[QUOTE=SilvioDante;143014]ā¦but Iām SHOCKED that the story could make it to print with a reference to the Bobcats. My 5 year old dog could sniff that mistake out.[/QUOTE]
That was on the web in the AP story, not in our city edition of the print version, so we caught it. I donāt have the early edition, but since some on here said the game wasnāt in the early edition, I donāt think we published that mistake.
I noticed Mike did not answer this question:
Gardner Webb almost beat chapel hill earlier this year. If Gardner Webb had won that game, would the write-up have taken up 2 pages, including the entire front page? In many ways, a win by Gardner Webb over chapel hill would have been an even bigger story.
[QUOTE=Mike_Persinger;143017]That was on the web in the AP story, not in our city edition of the print version, so we caught it. I donāt have the early edition, but since some on here said the game wasnāt in the early edition, I donāt think we published that mistake.[/QUOTE]
Glad you did find itā¦but I read it in a paper delivered to the 28269 ZIP Code, not online.
[QUOTE=Over40NINER;143018]I noticed Mike did not answer this question:
Gardner Webb almost beat chapel hill earlier this year. If Gardner Webb had won that game, would the write-up have taken up 2 pages, including the entire front page? In many ways, a win by Gardner Webb over chapel hill would have been an even bigger story.[/QUOTE]
I agree with you, Over40, it would have been a big story. The situation was different because it was a night game instead of a day game and Clemson-South Carolina football was the story of the day, but it would have been a big deal, and weād have gone the next day, probably, to Boiling Springs to write about Gardner Webbās program to follow our game coverage (which included a story and a picture as it was). As it is, weāll be going there soon to write about them. Every situation is different. Next Sundayās paper, for instance, will be a challenge because of all thatās going on.
[QUOTE] We have skipped some games, and will skip some upcoming games (including North Carolina at Southern Cal; Duke in the preseason NIT semis and final, the ACC football championship, Wake Forest in Coaches for Cancer in New York, and N.C. State at Iowa in Big 10 ACC challenge, to name a few) to save travel money.[/QUOTE]
Well you are not the hometown papaer of the above listed schools. Iām sure that Raleigh and Durham had writers covering these games, as they should. Itās really not your papers resposibility to cover these games.
The issue is you act like you are the home town paper for Chapel Hill, Duke and NC State.
[QUOTE=49erpi;143023]Well you are not the hometown papaer of the above listed schools. Iām sure that Raleigh and Durham had writers covering these games, as they should. Itās really not your papers resposibility to cover these games.
The issue is you act like you are the home town paper for Chapel Hill, Duke and NC State.[/QUOTE]
Very true Mikeā¦please respond!!!
Although I understand that ACC is a bigger draw around the area, I think that the first priority should be covering the hometown schools. Especially nationally recognized programs such as ours. If we feel this was, I canāt imagine how programs like Davidson and JCSU feel!!!
MIke, you have also dodged my question. You gave us the run-around without answering the question.
Here it is again, without the additional comment.
āGardner Webb almost beat chapel hill earlier this year. If Gardner Webb had won that game, would the write-up have taken up 2 pages, including the entire front page?ā
Allow me to answer it for you. The answer is NO.
[QUOTE=Over40NINER;143026] Allow me to answer it for you. The answer is NO.[/QUOTE]
In that Sundayās paper, youāre right.
[QUOTE=casstommy;143025] I think that the first priority should be covering the hometown schools. [/QUOTE]
Weāll agree, again this year, to disagree. Some days, like when they play Cincinnati or Indiana or Wake Forest, the Niners are the biggest story. Some days theyāre not. You guys get more excited and point to certain games, and we all know which ones, and those are the kinds of games that sell papers, mostly when the team from the Carolinas wins. UNC-Kentucky clearly, CLEARLY fits that criteria.
I donāt have the option of being so parochial as to downplay the ACC, one of our most popular sports topics, just because of geography.
I think the Observer does a good job of covering the Niners. We donāt have the fan base of the bigger schools, which means most of Charlotte is not sitting on the edge of their seats to read about our team. Action 64 had to drop carrying our games due to bad ratings a couple of years ago. If we put a big time product on the floor, weāll get bit time coverage.
the observer/media debate always reminds me of the godfather, when they are stategizing on getting vengence for vitoās attempted murder, they want to take out the corrupt Police Captain. At first he was considered off limits, then michael notes that they have reporters on the payroll that would probably like some stories about the captains corruptionā¦michael then gets justice and the newspaper proceeds to run stories on the corruption of the captain, that he was a ābad copā to help the family in the PR deptā¦of course this is a movie, but the substance of it is still true today. of course the mob also did this with the music industry, paying or knocking heads of the DJās to play certain artistā¦to CREATE demand
therefore the obvious solution to our media problem is for judy and lutz to go gangter and pay off Mr. Persinger for better coverage, or just make him an offer he canāt refuse;)
if Chapel Hill doesnāt have the Observer on the payroll, the observer should send them a bill.
I wonder how Winthrop feels about all of this. They received 4 votes for the top 25.
of course Billboards are another way to pay for advertisement and create demand, only problem is lutz doesnāt put a good product on the floor when they attempt this strategy.
When we beat IU and 'Cuse, both on the road, we got nice write ups both times, and deservedly so. We stink it up against teams we should beat and even I donāt care whatās written or where. But thatās just me.
Iām STILL pissed that we were ranked as high as 18th late last year and lost our last 4 games. We were poised to make some noise down the stretch and the ONLY noise Iāve heard SINCE is our team going doing the toilet and Lutz auditioning for other jobs. Unless we pull out of what seems to be a debacle of a year now, coverage by the local ānewsā rag is the LAST thing Iām gonna worry about.
First , when I hear things about the Big O being sold, and if I worked there, I would be concerned.
I have been thru three āreorgsā with a very large insurance company, and the
bottom line is to cut costs. Donāt think you are invaluable.
Second, in the future I believe unless a printed newspaper can find a niche, ie provide coverage of LOCAL news and SPORTS they are doomed to failure,
Whether we like it or not, the news will go the way of the internet. Donāt fool yourself into thinking there will always be a written newspaper.
The printed sports page is the second most obsolete thing in sports, next to the local news sports which has been dead for 10 years.
[QUOTE=49erpi;143060]The printed sports page is the second most obsolete thing in sports.[/QUOTE]
Itās not obsolete yet. It might be, but not when we make the healthy profit we make today. If it goes away, and yes I believe it could at some point because better deliver options will be available that donāt involve newsprint, who will āpromoteā your program to those who donāt know about it? This website, which is visited only by devotees? Nope. Charlotte.com will, the third-most visited website in the Charlotte region behind Yahoo! and Google, because it will still be drawing the general, local audience from which ānewā fans of your program will come. And we own that, too. So thereās a model for the future, and The Observer will be heading that way, itās clear. Whether your eyeballs fall on the printed paper or on our coverage online (and thereās not better coverage of your program anywhere else), youāre helping our bottom line. For that, I thank you.
[QUOTE=Mike_Persinger;143063]And we own that, too. So thereās a model for the future, and The Observer will be heading that way, itās clear. Whether your eyeballs fall on the printed paper or on our coverage online (and thereās not better coverage of your program anywhere else), youāre helping our bottom line. For that, I thank you.[/QUOTE]
Donāt thank me. I donāt buy or read your paper and I donāt read Charlotte.com.
I think youāre missing my point. I donāt say that the printed sports is obsolete because of the on-line version. Donāt flatter yourself. It is the nationl online sports media that is killing printed local sports.
And yes, the sports page is obsolete and has been for years. Why wait until the next day to see a box score only to find out that the observer didnāt run it beccause the game ended after 8pm. Please.
I donāt know one person that thinks the observer is worth a sh*t. It is an embarrassment to the city. Nothing but AP articles, strip club ads and losers like tom sorenson writing meaningless drab.
[QUOTE]Itās not obsolete yet. It might be, but not when we make the healthy profit we make today.[/QUOTE]
Where is this āhealthy profitā when you claim you canāt hire people because of funding and you canāt cover acc events and Niner games because of money.
There is a lot of double talk out of you, but that is nothing new.
Iāve already said all that I have to say on this subject - I think both sides have good points, but Iām biased towards the position that the Observer is failing in its local coverage, Niners included.
But I canāt help reposting this email from someone I know. The people in her office are a cross section of the Observerās age 20-40 demo, including fans of several teams and sports. Hereās the email:
[QUOTE]All the guys in my office were just complaining about the Observer Sports section. [Name omitted] did the new Charlotte Marathon this week and they didnāt get much coverage. There were pics of feet running from the race and not much else. It sparked talk of how the Sports writers donāt do enough local coverage for the paper. All they care about is football, NASCAR (and itās been over for 2 weeks) and the ACC basketball teams - primarily UNC. They talked about how Davidson, UNCC and Winthrop donāt get nearly enough coverage and locally we have good teams. Basically they all said the Observer Sports guys suck.[/QUOTE]
I think the Observerās coverage is ok. Not great but ok. But Iām wondering if Iām beginning to see a change in reporting habits. Today we have another story on the front page regarding Ric Flairās divorce. Is this really news? I can understand the road rage incident being reported but his divorce is personal. It seems to me the Observer is turning into a weekly tabloid that you find in the grocery store lines. Find something else to occupy the front pages with, such as oh I donāt the war in Iraq or something else newsworthy.