Observer recommends...

Link: [URL=http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/13642133.htm]Observer - We recommend on TV[/URL]

Niners get the nod. There’s a story on GW and a couple of paragraphs on Withers and Alexander getting worn down during the recent stretch of games. I’ll let Run do his thing. :biggrin:

[QUOTE]We Recommend
CHARLOTTE AT SAINT JOSEPH’S
7 p.m., ESPN2
Charlotte will try to rebound from a 78-65 Atlantic 10 loss Saturday to Xavier, which ended the 49ers’ five-game winning streak. Charlotte guard Leemire Goldwire had 17 points to pace the 49ers in scoring for the third straight game. Forward Curtis Withers had his league-leading ninth double-double Saturday, with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
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Its gotta be a misprint.

Why is the A-10 Notebook smaller than the HS Notebook? I don’t even pay much attention to my own HS, Statesville, so why would I care about someone else’s. What adult, other than someone who has a HS kid, is such a loser that they actually follow HS sports?
The only reason we’re the recommended game is because we gave them hell on this board about Xavier, & they’re trying to get us to not cancel our subscription.

[QUOTE=stonecoldken;149105]Why is the A-10 Notebook smaller than the HS Notebook? [/QUOTE]

There isn’t a topic in the paper, the A-10 and the Niners included, that SOME reader doesn’t think we could do without. There are also those who would be incredibly angry if we left that topic out to balance the equation.

Bottom line: We do what we think is right each day, based on the evidence at hand. Just because you don’t care doesn’t mean none of our readers do, and just because you do care doesn’t mean everyone does.

Is it that hard to print one more page?

[QUOTE=gotLutz;149094]Its gotta be a misprint.[/QUOTE]

It’s not a misprint…just an incredibly slow sports day.

The entire NBA schedule has 2 games on it…1 of which is national, if you get NBATV.

The NHL has only 5 games on their schedule…although the Carolina Hurricanes are on FOXSS & the Devils vs. Blues is on OLN.

The ACC has only 1 game on their schedule…BC @ Holy Cross.

I guess this means we’re more important than hockey…or maybe they errored & put the St. Joes game, in place of the Hurricanes.

OF COURSE…if a Panthers pregame show was on tonight, you got to believe it’d have been hyped in this spot.

[QUOTE=niner007;149110]Is it that hard to print one more page?[/QUOTE]

Does this question really need an answer?

I have noticed one blatant mistake they made. They only posted HS updates for the Charlotte area. I thought they were a “regional” or “statewide” paper, or whatever. If so, why did they omit the high schools located in the chapel hill area?

StoneColdKen’s comment from the other thread.

If the Observer's regional instead of city wide, then why do they cover Meck HS more than non-Meck HS.

Pretty good question.

This is what I’m hearing so far:

  • The Charlotte Observer is a regional paper, hence the 49ers receive less coverage than their regional counterparts.

  • The Charlotte Observer is a local paper, hence the amount of reporting for Mecklenburg county high school athletics is appropriate.

  • The Charlotte Observer considers local high school athletics as more worthy of ink than local college athletics. The Observer interprets any requests for additional reporting of the A-10 as an effort to eliminate reporting of high school athletics.

Am I missing anything?

[QUOTE=niner007;149110]Is it that hard to print one more page?[/QUOTE]

Other than the obvious answer, which is that you have to print TWO more pages, front and back, here’s what it means:

Weekdays, when we print fewer papers, it costs about $750 to add a page to the paper. Weekends, it costs about $1000. Sometimes, because of the way the presses work, we have to add a page to another section as well to keep them balanced (referred to in the biz as a “collect” run). That would double the cost for newsprint.

On the regional newspaper issue: What you see on prep coverage is city stuff because we zone our coverage of those schools. In the early editions, Shelby and Hickory might appear in the same spots where West Charlotte and Independence appear in the city edition. Same newsprint, different stories catering to readers.

Also, because a high school kid in Mecklenburg County doesn’t have a local equivalent of the Hickory Daily Record, like a kid in Hickory or other outlying areas does, we’re the “paper of record” for those kids. If they’re gonna get their name in the paper, it’s in ours. If you played high school athletics, think how important that was to you, and you’ll see why prep coverage is important to us. We’re going after the readers of the future on that topic.

Because college coverage doesn’t break cleanly along those lines (i.e., N.C. State, Duke, UNC, Clemson, South Carolina, etc., all have many fans in Mecklenburg County), we don’t zone that coverage. If it misses an edition, it was because it wasn’t over in time.

Really, guys, it’s not rocket science. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I have a pretty good feel for my readership. The Niners are important, but not the most important, and while they get some benefits for having Charlotte on their jerseys, it’s not a license to steal. They still have to be good and draw fans. They have to create their own buzz, because readers know if we’re trying to do it for them.

If you can find better coverage of the Niners in another newspaper, I’d like to see it. Relative to their success, I think we’re doing fine.

[QUOTE=Mike_Persinger;149122]If you can find better coverage of the Niners in another newspaper, I’d like to see it…[/QUOTE]

How is this possible when you have a monopoly on the Charlotte market?

I complain as much as anyone BUT COME ON!??!?! We got what we wanted, “The recommendation” on game day. Indiana plays Illinois at 7, btw.

My one major complaint about the Observer is game day coverage/previews. Today was pretty good for a road game!!!

If you can find better coverage of the Niners in another newspaper, I'd like to see it. Relative to their success, I think we're doing fine.

I’ll requote someone from an earlier thread, and I’ll put it nice and big for you idiots over there at the Observer.

[SIZE=6]The Cincy papers had 9 pieces on the Charlotte-Xavier game, plus 4 blogs by Dustin Dow and a poll on how to defend Withers, for a total of 14 over a 2-day period. The Observer had 2 sentences in this morning’s paper (3 if you count the A-10 Notebook). I’m completely underwhelmed!!![/SIZE]
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[QUOTE=Mike_Persinger;149122]If you can find better coverage of the Niners in another newspaper, I’d like to see it. Relative to their success, I think we’re doing fine.[/QUOTE]

Mike, I think you may have been reaching a little on this one. I have a feeling we may be seeing this quote for a while.

Let’s see…

The Winston-Salem Journal gives Wake more coverage than any other newspaper.

The Raleigh newspaper gives State more coverage than any other newspaper.

The Columbia paper gives USC more coverage than any other newspaper.

I’m fairly certain the Cincinnati paper gives Xavier better coverage than any newspaper.

Here’s a News Flash: The local paper usually does give more coverage to local teams than any other newspaper.

My one major complaint about the Observer is game day coverage/previews. Today was pretty good for a road game!!!

[SIZE=4]EXACTLY EXACTLY EXACTLY

[SIZE=3]That’s what started all of this to begin with!

There was a perception by members of this board (including myself) that the Observer’s coverage/previews is VERY weak for home games. It has gotten to the point where the Observer gets accused of doing it intentionally.

Of the 14 or so home games this team has all year, the Xavier game was a biggie. Xavier has put themselves not only in a great position to contend for the A-10 crown, but to put themselves in a nice position for the NCAA tournament. And they’re in our rival city.

There was no better way to put to rest any conspiracy theories of the Observer sabotaging our attendence than to simply inform its readers that there was going to be a big event at Halton. Mention the importance of the game, talk about the big expensive scoreboard, whatever. I mean, we’re talking about a cream-of-the-crop game in a relatively short home schedule.

Undeniably, the three sentences were a slap in the face.

I’m killing Jim Utter over this, but he’s the messenger. I’ve gotta ask Mike P. directly - Why only three sentences for this home game?
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They’re going to keep on doing it for as long as the University is in Charlotte. Just face it. Please let this thread die…again.

I’ve actually been trying to help the Observer.

I have friends living in the Triad, Triangle, Columbia, upstate South Carolina, etc but not a one of them reads the Observer. I keep telling them it is a REGIONAL newspaper and they should read it, but they insist on reading their LOCAL paper.

Here’s a little insider item for you. We were going to make Charlotte at St. Joe’s our centerpiece for tomorrow’s paper, big art and everything, to break up the Panthers coverage this week. Neither of the Philly papers nor the AP is shooting art of the game. Say hello to another Panthers CP.

I hate bickering over the same subject. I’ll make one comment.

Observer coverage is worse than most CUSA and A10 cities.

Plain and simple.

[QUOTE=Over40NINER;149149]I have friends living in the Triad, Triangle, Columbia, upstate South Carolina, etc but not a one of them reads the Observer.[/QUOTE]
I’ve yet to see any of the 3 newspaper machines for the Observer in High Point ever have more than 3 newspapers in it (and that’s checking it early). Kind of difficult to build regional readership that way.