The Future of Media in Sports

[Rich]

Interesting article from Wiecek today.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/what-do-you-call-a-press-box-without-press-409363355.html

For those that can't get behind the paywall, apparently Chipman's box is within ear shot (in the middle) of the press box and he shouted something negative about the team during a game which one of the papers printed.

The next game, all print-media were banished to the edges of the press box.  Wiecek says Chipman feels anything overheard in the press box during the game should be off the record and their banishment is retaliation.

Who goes on to give other example from the NHL to NFL where media who don't promote the teams message are being punished by those teams in various ways including having their credentials revoked.

He talks about the trend of Sports teams hiring media in house to produce their own content and takes a shot at Ed Tait.

He has concern that eventually media that don't tow the company line will be blacklisted from the clubs they cover.

It is an interesting discussion.  One of the reasons I wanted to open this website is I thought it was important to have a strong alternative to the official forum that is "controlled" by the club.  Which is the very argument Wiecek makes.

On the other hand, the world has changed drastically in the last 20 years.  Where sports teams once NEEDED and relied on the media to reach their fans, the internet and social media has opened an avenue where they can reach their fans directly without the middle man.

With the recent departure of Kirk Penton from the Sun being the latest example, the writing is on the wall that print media's death is coming faster and faster each day (can you really blame Tait for leaving?). 

I know I rarely read any news print anymore and when I do I find it stale (it is information I typically already know from social media) and uninspiring

Curious what peoples thoughts are on this.  Does Wiecek have a valid point here or is it sour grapes on him being sent to the corner?  

If current trends continue, and the only people reporting on sports teams news (Bombers or Jets), are team employees (official website) and official broadcast partners (conflict of interest), are we as fans going to be missing any hard hitting revelations that the current media provide or used to provide?  

Is this simply a reflection of the evolution of the world and the media at large?  Can the average fans through social media and bloggers replace the hard questions the media were once able to ask?

 

[Floyd]

Its just a microcosm for the greater control of media throughout the world...  sports media is banal at its best.  No big loss.

These companies realize that fans will occupy whatever analysis was previously provided by 'sports reporters'...  my advice to Wiecek is to write for JetsNation and start his own brand.

Sports, in itself, is just a nice pointless activity where we can argue about random and meaningless statistics while we delude ourselves that we have some sort of attachment or influence on a multinational corporation whose basic responsibility is profit and not winning.  It fulfils our base and gladitatorial instincts while keeping us restrained within civically acceptable mores.

That being said, I will watch the game tomorrow and wait for Lawless and Order's 'analysis'.

Edited January 3, 2017 by Floyd

[Brandon]

It somewhat reminds me of the UFC and how they ban certain reporters because they will print out the truth rather then the message sculpted by the UFC themselves.  

It'll be very interesting to see how reporting will be done down the road... how can insiders with the real dirt make money on their own?  It'll be very interesting...

[The Unknown Poster]

That's a pretty poor look for the Jets.  Granted, it's Mark's team so he can do whatever he wants but to move print media away from him...maybe he should move his own box away from the print media if he can't control his emotions.  Im curious as to how the owner's box is set up (True North as a suite at centre ice but that obviously not the box they're talking about).

[Noeller]

Wiecek absolutely has a point, but the problem is he doesn't help his cause by being overly negative most of the time. He goes too far the other way. What made Tait excellent at the FreeP is that he was as close to "down the middle" as you can get. Wiecek always skews negative with his tone. As far as calling out Chipman and then receiving punishment, I think there's a sort of "game" that has to be played there. You have to know, if you write some scandalous piece about MC, it's gonna haunt you. There has to be a way to say something about what you heard, without necessarily taking the guy to task. I mean, what exactly are you hoping to gain by trashing one of the most popular people in Winnipeg?? 

[The Unknown Poster]

Hmmm that's a tough one.  What Would Gary Do?  I bet Lawless would make a cryptic remark on H&L about management at the top being unhappy.  It would be true without hanging it on anyone.  He would leverage that knowledge into more inside info (giving Chipman the chance to "off the record" explain his position) which Gary would then use for more cryptic coverage.  Eventually he'd write a great piece about upper management wanting to see progress and the "5 year plan" not coming to fruition fast enough.

Eventually, changes would be made and months later, Gary would admit to what Chipman had said a year earlier.

Or you could just print it verbatim, get one story that doesnt tell us much and get yourself and your colleagues banished.

In UFC Dana White does this stuff because he's emotional and childish and often walks it back.  Chipman should contain his emotions while watching the game or watch it in his office.

If the reporter heard Mark at Tim Horton's remark about how shitty the goaltending is, would he not report it?  Isnt everything on the record unless otherwise stated?  And how did Mark not expect this to become a bigger story?  A phone call to the reporter saying gee I wish you hadn't of done that and in the future, give me a call first, might have been an easier way to handle it.

[The Unknown Poster]

In this Freep story, they refer to Chipman having been vocal about his displeasure "over the years" and the writer goes on to insult Mark if he thinks that its "off the record".  But how many articles have there been reporting on Mark's "vocals" during games?  If the answer is none, then Chipman's sense that what he says in the box is off the record might not be correct, but his perspective might be justified.

Journalists are going to protect their own (especially when they're suffering the consequences) but maybe this writer handled it wrong.

Also, regarding Tait, wasn't he let go or otherwise offered a buy out from the Free Press?  At the very least he saw the writing on the wall and got a job.  Is he a jerk for getting a job with some security rather then being a starving unemployed former staff writer?

I would think the power used to be in the hands of the journalists who were often the sole marketing for sports teams.  Not so anymore.  But there is a way for the journalists to fight back...except the print media keeps laying off its best reporters so they lose power.

We've heard reporters be critical.  We've heard their own broadcast be critical.  Lawless has been critical.  This particular reporter did something to personally irk the owner that he had to know would be considered over the line.  Did he do it to be a martyr? 

[Noeller]

Re: Tait's departure from FreeP, he took a bullet to create budget space for guys like Jeff Hamilton. He chose the buyout and within a couple days, Bombers came to him with an idea and an offer. 

[Rich]

35 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

That's a pretty poor look for the Jets.  Granted, it's Mark's team so he can do whatever he wants but to move print media away from him...maybe he should move his own box away from the print media if he can't control his emotions.  Im curious as to how the owner's box is set up (True North as a suite at centre ice but that obviously not the box they're talking about).

I moved this post into this thread.

I *think* the picture in Wiecek's article shows how the box is setup (below).  That area on the right of the picture looks different then the rest of the press box.   Don't know if that is Chipman's box or if that is for the play by play guys and Chipman's box is underneath.  

Though, if it is underneath then Chipman is really loud and all the fans in that section would hear as well.

[Rich]

3 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Re: Tait's departure from FreeP, he took a bullet to create budget space for guys like Jeff Hamilton. He chose the buyout and within a couple days, Bombers came to him with an idea and an offer. 

Man, if that is how it played out (and I do believe you), it makes Wiecek's comments about Tait in that article even worse.

[The Unknown Poster]

When I've seen video of Chipman at games, it looks more like a suite.  So I'd suspect the area on the far right would be his box.  And if so, it doesnt really seem "in the middle" of the press box unless there is more press on the other side as well.  It would also bring up the point that there are walls...and even though it's "open", where does the expectation of privacy begin?  If an executive walked in and asked Mark something about his family would that be fair game?

Im not a journalist but to me, hearing Mark say something negative would instinctively make me refer to it in more general terms.  Or try to leverage for more info.

[Rich]

11 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

When I've seen video of Chipman at games, it looks more like a suite.  So I'd suspect the area on the far right would be his box.  And if so, it doesnt really seem "in the middle" of the press box unless there is more press on the other side as well.  It would also bring up the point that there are walls...and even though it's "open", where does the expectation of privacy begin?  If an executive walked in and asked Mark something about his family would that be fair game?

Im not a journalist but to me, hearing Mark say something negative would instinctively make me refer to it in more general terms.  Or try to leverage for more info.

That area is for sure in the middle.  On the other side of the logo after where it says "Home of The Winnipeg Jets" it goes on to say "Fuelled By Passion"

 

[The Unknown Poster]

That makes sense then.  So Chipman's box is separated from the press by walls (open on the rink side ofcourse).  Now, did he yell something so loud a nearby reporter just happened to hear it and couldn't believe his good fortune or was that reporter "eavesdropping" on the owner?

[17to85]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

Wiecek absolutely has a point, but the problem is he doesn't help his cause by being overly negative most of the time. He goes too far the other way. What made Tait excellent at the FreeP is that he was as close to "down the middle" as you can get. Wiecek always skews negative with his tone. As far as calling out Chipman and then receiving punishment, I think there's a sort of "game" that has to be played there. You have to know, if you write some scandalous piece about MC, it's gonna haunt you. There has to be a way to say something about what you heard, without necessarily taking the guy to task. I mean, what exactly are you hoping to gain by trashing one of the most popular people in Winnipeg?? 

You of all people should appreciate how the media has to play nice with the local sports team. 

[Mr Dee]

Common sense tells us that certain things that are overheard should not be shared. Tidbits about the team may be tempting to use, but 1stly should be verified and if you want a good relationship with the team, then it should be ok'd before reporting. 

It's all about respect. How you choose to present yourself in your job will definitely be reflected in how people treat you in your job.

A balance has to be struck between reporting and regurgitating. Wiecek hasn't found that balance yet.

[Rich]

16 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

Common sense tells us that certain things that are overheard should not be shared. Tidbits about the team may be tempting to use, but 1stly should be verified and if you want a good relationship with the team, then it should be ok'd before reporting. 

It's all about respect. How you choose to present yourself in your job will definitely be reflected in how people treat you in your job.

A balance has to be struck between reporting and regurgitating. Wiecek hasn't found that balance yet.

I do think that Wiecek tends to take a negative vibe more than not in his reporting, but to be fair, he wasn't the one who reported whatever it was that got them banished.

Quote

For what it’s worth, the Jets already took a step in that direction this season when they banished the print media to the outer reaches of the MTS Centre press box.

That move came after a writer for another publication had the temerity to report something Mark Chipman had shouted during a game from his owner’s box — which sits, quite literally, in the middle of the MTS Centre press box.

So all print media media got banished away to the outskirts of the press box for the actions of one of them.   At least, that is the assumption Wiecek is making was the reason.

[The Unknown Poster]

I bet there is more to the story.  But perhaps they pushed all print media away so as not to look like they were targeting one reporter or one newspaper.

But realistically, if Chipman looked at the box on Day One and said "those reporters will be able to hear every conversation in the owners suite, move them away" so be it.  But he took for granted his relationship with media would mean a certain level of privacy in his own box.  And it seems everyone respected that..until recently.

[DR. CFL]

If you want a cheerleader hire one, the expectation that media are, or should be fans is ludicrous. I want objective reporting and editorial opinions from the media. Not propaganda designed to help sell a product. Any way you sclice that it is advertisement. Tait was good at the FP but why do I want to read him now?

[Rich]

13 minutes ago, DR. CFL said:

If you want a cheerleader hire one, the expectation that media are, or should be fans is ludicrous. I want objective reporting and editorial opinions from the media. Not propaganda designed to help sell a product. Any way you sclice that it is advertisement. Tait was good at the FP but why do I want to read him now?

I don't disagree but that is not today's reality.

If the fans want true objective reporting, they need to pay for it.   But they don't.

The clubs interest is protecting its image and brand so they aren't going to subsidize the media to criticize them.  

And if the media is no longer strong enough to fight back, the club will continue to "bully" them for their own self interest.   That's human nature. 

The new reality is the majority of fans are no longer willing to pay for journalism.  That weakens the voice and power of journalists. 

Blame the fans.

 

[Mr Dee]

Tait is, and has been, informed. Whether critical or waving flags, he knew what he was talking about. And that's what I want from the media. Don't talk to me about smirks and shorts, tell me you found out why the HC chose to run that play at that time. 

In other words, be informed, so that I can be informed.

[WBBFanWest]

I think that Wiecek should show the Bombers and the Jets that he means business and stop writing about them.  Talk about devastating!

[Goalie]

Certain things are off limits I feel. What someone says at a game in the heat of the moment... I'd consider that off limits.  I'd actually consider it almost tabloid type national enquirer stuff. Regardless of what Chipman said... it's off limits. 

There is this thing called mutual respect and I have always felt that our media outside of a couple guys now don't really understand what that means. They feel that they can **** on teams players coaches and justify it by saying that's my job. But thats not how it works and it really isn't their job. 

If you actually listen to O'shea or Maurice talk in their media availabilities... you can hear the respect they have for certain guys (Bauming Penton Wiebe even Hamilton ) and the outright disdain they rightfully have for guys like Wicek and Friesen who constantly crap on them and their team. 

Welcome to 2017. Where people don't really give a crap about what guys like Wicek and Friesen have to say because 1. We have heard it all before 2. We have ways of getting the info we want ourselves and 3. Bottom line really... who reads a paper anymore. 

If I'm Wicek and Friesen and these guys. I think very long and hard next time I decide to crap on teams or coaches cuz in a couple of years when I'm unemployed because print media is dead.... you will have pissed the people you could be working for off.  

[Rich]

Out of curiosity, I went through some recent Sun articles tonight (yes I started with Friesen) and couldn't find anything incrimination on Chipman's comments from the press box.  Was very curious on what may have been said and printed to cause this whole stir.  

Headed over to HFBoards, and full credit to one of the moderators there, who dug this up from last August.  (link to his post http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=2170351&page=2)

(link to Friesen's article about when Wheeler was named captain in August http://www.winnipegsun.com/2016/08/31/jets-naming-captain-today)

Quote

The funny thing is, Wheeler's time in Winnipeg didn't start off all that notably. It took him 19 games to score his first goal.

I can remember owner Mark Chipman watching in frustration from the press box at the time, calling on Wheeler at one point to simply “do something.”

Five years later, and midway through a six-year contract extension, Wheeler is the toast of the town.

I don't know if this is what caused this whole ruckus, and if it is, if this really warranted the reaction it did.  I suspect this would be the icing on the Friesen cake that would put them over the top.

Friesen really is the reason I decided to stop reading the Sun.  Decided I couldn't support them anymore because of him.

[M.O.A.B.]

Wiecek and Friesen should move to Toronto to write about the Argos. They (Argos) could use any help in publicity...even the negative ones.

Edited January 4, 2017 by M.O.A.B.

[Goalie]

43 minutes ago, Rich said:

Out of curiosity, I went through some recent Sun articles tonight (yes I started with Friesen) and couldn't find anything incrimination on Chipman's comments from the press box.  Was very curious on what may have been said and printed to cause this whole stir.  

Headed over to HFBoards, and full credit to one of the moderators there, who dug this up from last August.  (link to his post http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=2170351&page=2)

(link to Friesen's article about when Wheeler was named captain in August http://www.winnipegsun.com/2016/08/31/jets-naming-captain-today)

I don't know if this is what caused this whole ruckus, and if it is, if this really warranted the reaction it did.  I suspect this would be the icing on the Friesen cake that would put them over the top.

Friesen really is the reason I decided to stop reading the Sun.  Decided I couldn't support them anymore because of him.

Not sure it's the one. But.... really it's Paul Friesen. I'd be surprised if he wasn't the guy but not sure how something said about Wheeler on 2011 is relevant but yeah... I'd imagine it's more recent.  I thought I read an article maybe I dunno... but it wasn't friesen but definitely the sun and I thought it was a little amateurish. Wish I could remember when but really.... kinda proves how noteworthy I found that column