CFL - 2023 Regular Season - Discussion Thread

[Mark H.]

Hustler is beyond rhetorical. Other media people do that too.  You did blah blah blah blah blah blah - now walk us through it...

[Noeller]

There is a talent to interviewing.... And while I'm not going to claim to be the best ever at it, I've always believed the key is for it to not sound like an interview. It should sound like a BS session between two people over drinks. Just a chat.... That's what people want to listen in on. 

If you didn't go to broadcast school (or at least study journalism somewhere) and don't have a lot of experience doing it, it's a LOT harder than you think. You have to be prepped (and therefore knowledgeable) and comfortable in the moment. It will come across to the listener/viewer.... You can always feel it.

[JohnnyAbonny]

2 hours ago, Jesse said:

That’s Bauming for me.

Also, I like listening to Hustler generally, but he does not know how to interview a person. He always asks the question, answers the question, and then waits for the person to respond but they’re always dumbfounded because he just answered his own question already. Annoys me so much.

My main criticism of Bauming (besides Shannon’s Irish Pub) is that on his pregame shows he tries too hard to not come across as a homer that it backfires.
It ends up sounding like the Bombers are going to get destroyed by a bunch of all stars every week. 
I find him much easier to listen to on the Bonfire post-games. 

2 hours ago, Jesse said:

That’s Bauming for me.

Also, I like listening to Hustler generally, but he does not know how to interview a person. He always asks the question, answers the question, and then waits for the person to respond but they’re always dumbfounded because he just answered his own question already. Annoys me so much.

My main criticism of Bauming (besides Shannon’s Irish Pub) is that on his pregame shows he tries too hard to not come across as a homer that it backfires.
It ends up sounding like the Bombers are going to get destroyed by a bunch of all stars every week. 
I find him much easier to listen to on the Bonfire post-games. 

[SpeedFlex27]

On 2023-11-16 at 7:43 PM, Tracker said:

Because the shitshow in Regina is worse?

They have more to work with than Ottawa, I believe. We really don't know how much better the Riders would have been with Trevor Harris. They might have been a 9-9 team & qualified for the playoffs. Ottawa is abysmal. Especially with Bob Dyce still there. We'll see who the HC will be. 

[TrueBlue4ever]

3 hours ago, Mark H. said:

Hustler is beyond rhetorical. Other media people do that too.  You did blah blah blah blah blah blah - now walk us through it...

Think he learned that from Gary Lawless. 

[SpeedFlex27]

On 2023-11-17 at 11:55 AM, Colin Unger said:

I would imagine that Hamilton would be all in on MBT. Ottawa and potentially Calgary/Sask.

If I was Steinhauer, I'd show BLM the door along with Schilz & sign a healthy MBT & keep the kid Taylor Powell as backup. Sign a young qb to learn behind them. Bo should be in broadcasting with TSN like LaPo is & hopefully stays. I was watching LaPo today on TSN's coverage of events leading up to tomorrow's game. He's relaxed & engaged. Knows his stuff. He's better than some of the panelists. LaPo has become a star & if TSN wants to keep him then they better pay him. He looks excited to be there & seems happy to be away from the pressures of being a head coach. 

Edited November 19, 2023 by SpeedFlex27

[wbbfan]

3 hours ago, Noeller said:

There is a talent to interviewing.... And while I'm not going to claim to be the best ever at it, I've always believed the key is for it to not sound like an interview. It should sound like a BS session between two people over drinks. Just a chat.... That's what people want to listen in on. 

If you didn't go to broadcast school (or at least study journalism somewhere) and don't have a lot of experience doing it, it's a LOT harder than you think. You have to be prepped (and therefore knowledgeable) and comfortable in the moment. It will come across to the listener/viewer.... You can always feel it.

100%. The magic of people like Anthony bourdain, Louie Theroux etc is/was that they make every thing seem like a regular conversation and cut through to the bs.

 

1 hour ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

My main criticism of Bauming (besides Shannon’s Irish Pub) is that on his pregame shows he tries too hard to not come across as a homer that it backfires.
It ends up sounding like the Bombers are going to get destroyed by a bunch of all stars every week. 
I find him much easier to listen to on the Bonfire post-games. 

My main criticism of Bauming (besides Shannon’s Irish Pub) is that on his pregame shows he tries too hard to not come across as a homer that it backfires.
It ends up sounding like the Bombers are going to get destroyed by a bunch of all stars every week. 
I find him much easier to listen to on the Bonfire post-games. 

 I don’t dis like bauming. But he comes off as an insider when he seems to lack what I would call fundamental understandings of football/cfl. I feel like he’s a passionate fan of the league and team, but not the type of person I can watch a lot. I watched a couple of the early pre game shows with walby and was out. I am glad that content option exists though. I just feel like it’s sub par to cjob. 

[kelownabomberfan]

4 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

100%. The magic of people like Anthony bourdain, Louie Theroux etc is/was that they make every thing seem like a regular conversation and cut through to the bs.

 

I listen to Howard Stern on Sirius XM a lot and his interviews are mind blowing, everyone wanting to know how to interview people should listen to how he does it.  His preparation before an interview is bar none, he almost always blows away guests with how much he studies before he does his interviews.

[Wideleft]

2 minutes ago, kelownabomberfan said:

I listen to Howard Stern on Sirius XM a lot and his interviews are mind blowing, everyone wanting to know how to interview people should listen to how he does it.  His preparation before an interview is bar none, he almost always blows away guests with how much he studies before he does his interviews.

Stern is a really good interviewer, but there are better interviewers on NPR who do it for less than 1/100th the cost. 

[kelownabomberfan]

3 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

Stern is a really good interviewer, but there are better interviewers on NPR who do it for less than 1/100th the cost. 

LOL - NPR - at least you didn't say CBC....anyway...

[Noeller]

3 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

Stern is a really good interviewer, but there are better interviewers on NPR who do it for less than 1/100th the cost. 

Unfortunately they don't have as much value because their audience is 1/100th of Stern's. Huge respect for NPR and what they do, though. 

[WinnipegGordo]

7 minutes ago, kelownabomberfan said:

I listen to Howard Stern on Sirius XM a lot and his interviews are mind blowing, everyone wanting to know how to interview people should listen to how he does it.  His preparation before an interview is bar none, he almost always blows away guests with how much he studies before he does his interviews.

The guy from Hot Ones does a lot of prep work for his questions as well.

[Wideleft]

As far as entertainment interviews, David Fricke is as good as it gets. John Fugelsang kicks Howard’s ass to the horizon. But Howard does do some good interviews when he’s not crawling up his guests’ butts. 

[17to85]

3 hours ago, Mark H. said:

Hustler is beyond rhetorical. Other media people do that too.  You did blah blah blah blah blah blah - now walk us through it...

This is what the guys do who write their piece in advance and then need the appropriate quotes so they prompt the interviewee to give them the quote they want. 

It's lazy, uninsightful and quite frankly boring to read.

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, kelownabomberfan said:

I listen to Howard Stern on Sirius XM a lot and his interviews are mind blowing, everyone wanting to know how to interview people should listen to how he does it.  His preparation before an interview is bar none, he almost always blows away guests with how much he studies before he does his interviews.

I don't think he's the "Shock Jock" he used to be. 

[Geebrr]

58 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

This is what the guys do who write their piece in advance and then need the appropriate quotes so they prompt the interviewee to give them the quote they want. 

It's lazy, uninsightful and quite frankly boring to read.

Paul Friesen’s ears are burning. 

[TrueBlue4ever]

5 hours ago, Noeller said:

There is a talent to interviewing.... And while I'm not going to claim to be the best ever at it, I've always believed the key is for it to not sound like an interview. It should sound like a BS session between two people over drinks. Just a chat.... That's what people want to listen in on. 

If you didn't go to broadcast school (or at least study journalism somewhere) and don't have a lot of experience doing it, it's a LOT harder than you think. You have to be prepped (and therefore knowledgeable) and comfortable in the moment. It will come across to the listener/viewer.... You can always feel it.

How does one train to make the interviewee feel more relaxed and open to telling a good story? What I mean is how much is on the interviewer’s skill and how much is simply having a good person on the other end to answer those questions? And how does the interviewer make the interviewee better? 

By the way, just want to say that I’m really liking the organic way this topic about broadcasting came about in this thread and the points made by many, and especially the insights of those in the know. Really fascinating talk. Great discussion all around gents (and ladies). 

[Noeller]

5 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

How does one train to make the interviewee feel more relaxed and open to telling a good story? What I mean is how much is on the interviewer’s skill and how much is simply having a good person on the other end to answer those questions? And how does the interviewer make the interviewee better? 

By the way, just want to say that I’m really liking the organic way this topic about broadcasting came about in this thread and the points made by many, and especially the insights of those in the know. Really fascinating talk. Great discussion all around gents (and ladies). 

Getting good answers is on the interviewer to ask good questions. There are some guests that are new to the conversations and it can be a bit like pulling teeth, but I think the key is in your research. Learn as much as you can about your guest ahead of time, and then know the kind of things that interest them, and you lead with that. Gets them comfortable and allows them to open up a bit, then you ease your way into the stuff you want to know about. Don't just dive into the deeper stuff.

Of course, this is just my thought process and it's more about longer form chats, and not necessarily for media scrums. Scrums can be tough. The other thing is, today's athletes are media trained coming out of minor sports (seemingly) which has them giving the same generic soundbites that don't really give a whole lot away... It's innocuous and meant to not say anything that will rock the boat. It is almost impossible to get Connor McDavid to say anything "real"... Just how they are now.

[Wideleft]

11 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

How does one train to make the interviewee feel more relaxed and open to telling a good story? What I mean is how much is on the interviewer’s skill and how much is simply having a good person on the other end to answer those questions? And how does the interviewer make the interviewee better? 

By the way, just want to say that I’m really liking the organic way this topic about broadcasting came about in this thread and the points made by many, and especially the insights of those in the know. Really fascinating talk. Great discussion all around gents (and ladies). 

Research, research and then more research. A guest respects someone who has taken the time to learn something about them and their work. 

[Noeller]

3 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

Research, research and then more research. A guest respects someone who has taken the time to learn something about them and their work. 

And there are so many hosts who half ass it and make the rest look bad. So you get guests who come in jaded from previous bad experiences and expecting the worst, so it's that much harder to get them to open up. 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Noeller

[Wideleft]

1 minute ago, Noeller said:

Getting good answers is on the interviewer to ask good questions. There are some guests that are new to the conversations and it can be a bit like pulling teeth, but I think the key is in your research. Learn as much as you can about your guest ahead of time, and then know the kind of things that interest them, and you lead with that. Gets them comfortable and allows them to open up a bit, then you ease your way into the stuff you want to know about. Don't just dive into the deeper stuff.

Of course, this is just my thought process and it's more about longer form chats, and not necessarily for media scrums. Scrums can be tough. The other thing is, today's athletes are media trained coming out of minor sports (seemingly) which has them giving the same generic soundbites that don't really give a whole lot away... It's innocuous and meant to not say anything that will rock the boat. It is almost impossible to get Connor McDavid to say anything "real"... Just how they are now.

Scrums are rarely meaningful. Proper interviews take 15-30-60 minutes and there are very few orgs that even afford that opportunity anymore. One of the reasons I like Sirius/XM so much. 

[TrueBlue4ever]

2 minutes ago, Noeller said:

And there are so many hosts who half ass it and make the rest look bad. So you get guests who come in jaded and expecting the worst, so it's that much harder to get them to open up. 

In your opinion, looking at talk shows specifically, is there anyone out there who does anything resembling a good job?

2 hours ago, 17to85 said:

This is what the guys do who write their piece in advance and then need the appropriate quotes so they prompt the interviewee to give them the quote they want. 

It's lazy, uninsightful and quite frankly boring to read.

Those agenda driven non-questions drive me bonkers. And now when you hear players interviewed (as a result of their aforementioned “media training”, I suspect), whenever they are asked a legit question that is not just a “do you agree with me that” but asks “how do you……” they are conditioned to answer “yeah” as their first word, when it makes no sense to answer the question that way. Like they aren’t even engaged in a proper answer. A pet peeve of mine. 

[Wideleft]

4 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

In your opinion, looking at talk shows specifically, is there anyone out there who does anything resembling a good job?

You’re not asking me, but there’s a world of difference between talk shows and interviews that really matter. 
 

Letterman in the Netflix format is far superior to the old days because he has all the time he needs now. 
 

As far as serious reportage, it’s hard to beat Maddow or Mehdi Hassan. They obviously put in the work. 

[TrueBlue4ever]

1 minute ago, Wideleft said:

You’re not asking me, but there’s a world of difference between talk shows and interviews that really matter. 
 

Letterman in the Netflix format is far superior to the old days because he has all the time he needs now. 
 

As far as serious reportage, it’s hard to beat Maddow or Mehdi Hassan. They obviously put in the work. 

Glad you answered anyway. Appreciate it!

[Noeller]

14 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

In your opinion, looking at talk shows specifically, is there anyone out there who does anything resembling a good job?

Those agenda driven non-questions drive me bonkers. And now when you hear players interviewed (as a result of their aforementioned “media training”, I suspect), whenever they are asked a legit question that is not just a “do you agree with me that” but asks “how do you……” they are conditioned to answer “yeah” as their first word, when it makes no sense to answer the question that way. Like they aren’t even engaged in a proper answer. A pet peeve of mine. 

All I can say is my favourite sports writer ever is Ed Tait. In terms of on air conversation, Bob Irving and Ron McLean are my personal favourites. I always felt like Cory Woron has been criminally underrated over his career. I'm likely the only guy here that listens to Sirius XM Prime Country channel, but there is a guy on there named Mike Terry that is spectacular.