You’ve got mail! And a Tweet…and a wallpost, a blog, a LinkedIn invite, and a video recommended by ESPN. Although the newspaper industry is slowly washing away, the social media whisper is turning into an uproar. Has the downfall of Metropolitan Dailies resulted in the rise of social media’s revolution? Or did the advent of social media push newspaper columnists out the door? Either way, I believe the future of news dissemination won’t be at your doorstep every morning, but rather, online 24/7…a truly discomforting notion.
For sports fans, the future of media coverage is going to come from Twitter updates, RSS feeds, blogs, and citizen journalism. Most people agree with me regarding the citizen journalism covering teams better on blogs and podcasts, but my question is, Who’s going to get the quotes from the official people?
For instance, Rickie Weeks of my beloved Brewers hits a game winning homerun in the bottom of the ninth to beat the St. Louis Cardinals. I can wax poetic about the dramatics of the game for 6000 words, but I’ll never have a direct quote about the game unless Tom Haudricourt or Anthony Witrado from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel releases the info on their blog or in an official article the next day. I’m all for personal stances and subjective reporting styles, but I’m also a big fan of REAL information.
I recently attended a community forum for AnnArbor.com, the new website (kinda...sorta...but not really) taking over for the Ann Arbor News in July. It was fascinating to hear Tony Dearing and his colleagues discuss the new venture. I like the way AnnArbor.com is going about this for a few reasons:
1) They are ambitious in their goals to be a leader in the field of moving the newspaper to the internet. They know the "newspaper of tomorrow" will look very different from today and they are attempting to find out how to make their website look like the ideal news source.
2) They are working tirelessly in trying to attend to all the concerns the public has concerning the loss of the daily and launch of the 24/7 website news source. This was their third forum with (I think) one more on the way. Each forum brings more detail and (slightly) more answers to the public.
3) They want AnnArbor.com to be perfect as soon as possible, but they are not too pretentious to think the first version WILL be the end all, be all of internet newspapers. Numerous times, Mr. Dearing said this site would evolve as the technology evolves and the kinks get figured out.
As newspaper move onto the internet, I think its important to mantain a high level of skill and citation. Journalism is an art and I would hate to see the finer points of the written word disappear for the sake of "getting the scoop". Please media gods, grant me this wish.
Talk to you later Pointees.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Final Four Coverage
Congratulations Tar Heels!! The University of North Carolina won the Men's NCAA Basketball Championship last night, soundly defeating the Michigan State Spartans...a conclusion many saw coming. While the game was far from compelling, the media coverage leading up to crowning game was fairly interesting to note.
Many story lines revolved around the Final Four.
The Good: A surprising Michigan State team appearing on the national stage, drawing increased national attention to the economic despair in Metropolitan Detroit.
The So-So: Tyler Lawson overcoming injury to appear in the game.
The Bad: The University of Connecticut's recruitment scandal.
Each story line received a bit of attention, but in my estimation, Detroit and Michigan State received the most press...and deservingly so I'd say. Michigan State, a team many figured to bow out close to the Elite 8, defiantly beat out an impressive UCONN team to arrive in the finals. Many are saying this story is too good to be true.
- Detroit, once a worldwide leader in automobile production and innovation, has spiraled into an economic recession unseen in other parts of the country.
- Michigan State, a team from the lowly Big Ten Conference, coached by legendary Tom Izzo, found a reason to have pride. This pride comes to people in a city and state that has rare reasons to smile
It’s amazing how the sports scene has been able to consistently revive the city of Detroit and it’s surrounding areas. Maybe “revive” isn’t the best word because the D has not been able to shake off its economic problems. But it seems that every time Detroit may fall apart completely, the Red Wings win a Stanley Cup. Or the Tigers make it to the World Series. Or the Pistons win another Division title. It is these stories that keep the media coming back for more. Sport has been able to personify a city and keep its heart beating and viewers could see as much when they tuned into Final Four broadcasts.
Each announcer loved talking about the Spartans and the city of Detroit.
“The Spartan fans have to be loving this. Look at all the green we’ve got here” – Dick Vitale
“UNC is pretty powerful, but with the hometown fans back you up…who knows what Sparty can do” – Coach Knight
“Let’s hear it for Detroit” – Emcee at Spartan’s pep rally
“This is just an amazing city. All the noted problems and bailouts, but you would never know it from the excitement in this city” – Mike Tirico
Even after UNC dismantled the Spartans, the story still seemed to focus on Michigan State. It was amazing how little press UNC received for winning the title. Headlines concerned themselves mostly with how the Big Ten accredited itself or how successful the Final Four was in a northern town.
The Final Four media circus was fun to watch, read and listen to this past weekend. Some surprises. Some heart-warming stories. And one un-heralded Champion. I expected more about UNC’s rise to the title, but an intense focus on suffering Detroit was welcome.
Case Ernsting
Many story lines revolved around the Final Four.
The Good: A surprising Michigan State team appearing on the national stage, drawing increased national attention to the economic despair in Metropolitan Detroit.
The So-So: Tyler Lawson overcoming injury to appear in the game.
The Bad: The University of Connecticut's recruitment scandal.
Each story line received a bit of attention, but in my estimation, Detroit and Michigan State received the most press...and deservingly so I'd say. Michigan State, a team many figured to bow out close to the Elite 8, defiantly beat out an impressive UCONN team to arrive in the finals. Many are saying this story is too good to be true.
- Detroit, once a worldwide leader in automobile production and innovation, has spiraled into an economic recession unseen in other parts of the country.
- Michigan State, a team from the lowly Big Ten Conference, coached by legendary Tom Izzo, found a reason to have pride. This pride comes to people in a city and state that has rare reasons to smile
It’s amazing how the sports scene has been able to consistently revive the city of Detroit and it’s surrounding areas. Maybe “revive” isn’t the best word because the D has not been able to shake off its economic problems. But it seems that every time Detroit may fall apart completely, the Red Wings win a Stanley Cup. Or the Tigers make it to the World Series. Or the Pistons win another Division title. It is these stories that keep the media coming back for more. Sport has been able to personify a city and keep its heart beating and viewers could see as much when they tuned into Final Four broadcasts.
Each announcer loved talking about the Spartans and the city of Detroit.
“The Spartan fans have to be loving this. Look at all the green we’ve got here” – Dick Vitale
“UNC is pretty powerful, but with the hometown fans back you up…who knows what Sparty can do” – Coach Knight
“Let’s hear it for Detroit” – Emcee at Spartan’s pep rally
“This is just an amazing city. All the noted problems and bailouts, but you would never know it from the excitement in this city” – Mike Tirico
Even after UNC dismantled the Spartans, the story still seemed to focus on Michigan State. It was amazing how little press UNC received for winning the title. Headlines concerned themselves mostly with how the Big Ten accredited itself or how successful the Final Four was in a northern town.
The Final Four media circus was fun to watch, read and listen to this past weekend. Some surprises. Some heart-warming stories. And one un-heralded Champion. I expected more about UNC’s rise to the title, but an intense focus on suffering Detroit was welcome.
Case Ernsting
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