Does Anyone Own Sports Coverage?
Media Gossip/Musings, Rich Old White People April 21st. 2008, 11:45am
Rather interesting read in the New York Times over the weekend – in our best Seinfeld voice – “so what’s the deal with sports coverage? Like, who owns it?” If you’ve been reading this blog for two years, then this beef does not surprise you – access for the news media has been dwindling at a rapid pace. Money – duh – is ultimately why.
If you ran MLB or the NFL, wouldn’t you limit news media coverage and let your own websites – which can make you more money – get the best access? It’s not right – sort of the same way chinsey baseball owners refuse to spend money to make their teams better, yet still walk away with millions – but for the respective businesses, it makes sense.
If you’re delusional enough to say, ‘why would people want to go and get slanted baseball coverage (it’s going to be 99 percent positive) from MLB.com?’ then we’d like to refer to you to Fox News. Then, we’d like to ask: If cheapskate baseball owners put a shitty product on the field, why do the fans still go to the ballpark? Don’t tell the die-hards – Republicans or baseball fans – what they don’t want to hear.
How close are we to players giving the media a 10-second soundbyte after the game, and then going home to record their own video thoughts to post on their blog, where they sell advertising with the ultimate goal to make some coin on the side? Question: Who broke the story about Tiger’s surgery? He did. On his website.
Who Owns Sports Coverage? (NYT)
68 Responses to “Does Anyone Own Sports Coverage?”
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April 21st, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Is this a rhetorical question? Because I thought ESPN owned sports coverage. I mean, they claim to be the Worldwide Leader and all.
April 21st, 2008 at 11:51 AM
There is nothing wrong with going to a news source to get a slanted point of view.
In Italy, all of the major papers come from one side of politics or the other (left or right). I asked a native if this bothered him, and he said since it’s out in the open and everybody knows it, people read both sides and make their own decisions. It’s like reading a blog on your favorite team, and also the blog from the opposing team. You get insight that you couldn’t get otherwise, and it makes you much more informed.
April 21st, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Nothing I hate more than slanted news coverage. The Avs have their own TV station (altitude) and do their best to control their message and it drives me insane. They are really secretive, about a freaking hockey team. It’s one thing the Avs do that really irritates me.
I can’t stand Fox News, but I don’t really like stuff like the Huffington Post either. I am smart enough to form my own opinion I don’t need some yahoo with an agenda forming it for me. (That’s why I read the BBC website for all my American news. I only go to CNN for stories they don’t cover there).
April 21st, 2008 at 11:53 AM
st. bear :
for an educated person, that would make sense
April 21st, 2008 at 11:55 AM
The Big Lead pwns sports coverage.
April 21st, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Or MSNBC. Or CNN. Or the NYT. Or the Washington Post. Or the LA Times. Or 60 Minutes. Or Reuters. Or …
April 21st, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Just won another Iphone. yes!
April 21st, 2008 at 11:59 AM
No bias to be found in the New York Times.
/heavy sarcasm
April 21st, 2008 at 12:00 PM
And, what’s the deal with Count Chocula? I mean, are we supposed to be afraid of this guy?
April 21st, 2008 at 12:01 PM
Because I thought ESPN owned sports coverage.
Does this have anything to do with the reason why the “Leader” suck up to the big sports leagues? I say yes. Sure, it has a lot of ratings and synergy. But I’m sure that there is a mentality over there too that if (for example) they don’t do that 158th puff-piece on Brett Favre’s “retirement,” the league will take something away from them and give it to its own network.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Mike, I actually do think CNN does a better job of balanced coverage than Fox. I think both networks have excellent correspondents who do solid reporting. But when it comes to the commentary-based shows, literally every show on Fox has a conservative slant. From Fox and Friends, to HANNITY and colmes (as Al Franken puts it), to O’Reilly – who has Laura Ingraham, John Kasich, Tony Snow..etc fill in for him when he’s not there – to Neil Cavuto, to Britt Hume – it’s pretty clear Fox goes out of its way to push an agenda.
I’m not saying CNN doesn’t.. but when I’m watching Wolfe Blitzer, I’m not seeing a guy necessarily pushing one side as much as Britt Hume does.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:04 PM
i’ve got a much better sports analogy for fox news and it ain’t mlb.com or “controled” content. rather, people (kornheiser) whining about how no one will watch the nhl/versus because it’s on a higher channel than espn… so how do you explain the success of fox news then since it’s almost always on a higher tier than cnn??? (i suggest roger ailes loads fox up with babes and has springer-like shows in the evening… oreilly… is what gets eyeballs to the channel in a trainwreck sort of way. as howard stern always says, “pretty girls get people to put down their remotes”).
mlb.com hasn’t taken off like it should (i.e. nhl.com or nhl.com) because it’s too clunky to navigate. they do have considerably more game highlights on its site than sportscenter or bspnnews will show, but you have to hunt for it to find it. you would think the geniuses at mlb would put a big-ass link on the front page for highlights… but then we are talking about bud selig, aren’t we?
as for the players’ soundbytes, i think 97 percent of them are too stupid to think of this. and if theit agent is bright enough to come up with this idea, the players are still too stupid to say anything remotely compelling to entice most fans to listen. i mean, generally, players talk in clichespeak which is about as empty as it gets. unless actually talking x’s and o’s, players’ quotes are nearly as vapid as an actress or runway model.
the only player of any sport that has a site/blog even remotely interesting is schilling.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Fixed.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Mike NYC – Check out the NYtimes article on the military “analyts” used in media
April 21st, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Slanted coverage is filtered news. By limiting the access to the news source, teams are limiting it to only those who will put a favorable filter on it. It’s not about a person’s right to read filtered news, but for the right to gain access to the source in the first place.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Mike…I will give you MSNBC…but as a guy who rides the middle on a lot of things..CNN gives me both sides of things politcally and story telling wise as well as the international stuff (Headline News)…I mean they follow Lou Dobbs with Anderson Cooper…For the sports reporting I don’t see the content dwindling either..I just see more content out their..most of it opinion..truthfully…how many ways can you ask the same question about a game from an athlete..its out there and most of the stuff said is never used by papers..they choose to use the space giving opinion of the game because the news reporting aspect is minimal…we don’t need newspapers to give us a full box score play by play story full of quotes anymore. Tv and Radio take care of it
April 21st, 2008 at 12:06 PM
Yeah to compare Fox News and CNN is a little absurd. I don’t like CNN because they tend to report stuff like Brittney Spears sister is pregnant over important stuff like the Iraq war. They definitely are a little left leaning, but nowhere near the extreme that FOX news is.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:07 PM
correction: “mlb.com hasn’t taken off like nfl.com or nhl.com as far as luring fans to the site for content… “
April 21st, 2008 at 12:07 PM
Cursed-
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04192008/news/regionalnews/kinky_news_networkcnns_quest_a_very_knot_107174.htm
CNN has its problems as well. Probably not on the idiotic level of O’Reilly McLuffa or Mort Kondrake or the other old white hypocrites.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Jay – See: ESPN/MLB.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:08 PM
i give murdoch/ailes/fox news credit for one thing: a large segment of society for decades was screaming about “left wing bias” in newspapers and on tv. so murdoch/ailes/fox news tapped into that market and ran all the way to the bank. props to them!
April 21st, 2008 at 12:08 PM
The 4112, I appreciate the comedy, but have you actually watched Al Jazeera? Serious question. I have two friends who produce there, they actually do an incredible job of international reporting. I know a lot of Americans bash it and have never seen in. (Kind of like MSNBC – that’s a ratings joke, by the way).
April 21st, 2008 at 12:09 PM
And I wanna punch Shepard Smith in the trackeia
April 21st, 2008 at 12:09 PM
for evidence, see, “playmakers, the.”
April 21st, 2008 at 12:11 PM
Oh and lets not forget Newsweek. (Quran “flushed down the toilet,” anyone?)
And there’s a reason CNN is referred to as the Clinton News Network …
April 21st, 2008 at 12:11 PM
And, what’s the deal with Count Chocula? I mean, are we supposed to be afraid of this guy?
Thankfully the 412 is here to distract me from this politico talk. Thanks buddy.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:12 PM
Has anyone here ever had airplane food? Cos that shit sucks.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:14 PM
Who are the ad wizards who came up with that one?
April 21st, 2008 at 12:17 PM
The problem I have with most news correspondents is…they don’t ask for directions when they’re lost!!
/Hook, line, and ZIIIINGGGERZZZ!!!!
April 21st, 2008 at 12:19 PM
And CNN & MSNBC do a great job of staying objective.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Grape Nuts – You Open It Up, No Grapes, No Nuts! What’s the Deal?
April 21st, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Some research on the topic.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:29 PM
I think the ratings speak for themselves…
April 21st, 2008 at 12:31 PM
Aside from research, PurdueMatt also hires interns for O’Reilly
April 21st, 2008 at 12:32 PM
And what’s the deal with Oprah? She’s fat, she’s thin, she’s fat, she’s thin. Pick a weight and stick to it.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:34 PM
PurdueMatt: American Idol is awesome television.
Most sane people: What? That show sucks! What makes you think that?
PurdueMatt: Ratings, baby. Ratings.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:34 PM
Rich white conservative people watch the news. Fox News kisses their ass. That just means they are a better run company, not a better or more objective news organization.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Yeah, I don’t buy the ratings argument either.
I do buy the 125 of 143 journalist donated to Democrats argument, though.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:38 PM
And what is the Deal With the Black Box?
April 21st, 2008 at 12:39 PM
Chicken McNuggets: If its coming from the part of the McChicken that I’m McThinking, I dont wanna McEat it.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Another day, another instance of TBL pushing their political agenda. Why or why can’t you guys stick to sports?
April 21st, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Mike nice link, and I quote “Donations and other political activity are strictly forbidden at The Washington Post, ABC, CBS, CNN and NPR.”
Any networks jump out as missing?
April 21st, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Mike, yes, most journalists lean left in their particular ideologiez. But you can’t necessarily directly link those leanings with content bias. It’s sounds good on paper though, but it’s not necessarilly reality. People do a pretty lousy job of conflating commentary with reporting, they’re too completely different forms of content.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:45 PM
The New York Times? MSNBC?
April 21st, 2008 at 12:45 PM
dont see a gun to your head. if you dont wanna hear it then dont.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Purdue Matt- werent you just pushing your political agenda? Another O’Reilly School of Misinformation Graduate. (Cav’s suck, had to get that in)
April 21st, 2008 at 12:46 PM
I don’t argue ideology because I don’t like either side, but I just have a serious problem with anyone who truly thinks that a news organization owned by General Electric is “liberal.” And if it is, it does it because it makes money off of it, which is hardly a justification of liberal politics.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:50 PM
PurdueMatt – Yes, TBL and roughly 99.9% of the commenters are libs. I agree that sports and pop culture topics are the strength of this blog. And, while I, as one of the few conservatives who comment here, don’t have a problem with TBL going off into political tangents, I don’t doubt some get fed up with it and move on.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:51 PM
ding… ding… ding!
April 21st, 2008 at 12:59 PM
I don’t know, man, you see political agenda, all I see is a parallel. It’s not necessarily a bad thing as i pointed out – and you linked to – you can make some good money. Huffington Post seems to be going down this road (I confess to never reading that site, unless someone sends links.)
April 21st, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Oh, and apologies in advance, but we will have a Hil-Obama post Wednesday after the primary.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:01 PM
I’d say it’s a lott closer to 50/50 than you think.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:01 PM
So TBL compares mlb.com to foxnews. Its apt and makes sense.
I do not think there would be any outrage if tbl said NFL network is about as objective as Air America radio.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:02 PM
No need to apologize – its’ fun once in a while mixing it up politically on this site. Keep ‘em coming.
Judging by actual comments, I’d say more like 80/20.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:06 PM
But didn’t Air America go out of business? I believe the NFL is socialist, right?
April 21st, 2008 at 1:09 PM
well, NFL Network is about to be shitcanned too so it might be pretty accurate.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:10 PM
No way, NFL Network is just getting started
April 21st, 2008 at 1:14 PM
Journalists are like anybody else. They get paid. And they will suck up to whatever side pays them the most money. Do you think people like Bill Hemmer and Kieran Chetry “switched sides” because of ideology?
See: Dennis Miller (although not a journalist) doing a 180 after 9/11
April 21st, 2008 at 1:17 PM
How do they not mention the Marv Albert getting the boot from Knicks broadcasts
April 21st, 2008 at 1:20 PM
it’s still around. i can’t remember who is bankrolling it but it’s one of the biggest failures since the newton and new coke. it’s on life support that’s for sure.
the nfl has too much bankrolled into the nfl network to let it go belly up. soon, people will realize that they are being held hostage by comcast and time warner and either go FIOS or a dish.
nfl fimls is about to get shitcanned due to the nfl network.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:26 PM
NFL Network is in dire straights. theyve poured a lot of money into it, but it hasnt yielded great returns. and if you think people are going to switch to a dish just because of NFL Network then please share your optimism pills.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Go to profootballtalk today. Cable is pissed again because the NFL short-changed them by not giving a refund for putting the Giants/Patriots game (which they paid for exclusively) on network television.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:37 PM
I just have a serious problem with anyone who truly thinks that a news organization owned by General Electric is “liberal.€
This is the same GE that does business with Iran.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:42 PM
Then perhaps you should make mention of the misleading nature of Obama’s television ads in Pennsylvania. He says he doesn’t take money from oil companies, yet it has been illegal for the last 100 years for an oil company to directly donate to a political campaign.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:45 PM
oh psshaw.
did you know whaling is illegal in Cleveland even tho we…you know…have no whales? yet Frank Jackson, our current mayor, went heavy on his anti-whaling stance and ended up winning. it happens all the time.
/joking, just so you know.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:50 PM
TBL,
Here is a good link for your Hillary/Obama post…
April 21st, 2008 at 2:06 PM
This is the same GE that does business with Iran.
That doesn’t make them liberal, that just makes them a business. I seem to remember somebody else who did business with Iran…
April 21st, 2008 at 3:50 PM
FYI: not necessarily true