes out on top of.

Lions (-.3.5) over Jaguars
Lions offense finally showed up and so did their quarterback. Jaguars amongst the worst teams in the league. Brunell likely to come in this one and hand off to Fred Taylor for a chance at a backdoor cover. Look out for Jimmy Smith available in 100% of your fantasy leagues to have a big impact on the game. I like Stafford to show up again this week.

Titans (+3.5) over Bears
Nothing other then I think it is a bad spot for the Bears. Pick 6 saved them last week from a home loss. Offense is not anything impressive, and I like the Titans to keep this one close.

Seahawks (-5) over Vikings
Vikings true colors are finally coming out. Seahawks terrific at home with an extremely good defense. Ponder has not been playing well recently, and against a tough defense, he won't find much success.

Bucs (+1) over Raiders
Ean Dunn and need I say more? Bucs coming off a great win in Minny and are finally silencing some of the haters. I like the Bucs to get one more on the road this week.

Steelers (+3.5) over Giants
Offense that loves long drives and they still have a top defense with or without Troy. I'll take Big Ben over Eli in this one. Steelers in a good spot to be getting points, in a game they very well could win. Giants have looked good and this game will make for one of the best on Sunday. However, I trust getting the points more so then giving them to the Giants in this one.

Falcons (-4) over Cowboys
Nothing Matty Ice likes more than being at home. Well maybe he likes his 7-0 record more? He will love it even more when it becomes 8-0 after this one.

Monday Night Football: Eagles at Saints
My fingers will not allow me to type an outcome that doesn't result in an Eagles win, so I therefore neglect to comment.


Sorry I saw sports gambling written on the board and simply could not help myself. So now for the articles...

     The article says that people care about games that effect their team, but do not necessarily feature their favorite teams. It is what makes Wild Card races so important and exciting. Phillies fans become fans of teams playing the Cardinals, Dodgers, Brewers, etc. at the end of the baseball season if we are competing for one of the Wild Card spots. This also plays into flex scheduling which is mentioned later on in the article. Some games are subject to change based on their importance later on in the season. Often times meaningful games to standings are pushed back to later time slots in order for more drama and better ratings for specific teams.
     When they discuss the reasons behind participating in fantasy sports, they mention all things that are true. However, they left out a large factor, which is money. Money may not be something that draws someone into playing fantasy football, but it certainly intensifies the experience.
     Fantasy has also made its way to ESPN. Matthew Berry, is a fantasy expert for ESPN, and gives fantasy tips during Sunday NFL Countdown. Also, Adam Schefter dedicates his Sunday's to injury updates for fantasy owners. As an avid fantasy player, the information that they give can be very influential to my lineups. NFL Redzone is also now offered by cable providers. It updates fans on games that are about to have a score. Fantasy owners only really care about TD's from their players, and this allows them to watch out of market games and see how their players are doing. Also, live stats are also available on any site that allows owners to keep track of their match ups.
    This article shed light on something I never really considered. It was interesting to see how fantasy ownership really effected the number of viewers for certain matchups. It is something that does not seem like a big deal, but with the amount of fantasy owners out there, it seems that they must have a direct relationship.
    The second articles goes a bit more in depth with the specific types of media. It is also true that the number of time that you spend on fantasy sports means that you will spend more time involved with the actual sport. Football is easy, but basketball and baseball remain much more difficult. The amount of time spent on fantasy for those sports needs to be much greater than football. Therefore, it is not as popular fantasy wise. Being "good" at fantasy sports does require much time and research. While a fair portion of success is based on luck, there is research that need be done in order to do well.
 


Iatesta Fantasy post

      I wonder how many of the fantasy players do it not because they're big sports fans but because they prefer the gambling aspect of it. I play fantasy football but it doesn't make me watch anymore football than I normally would. I might have greater interest in the games being played but I would watch anyway. But overall to me fantasy sports does not make me watch more football.
   
       I do however find myself checking twitter and stats online more often than I normally would. I usually use twitter to check for injury updates and use my fantasy app on my phone to check stats and my scores all the time. I think fantasy has definitely increased my usage of media.

      The one article talks about marketing by networks and websites and new to this year NFL stadiums is that all include fantasy updates in the stadium so people can see how there team is doing throughout the day. They put the stats up on the scoreboards during breaks and I believe some stadiums may have handheld devices with the information on them.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Cranney questions

1. What is the general aura of the newsroom amid cuts?
2. What changes have been made under new ownership?
3. Is there a concern for the separation of business and editorial?
4. What's the new newsroom like?
5. What it's like to manage a tabloid?

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Anthony Bellino Questions

1. What does it take in today's job market to break into the industry?
2. As a person who has vast amounts of experience how do you feel about the changes in journalism, and how did you cope with them as they happened?
3. What does the paper/media outlet look for most when hiring a new person to fill a job?
4. What made you want to be a journalist?

Ean Dunn Questions


1. How has the industry changed since you came into the profession?

2. Is Journalism dying, or is it just the newspaper?

3. Will social media outlets such as twitter end up killing long-form sports writing?

4. Is Roger Federer the Greatest Tennis Player of All Time? (I already know the answer to that one...)

Preguntas

1. What made you interested in journalism?
2. What was your biggest struggle you had while attempting to gain credibility?
3. What was your favorite event that you covered?
4. Where do you draw the line on professionalism between freedom of press and right to privacy?

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Three Questions Iatesta

1. What are your thoughts on your writers using twitter?
2. How do you think social media has affected writing?
3. Do you think writers need to deliver the stories they deem important or what readers want?

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Ean Dunn's Paper Idea

For my paper, I will be looking at the race riots during the 2007 and 2008 Australian Open Tennis Tournaments and how the media covered it and how the world reacted.

A Race's Place in Space - Ean Dunn

While reading (some of all) of these articles, I found it very cool to see a different side of American sports history that I didn't otherwise know. 

It struck me as funny how in Carroll's 'From Pittsburgh to Chicago' piece he talked about the Chicago American Giants and how corruption ran rampant through the black leagues only because they would let anyone with money come in and sponsor the team.

I also liked how in Wiggins' article, he talked about how black baseball players were like the newspaper, in that the public needed to be ready for such a huge change in the business. This is very true because when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, a lot of people were upset. He received enough death threats to make any man go crazy. It is a true statement with anything in life. I guarantee that the next major update Facebook makes, people will be going crazy for about 2-3 weeks, then forget about it. So in that regard, sometimes you have to tell the world what they want and what they need. And the world of baseball sure needed Jackie Robinson.

(On a side-note, I looked at his stats, and for a 10-year career, he wasn't astonishing. I think if he had been a white player, he wouldn't even get a sniff at the HOF. But the fact that he was so influential to the sport rightfully outweighed his stats).

In regards to "A Perfect Baseball Day", I really enjoyed the idea of a black All-Star type game. It gave fans of black leagues and fans of baseball in general a chance to see that the black leagues, while maybe not as good as the Yankees of the 30's, could still produce some truly fantastic baseball players. It wasn't just a game either, it was a social event that meant something so much more to black people than to baseball fans. It was a way to show they belonged.


Iatesta Week 8


I find it really interesting how the one article speaks about the relationship between journalists and the organizations. It’s funny the parallel between the black reporters and the Negro League teams and Major League Baseball writers and the players like Babe Ruth. I mean that not only the situation was similar but the time period too. It talks about how after like 1925 this changed but this era matches up more or less.

The article about the East-West Classic shows the concept of media and sports needing each other to grow. The newspapers brought attention to the game but the Negro Leagues themselves helped grow the black papers like the Pittsburgh Courier. It’s amazing for me to think that in a time of massive legal segregation, a Negro League all-star game could bring so much attention to mainstream media and make it clear MLB would integrate. To see the integration eventually mean the end of the Negro League must have been bitter-sweet for the community. I find it interesting that this article talks about how it ended up being barnstorming baseball and there is now a youth black baseball team in Philadelphia that goes on barnstorming tours.

It’s interesting to me to see how things happen in different events and how similar they are. The one from the reading is how Wendell Smith is overlooked in Robinson’s ascent to the Major Leagues and credit is given to Branch Rickey. Historically Paul Revere is given credit for warning that the British were coming and although he did do this there was another patriot who rode for much longer to warn people. It is just weird to see how in historical events someone is given more credit than they are necessarily due and people don’t question it because they don’t know any better. 

Bellino Week 8 blog post


            The East-West Classic, the clash of the best African-American baseball players from across the United States. In the 1930’s at the height of the Great Depression the East-West Classic brought together the African-American community for one day. There were players that even the casual baseball fan has heard of such as Satchel Paige, and then players that even the biggest fans of today’s game would not recognize such as Buck O’Neil who said the classic was, “something special,” on page five of the A Perfect Baseball Day article.

            Page six of the article states, “Coming from all over the country every year, so many African Americans scheduled their vacations around the event that the Illinois Central and Union Pacific trains even had to add extra passenger cars.” When thinking about the article, I really couldn’t put a finger on a comparable American event today. Only certain groups of people like certain sports, the all-star games in all of the sports are jokes today and the fact that the media puts such a huge role on home field in the World Series for the Major League All-Star game is a disgrace.

            Journalists at black newspapers had to beef up their coverage and inflate the market with stories about the East-West classic, as they had a financial means backing the game. The job that was done building up this game each year and attracting the crowds they did at the time was unbelievable.

            The final thing I wanted to touch on was from the Carroll article, a quote in particular on page 15. Carroll says, “The passing of the hero’s baton, from businessman to athlete, is evidenced in the illustrations black newspapers published with columns and articles.” This started in the 1920s, but still today if I polled 100 kids across the nation asking who is your hero, Bill Gates or LeBron James I would say around 90 out of the 100 kids polled would say LeBron James. This is what the media has done to society whether it be for better or for worse, this is the world we live in today.
     Sports transcends the pulse of the nation. Sports integrated blacks and whites long before they were legally. Recently, I was privileged enough to hear Larry Lester, a very well known and respected Negro League Historian, speak at Temple. He has written many books, and in particular one about the Classic that this article talks about.
     Before this time, blacks were seen as inferior in every way shape or form. However, with some of the best talents that could be found in the country, they could no longer be seen as inferior. From a business standpoint at least, the black athlete had to be respected.
     The Classic was an event that kept the headlines hot, and the people coming to the games. That is until the "Jackie Robinson beat" occurred. That was the story that sold, so therefore drew the attention of the black media. No longer was the media able to hold together the league, and push for it as far as they could. They reached a goal of integration, but were not out of the water yet. The media felt it more important to cover the players that did instead of continuing to put the Negro leagues in good light to further advance some of those players.
     This is one of the functions of journalism. The media has the ability to decide what is the most relevant story. Blacks were not able to thrive in sports on just their talents. They needed that extra boost in order to hope to achieve any real success. However, they were left to die along with the Negro League as black baseball was overshadowed by the Major Leagues. The Classic, an event once seen as the best baseball in the country, became something of little to no relevance. The media certainly helped the demise of black baseball as this country knew it.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Game 6 NLCS 2003 will be the topic for my paper

Cranney Week 6

The introduction of the Leonard article lends itself to a greater discussion about crime and athletes, and crime and black athletes. All too often do athletes find themselves in the middle of a media fiasco because of a DUI, gun charges, or, in some extreme cases, rape charges.
Donte Stallworth drove drunk and killed a guy. Michael Vick tortured and killed dogs. Jason Michaels assaulted a police officer. Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg. Ben Roethlisberger was accused of forcing himself on a girl in a bathroom. I could go on. Athletes are glorified in the media often as heroes, and stories like these are damaging to kids who look up to athletes as role models.
But all of these athletes, after they committed/were accused of sometimes felonies, returned to the playing field. Professional sports is far too forgiving of athletes who commit crimes or surround themselves with criminals off the field.
It extends to collegiate sports to, and even Temple. This summer, a football player was charged with rape and Khalif Wyatt was convicted of attempting to solicit prostitution. The football player was kicked off the team, but as of right now, there are no plans to suspend Wyatt. Even now, when the woman who accused the football player of rape, has come forward and said that she had consensual sex with him prior to the incident, the football player in question is still not with the school.
The tolerance of criminal activities of student-athletes and professional athletes has to change, as does the way the sports media covers them.

The Kian article makes me think of something that happened to me recently...
At a recent Temple News staff meeting, the subject of the recent female referee who officiated an NFL game was brought up. We were doing an article on it, and were discussing the role of females in sports and sports media. One staff member said the majority of female sports broadcasters aren't as knowledgeable as the males, and the only reason they have jobs is because "they're really hot."
While the comments were ignorant, they were also representative of how a large portion of people view the sports media in Philadelphia. Females are still thought of as eye candy and not professional reporters, in the sports media at least. They are still the sideline reporters and aren't used in prime time. There are almost no female game broadcasters in the four professional sports. Their role is relegated to a lower tier than the male's roles.

John


One thing I find interesting about the Kobe Bryant piece is when he refers to Kobe as a “breath of fresh air.” I think that is interesting because before the rape I used to like Kobe and my dislike for Kobe had nothing to do with the rape. As a person he seemed to change, he changed his number, he started getting tattoos, and seemed to become the most arrogant ass in the world. I don’t know if it is significant but I just thought it was interesting that he talks about Kobe as if you could consider him white because he’s straight laced but this transformed him. He also talks about Allen Iverson among others disappointing fans. I think, just like many Sixers fans, Allen Iverson is a basketball god. Do I approve of his off the court discretions? Of course not but I can differentiate his basketball from his personal life. I feel like people forget that athletes are people, they aren’t robots they make the same mistakes as regular people.

One problem I find is that women are generally given the field reporter position, which to me is an unnecessary position. I think women have proven they can handle anchor jobs or studio hosts like Linda Cohn or Michelle Beadle. Women with these jobs are in the minority unfortunately. One thing that I do question is why Pam Oliver dyes her hair pink. I realize she can do as she pleases but I feel like any reporter doing that would lead to them being taken less seriously. It is just odd to me that she’s a woman in a field that has stereotypes against women and she dyes her hair an insane color.

I plan on doing the 1989 world series for my paper. 

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

A Race to the Finish

I was on Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts when the whole Kobe rape thing happened. I can remember following the story on the news for a couple of nights until I became bored of the whole thing. One of my lasting images of the whole debacle was Kobe sitting with his wife and speaking softly. I'll also remember my friend saying, "He should use an O.J. Move. 'If the dick don't fit, you must acquit'." I remember laughing very hard at the time, as I was young and didn't quite realize just how racist that joke was.

I don't have a problem with the article by Mr. Leonard, what I have a problem with is that people see these things and get ideas. There are people crazy enough to accuse someone of rape, just so they can get their name out there and get some of the millions of dollars these guys spend. It's a terrible thing to do to someone, but that's not to say these sorts of things don't actually happen (think Ben Rapelisberger.. or was it Roethlisberger?).

The second article I 'read' was the Kian one. You don't see a lot of legitimate female reporters, but that's only because, at least to me, Title IX is just starting to blossom.

10 years ago I never would have thought there would be any women in a class like this one. And while the class is predominantly male, the numbers of women are steadily increasing. We're used to old white dudes reporting on sports. It's time for a refresher.

One of the things that stands out to me is when a drunk Joe Namath tells Suzy Kolber he wants to kiss her. While it was a hilarious part in the football game, it reminds me of the idea that 'sex sells'. Men don't see women as competition or as a threat or really as on the same level as them because all they think about it sex. Non stop. Just ask Joe Namath.

Once the stigma is lifted that women can't host a major sports show (think Erin Andrew this summer), I think we will start to see an even bigger increase in women and minorities in sports than we have now.

Also, just as kind of an aside. I had planned to write at the end of this, "Just as long as I have a job!" And that got me thinking about how true that is. I would love to see women and other "misrepresented" people in sports journalism. The only problem I have with that is that I'm trying to do this as a living, and more of you means less opportunities for me. And if quotas become a major thing, I may just be screwed out of a job. Just something to think about I guess.

Anthony Bellino Race and Gender Blog


            First and foremost the Absurdity of Colorblind Rhetoric made me feel like I am becoming a very old person. The complaint for rape filed against Kobe Bryant was done so in 2003, at which point I was in the midst of my 11-year old season of little league baseball.

With that being said one thing I disagree with that the article says is on page five. Leonard states that Michael Jordan, Shaq, Tiger Woods and Lebron James are evidence of racial progress. Looking at these for above, Jordan has been documented as a gambler since his playing days, Shaq has been known to wreck team’s like when he was with the Lakers and Magic, Tiger Woods had his life outside of golf under a microscope after several women said to have had affairs with him and Lebron James is quite possibly the most scrutinized athlete ever. While I do believe there has certainly been racial progress in this country, I believe these athletes listed above are playing under more pressure because they are in the minority race. We still hear about Kobe’s rape accusations and it’s been nine years, Ben Roethlisberger was only called “Rapistberger” for a brief time and now everyone has seem to forgotten about it.

Moving on to the Kian article, there is a question posed on page four that says, “Are there attitudinal differences between female and male writers with regards to women’s sports?” I think the answer to that question is an obvious yes. With the exception of a few times, most of the time you see women play-by-play announcers on ESPN is when they are showing the Women’s College World Series, women’s basketball, and the WNBA. These women know a lot about their respective sports and I believe are looked down upon because they are women calling sports. Many are used a sideline reporters and like the article says are just hired because of their looks.

The two articles we read for this week will certainly spark an interesting conversation in the class just because it is a touchy subject whenever you get into the race/gender talks when talking about sports media.
     Black athletes have always taken the spotlight when it comes to crime in the media. The media makes a point to put a greater emphasis on these players, as to demean them. Their off the field problems say more about them than their performance on it. The legacy of some players have been tainted because of this. Once the media takes hold of a legal trouble, they run with it.
    In the case of Kobe, he had the opportunity to quickly make his fans forget about his troubles. Michael Wilbon commented on the incident stating that this was important for him to keep his name amongst the basketball elite. Kobe was not just another ball player, but this charge had put him into a category with a fair number of other players. Players that we not meant to be role models, but were just thugs and criminals that were good enough to play on an NBA team. Kobe was supposed to be better than that, yet he stooped down to their level and committed a crime that is directly connected to his race.
    The comparison to O.J. is an interesting one though. O.J. was seen as a white criminal, because at the time he was seen as a member of the white community. He became the victim in his own case, as the media portrayed him as being attacked by the accusations. The race card was not played against him as the black man he actually was. He was not seen as a murderer. At the time, he was not placed amongst the race, but rather the exception or an outlier. America's colorblindness through sports is exemplified by this. All of a players actions are judged based on the race that classifies his or her actions.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Cranney Week 5

The discussion of the writer who broke the story about McGwire's PED during the 1998 home run chase got me thinking again about the uniqueness of covering sports as opposed to other sections in the paper.
With sports writing, there is a relationship between the writer and the communications department, the communications department with the team and the writer with the team. This three-way relationship can be straining or rewarding, but always requires a lot of work. It can allow writers to form personal bonds with their subjects, which can lead to those writers breaking stories if their sources feel a connection with them. At the same time, it can be challenging when a writer has to write a negative story on the team, sometimes on a person who the writer has developed a close bond with. Then, after writing the piece, the writer has to continue talking to the team everyday. It's a fragile business, and I can relate to it personally.
The overall theme of the first article of sports as the toy department is something I can relate to as well. From my experience with The Temple News, sports is the section that people working at the paper care least about. It's not as serious as the other sections, they say. It's not real news. But sports reporting is just as important as any other kind of reporting, and I pride myself on being a good reporter. Last year, as a part of the paper's annual awards nominations, it was between myself and the assistant news editor at the time for the award of "Reporter of the Year." I lost the nomination to him.

I really enjoyed Kevin Blackistone's article. I've been an admirer of his journalism for some time, and his academic writing is just as good. The article got me thinking about the racial constructs of sports, not just in participation, but in coverage and audience, something I haven't really done before. Obviously the NFL and NBA are dominated by black athletes, but the article points out that those sports' audiences are become increasingly black, while the percentage of black journalists covering the sports is decreasing.
It surprised me to learn that the number of black journalists has been decreasing during the past few seasons, and I'm not sure I understand why. I would think that overall, newspapers have been making cuts, so black journalists are losing jobs just like everybody else. But I am surprised that the numbers have been consistently decreasing.
Overall, the article makes me think that sports are played mostly by people of color, watched mostly by people of color, but the luxury of interpreting the sports is reserved for privileged whites.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

     You've been horned! Welcome to Around the Horn with your host Anthony Joseph Temple Owl Reali. The article I read was the one written by the Horn's own Kevin Blackistone. In it, he talks about the racial profiling that exists in sports, and in journalism. The presence, or lack there of in the news room, is not only overwhelming, but a major concern. Minorities make up the largest number of athletes, while they are not represented in the news room in such way. While I could talk a bit about the concern that he states, something else about the article greater struck my intention.
     When it comes to race, profiling is a major concern. Black athletes seem to bear the larger brunt of new stories and are constantly being judged against their actions; this judgement also renders them being labelled in many different ways. The biggest label I can say that has existed, that I feel is vastly overlooked, is David Stern's implementation of the dress code.
     At the time, this was a big deal, but was quickly wiped away from news outlets. Locker rooms and team buses were filled with suit jackets, sweaters, and ties. No longer would you see the Allen Iverson du-rag at his post game interview. That is one of the lasting images I will have after his infamous "Practice" post game press conference. The image that Stern wanted to take away was the thuggish look many of his players had, or were assumed to have. This was not an appropriate look for the players in his league. This is not the image that he wanted for his league. His players would dress well, in order to make them seem classier, and not like they were up to no good. 
    For some athletes, their off the field/court image is as important as their on the field/court. Stern took the hood out of the NBA by forcing his players to dress like they were there for business.

Toy Departments are the Best

People really hate on sports journalism sometimes. Derogatory names like the Toy Department are often given out by other journalists who are probably upset that they have to cover murders every day of their boring lives. These people couldn't cut it in the sports world, and I have no doubt they hate on us sports people for that.

Any whom, I found this article to be very enlightening, and a little long. Whiteside, Yu, and Hardin do a good job in their research to show that journalistic integrity exists in sports journalism. It also shows that things have come a long way since 1998. Ever since Barry Bonds was implicated, the media has shifted from trying to protect players, to trying to oust players.

A good example would be Melky Cabrera this year in San Francisco. He tested positive for a banned substance, and immediately was punished. I think one of the reasons things have changed so much is that the rules of sports have changed too.

Steroids weren't a serious offense in 1998. MLB handed out a memo that said steroids were against the rules, but did absolutely nothing to punish offenders and didn't really test people either. It was okay in 1998, which was shown by the writers' willingness to turn a blind eye. Now that it's illegal, writers are hell bent on ousting the abusers.

I don't think you can judge a whole section of journalism based on whether or not the articles people are writing are "neutral" or as I like to say: Swiss (Roger Federer's Nationality!). In fact, I believe writers have gone a little overboard on their writing just to be shock jocks. The crazier something you say is, the more people will listen. You hear me Rush Limbaugh.

Still, the stigmatism of the toy department will stick with sports writers for ever, and to be honest, that's okay. The toy department is the best department in every store ever. That's why F.A.O. Schwartz and Toys 'R Us exist. I like to embrace the toy department because people need us. People live off of analysis of their teams. Believe me, I certainly do.

Iatesta post


            A major theme of our discussions has been about how the sports department is seen as the toy department. This article takes a different approach on that idea than I had previously when talking about it in class.
            Whenever we talked about it in class I always took it as being the toy department because “real” journalists don’t see sports being an important topic. This article contends that it is the sports department because sports writers don’t write tough stories and aren’t critical. Basically saying they don’t cover the important issues in sports but just the easy stuff, the superficial aspect. I now see this idea from both angles and also think one could cause the other. It could be that newsrooms see the sports department as the toy department because they don’t report on the difficult issues.
            I think the steroid example used is a good one. I find it hard to believe journalists across the country didn’t know there was steroid use but it was never reported. When the information finally came out all we saw was steroids on TV and in the papers and tons of criticism of the players who took the steroids. However, I don’t recall seeing much criticism of the owners, commissioner, or the players union who also ignored the issue and allowed this to happen to make greater profits. To me this is where the article’s point comes into play; journalists don’t want to risk access or sources so it is easier for them to criticize Barry Bonds or Alex Rodriguez than Bud Selig or all thirty owners. It is safer for them to criticize the players. The players can’t keep the writers out of the clubhouse but the owners sure can. However, if you look to the Penn State case, the news networks had no problem going after Joe Paterno and the university itself. To me that shows more guts to take on an institution like that.
            I see the reasoning for calling the sports department the toy department but think that it is getting better for the sports department. I think in order to compete with blogs who might have lesser ethics when it comes to what they post, traditional media has to do something to compete and taking a hardnosed approach is that method.

Anthony Bellino: Toy Department Blog


            While the sports department of the newsroom has often been referred to as the toy department, it is a far stretch from the job it used to be. I feel that this article all but sums up exactly what we have been talking about in class the past few weeks. The Mark McGwire story was one that made the summer of 1998 glamorous as him and Sammy Sosa chased arguably the most coveted single season record in sports. Then Steve Wilstein broke the story about McGwire using performance enhancing drugs. Wilstein took a lot of heat for this article that kind of put a black mark over that magical summer, and I doubt it was like a toy department for him.

            That kind of began the evolution from toy department to what I believe is only kind of a toy department. No longer do we see journalists like the ones we read about in the Babe Ruth article, a man or woman would be run out of the business if they had a relationship like that and continuously wrote so positively about a figure. The evolution isn’t all bad though, look at the plethora of feel good stories you see run on various networks in the past year whether it be Oscar Pistorius the double amputee that ran in the Olympics or something like the Washington hosting baseball playoffs for the first time since 1933. Everyone just gets so caught up in the Penn State stories because the media blows them out of proportion. I would rather see the story about the kid who de-committed from Penn State and enrolled at Rutgers that was run on E: 60, it is much more of a human interest piece to me.

            All in all this article shed light on tough situations to deal with in journalism such as cheating scandals, race issues and cheating. This leads me to believe that the “toy department” is now evolving to a mature area that still is allowed to have fun from time to time.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Cranney post

I really liked the opening of the Kindred article. I know from my own Twitter feed, where I follow multiple Phillies writers, that every game day, a few hours before the game, there will be four to five tweets that come in at once from different writers announcing the day's lineup. It's a minor, but necessary part of the job, and thus is the life of a beat writer.

I remember from my own experience covering the Phillies for the Philadelphia Baseball Review that on any day I was responsible for covering the game, I would have to regurgitate the information reported by these multiple reporters, only adding to the multiplicity of Phillies' news. 
 
I can also relate to the second part of the Kindred article where the writer talks about writing nonstop on game day. When covering Temple football, I work nonstop from noon to 10 p.m. I live tweet the games, gather information, collect interviews and write stories. It's a non-stop grind, but I love it. 
I think one of the most interesting parts of sports journalism today is the fragmented reporting mentioned in article two. With an ongoing story, little bits of news break everyday on Twittee until the saga is over. I can relate this to a personal experience of mine when I was covering Temple's move to the Big East. 
 
I reported first that a meeting of Temple's athletics committee had been canceled and that once Temple got into the Big East, the conference would be covering the school's exit fees from the MAC and A-10. Two relatively small pieces of information in the grand scheme of things, but breaking those stories is one of the proudest moments of my sports journalism career so far. My tweets were retweeted and linked to by CBS Sports. I was able to contribute to the breaking news cycle because it was so fragmented.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Getting Beat to the Beat

I'll let you all in on a little secret, I have no idea who Red Smith is, or why anyone would name their kid Red. I don't think it makes me a bad journalist, or less of a person. Would I be less of a 'true' comedy fan if I'd never heard of George Carlin? Negative, Ghost Rider.

In the first article I read, by Dave Kindred, I found myself agreeing to some extent. It is a hectic life journalists live. Working for the Athletic Communications office this year has shown me the underbelly, if you will, of sports journalism. I have to show up four hours early to Temple's football games, and usually end up leaving 2-3 hours after it finishes. It's a full time job. I don't do much during the games, but I see all of the sportswriters writing and rewriting their stories in between tweeting about the game. 

As the games have changed, so has journalism. Like I've said early in the class, people don't want huge in-depth stories like they used to. Maybe a select few do, but journalism, and especially sports journalism, is a business. Give the viewer what they want. They want live tweets and lineups posted the second they come out. In this instant gratification day-and-age, we don't crave long stories, we crave instant info. 

In the second article, by Malcolm Moran, he talks about how all of these jobs that sportswriters have to is diluting the real reporting. I agree, for the most part. I do enjoy reading something other than recaps and previews, but I want it now. Now or never. It may take a few days to verify a source, or write up a poetic, beautiful story, but even if I read it right now, it wasn't quick enough. Someone else probably has the story. 

What bothers me about going into the field of journalism is this constant pissing contest to see who got what first and who tweeted what, when. WHO CARES? As long as the information is accurate (which it often isn't), why does it really matter who got it out? If 12 guys (or girls) are getting the exact same information, like the lineups, then it really comes down to who can type quicker on their cellphones, and that worries me a bit.

Beat Reporter John


     In regards to the article about the beat reporters I’d agree with the tone of the article that a baseball beat doesn’t seem to be the most enjoyable. I’d also say that due to the now now now demands of consumers the best work isn’t necessarily being put out there because they can’t afford to take their time. However it annoyed me how Kindred kept making the point that they have to write a lot during a game and it becomes a grind. Well that is exactly what a baseball season is, a grind. Also, it is the reporters’ job to write. I realize it might not be the most enjoyable day of work having to write constantly but honestly writing all day about a baseball game is not the worst job I could think of. As we’ve said in class journalism is constantly changing and the demands have changed and the writers must adapt to this.

      Moran I don’t really agree with at all. To me he is just basically saying “back in my day we did it this way”, well it’s not your day anymore and things change. That’s not to say there isn’t value in the way things used to be done and that there aren’t things that can be learned but things will not be done under the old model anymore. What needs to be done is to teach his students the principles of the old way and not the old way itself. Also, like Anthony I was offended by his comment saying that people of our generation have no idea of Kirk Gibson or Duke beating Kentucky. That is completely and utterly false. Being a sports fan myself I’ve always asked questions and been interested in the history of my favorite sports. Just because I wasn’t alive when he played, I know exactly the type of ballplayer Dick Allen was. He was my father’s favorite player and always told me stories of Allen, his favorite being when he hit a homerun over the flag pole in center field of Connie Mack Stadium. Being young doesn’t make us ignorant to sports history.

      We've said it over and over again, the way things are done in journalism and sports journalism are not the same as just ten years ago and reporters must adapt to the new methods while keeping their integrity as reporters. 
       The Molan talks a great deal about the teaching of journalism. Is the appropriate way to teach students the craft, the new way or the old way? He seems to argue that there is a time and a place for both of these to exist. While it is important for students to understand how to appropriately use these new technologies, it is almost important to understand the risks that come with using said medias. However, keeping them from learning the new way, will keep them from learning how the field actually works, which will thwart their learning process.
            This is an interesting debate in any field. I am a DJ and am currently going through the same struggling. When teaching the younger ones how to DJ I struggle with the approach. Because DJing has become such a technology-advanced skill, it is not easy to start back at square one. It seems as though teaching them the old way will keep them too far behind the learning curb. However, not enough can be said about the importance of learning the old school way and why that is important. That is training that you can no longer get in the field; therefore it is imperative to at least have some direction from the old school.
            Just as journalists get caught up in getting the news out first, the clarity and validity of the information is also lost. It is not easy to be first and flawless when it comes to the news. The art of journalism has shifted, and the new school is here to stay. Students cannot be left for dry when it comes for basic journalism, but they do need to have the principles instilled in their minds, but the new school practice in experience.