August 4, 2005
Des Moines Register: Football blogs suck
Nancy Clark with the Des Moines Register takes football blogs --and bloggers in general-- to task in her column posted today.
Today I'll be talking with Dan McCarney. The bloggers won't.I'll also be posing questions during Iowa State's media day to Bret Meyer, Todd Blythe and Jason Scales.
The bloggers won't.
Monday, I'll be chatting with Kirk Ferentz.
The bloggers won't.
I'll also get in a word at Iowa's media day with Drew Tate.
The bloggers won't.
Tuesday, I'll interview Mark Farley at Northern Iowa's media day.
The bloggers won't.
You see, Ms. Clark interviews people, and bloggers "don't". You got that?
Forget the fact that Fanblogs interviewed Barry Switzer on the MCS poll.
Never mind that we talked with Kenneth Massey about college football polls.
Disregard the HeismanPundit's interview with USC QB Matt Leinart.
Wait! Come back! This isn't an exercise in name-dropping.It's about you, and what you should pay attention to as we enter the thick of the college football media days season.
Of course you're going to hang on every word the stars say. But are you also going to take note of who's taking the notes?
You really should know who's asking the questions. It's important. It's the only way you can discern fact from fiction.
Yes, we've all learned how much we can trust the media. ((cough)) Jayson Blair ((cough))
But I think "journalism of assertion" is just as pervasive in sports. Lies and rumors about coaches and players in Iowa City - accepted as fact until proved otherwise by the mainstream media - have sadly become routine. Ask Steve Alford. Ask Jennie Lillis.Read the blogs if you want. Read the message boards. But do it for entertainment, not information. Don't accept anything you read on them as truth unless it has been independently verified.
Yes, newspapers never err in a story.
Usual scenario: A loser tries to make himself seem important by posting information that makes him appear to be an insider, "in the know."Worse case scenario: Gambling interests, bookies, the mob pass off inaccurate information about a player or team as truth to try to influence wagering or the outcome of a contest. They're counting on readers and viewers to be gullible.
Don't be.
Oh boy. There we go. It's the bookies and the mob bosses sending bloggers out to ruin betting lines. I can't believe all you mob-influenced football bloggers would even show your faces around town!
I wonder what Ms. Clark would say about all of her fellow 'journalists' who now post daily blogs in addition to their beats. Are they in on the con, too? And I bet ESPN's bookie bloggers must be calling Vegas right now.
Careful, Ms. Clark, that's an awfully broad brush you're using.
The news media is under a lot of scrutiny from bloggers and vice versa. Attacking one or the other accomplishes very little and just make the whole lot look rather petty and stupid.
For what it's worth, Fanblogs sources every post with a link to a story in a major media outlet. We try to find the best stories out there and maybe add our little two cents. Our "Features" are essentially opinion pieces, except for our interviews which are either recorded or transcripted through email.
The "truth" is that in every group -bloggers, reporters, and fans- there are those that are all steak and there are those that are all sizzle. Unlike Ms. Clark, I don't presume that everything in blogs is a fact, nor do I believe that everything is fiction. There is and always will be a happy medium. Some "blogs" are a little out there. Some message boards are way, way, way out there. But, then again, that's part of the fun, isn't it?
Comments:
posted on August 4, 2005 4:01 PM — 69.222.222.137 — link — abuse?matt shobe said:
Great rebuttal, Kevin. I come here, and I write here, because I love the fan's perspective. For me and a few others, I suspect interacting at Fanblogs is about learning more about why you're a fan and probably why the other guy is, too. It's not my job (or more accurately, my specialty) to break football news, but I do enjoy watching it reshaped by the original poster and every commenter.
My most recent post on Selwyn Lymon was properly attributed back to the always-reliable Michael Pointer at the Indy Star, and I felt the bigger story of academic eligibility and pressure to perform might sound familiar on a few campuses. It's not journalism, but it's my honest reaction to the situation, and I want to know what others think, too.
Otto said:
posted on August 5, 2005 12:30 AM — 68.159.178.169 — link — abuse?
Of course, the whole poing of blogging is that we don't have to depend on access to these athletes and coaches in order to make a living. Therefore, we don't have to kiss up to them all of the time!
By the way, when was the last time a really meaningful story came from an interview or question posed to a coach or athlete at any conference's media days? (Other than huge scoops such as "Coach [fill in last name here] excited about upcoming season")
Michael Hickeson said:
posted on August 5, 2005 10:10 AM — 209.194.80.90 — link — abuse?
I love seeing this kind of reverse snobbery that is developing in newsrooms about blogs. It's almost as if they think we're second rate writers or something. The thing is...I hate to say it, but a lot of times the writers of blogs are far more talented and readable than those who write for the papers. Makes you wonder if they fear for their job security if the editors figure out--hey, there are other talented folks out there.
And Randal--we do have standards here at fanblogs...hence why we cover all teams (reasonably) fairly.
Paulwesterdawg said:
posted on August 5, 2005 11:29 AM — 209.168.243.15 — link — abuse?
I posted ">a lengthy retort about why she is afraid of blogs.
BTW - I think Randal was kidding about his Dawgs comment. He posts some funny comments on my site from time to time.
Paul
JB34 said:
posted on August 5, 2005 11:37 AM — 146.149.18.6 — link — abuse?
It is no surprise that Nancy Clark would be so blatantly scared of the free market and allowing the reader/consumer to choose where they want to receive what kind of news. Becasue, if Nancy Clark were better, that free market would have elevated her somewhere other than the Des Moines Register.
Orson Swindle said:
posted on August 5, 2005 2:03 PM — 12.13.183.235 — link — abuse?
We phoned the Des Moines Register and left a message for Nancy. We'll see if she calls us back.
Matt Glaude said:
posted on August 5, 2005 4:15 PM — 155.212.52.118 — link — abuse?
Have you seen a picture of her? I think she wants to stay in print just for the media buffet spread.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/SPORTS05/40527007
I didn't realize there was more glitz and professionalism in inking stories about a dentist who rides a bike on the weekend than blogging about the Big East Conference and offensive efficiency.
It's people like this heffer that really make sports a bore. If there were more journalists like Peter Gammons (who absolutely loves blogs), maybe reading more print journalism would be worth it.
posted on August 5, 2005 7:03 PM — link — abuse?
I think Randall's right, maybe we should spend a whole day writing nothing but Georgia Bulldogs football police reports. ;)
posted on August 5, 2005 10:54 PM — 206.124.221.226 — link — abuse?
It's spelled "Jayson Blair." If you are going to make fun of a (admittedly dumb) column that is about fact-checking, at least do some fact-checking yourself.
Incorrect spelling of a person's has nothing to do with "fact-checking". The spelling, or mispelling, of Mr. Blair's name is in no way relevant to the factual accuracy of the posting. If you're going to criticize someone for failure to engage in fact-checking, at least know what the term means first.
Anastasia Monponsett said:
posted on August 8, 2005 3:47 PM — 152.163.100.139 — link — abuse?
While Miss Clark researched this article, millions slept in Angola...........How I envy the Iowa reporter who lands that much heralded Todd Blythe interview. I heard she blew off Mandela for that one. In the face of a foe who can score Big Name interviews like the TB, maybe I'll give up my blog and start knitting. Simply put...anyone in media who settles for a job in Iowa probably should be looking over her shoulder at even child bloggers........Put Nancy and I in the same sports bar...pour out a few white russians.....we'll see who truly knows the games.
posted on August 8, 2005 4:40 PM — 206.124.221.226 — link — abuse?
Yeah, Nancy gets to talk to coaches and players. And they smile and feed her the same carefully scripted, no substance NOTHINGS that all players and coaches give the press in order to make her go away. Not only that, she'll never write anything controversial, at least not about her local team. She can't. That's a no-no for the local press in any college football town. The press doesn't want to make the coach or the administration mad, or they might lose access to all the aforementioned meaningless quotes.
R.D. Baker said:
posted on August 11, 2005 7:55 PM — 70.112.72.139 — link — abuse?
Tried to trackback but it didn't work.
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dave frey said:
posted on August 4, 2005 3:58 PM — 206.124.221.226 — link — abuse?Ms. Clark, who holds the oh-so-lofty-and-revered title of Staff Writer at the DesMoines Register, wouldn't have written that piece if she didn't perceive some threat from bloggers. As with other anti-blogging media types, she clearly lacks a fundamental understanding of what blogs are about. More amusingly, she's also a bit out of touch with reality. Case in point:
"Know that if the information is coming from the mainstream media - the accredited reporters, broadcasters and photojournalists - they are following strict professional guidelines that the looser outlets don't require. The information has been verified, has been scrutinized by editors, has been fact-checked and proofed."
Bwahahahahaha!Is there any thinking person who would take those two sentences seriously?