ESPN and their new "blogger" model...

[carolinaviking]

The past two years, it seems ESPN has been turning the analysis duties over to bloggers more and more. Is it just me, or is this majorly annoying? They come off as amateurish and unpolished. Maybe I shouldn't gripe about it if it is an outgrowth of the new distributed communication model of the internet, but god I hate clicking a video on ESPN and then seeing a beer-swilling hoser in a t-shirt sitting in his living room with bad lighting trying to tell me about the upcoming game. I can get that kind of dialogue from my drunk pals and I expect more from ESPN. Do you see these guys as real professionals or is ESPN trying to save a few bucks at the expense of quality programming?

 

[Stevorino]

I think part of it is that some of their national writers have left (Forde, Feldman are most notable).

I like Chris Low a lot and I think it allows them to be a little bit more knowledgeable on the teams they are reporting on. You can't tell me that the national guys watch every game and have the time to interact with all of the programs in the country.

 

[DD4ME]

Hell look at how the local guys are dressed when doing the media reports wth the team. 1/2 of the time they look like they just rolled out of bed and are nursing a hangover. I think journalism is going through some grunge movement or something.

In b4 they are nursing a hangover.

 

[Vols4us]

Hell look at how the local guys are dressed when doing the media reports wth the team. 1/2 of the time they look like they just rolled out of bed and are nursing a hangover. I think journalism is going through some grunge movement or something.

In b4 they are nursing a hangover.

Good post.

Reporting is out. Opinions are in. True journalism is dead. Every aspect of news no matter the subject is slanted now. They make it all about the personality of the presenter or subject of the story with little regard to the image of the institution that they represent.

 

[Salvare]

The guys on the front page video are embarrassing. You'd think they could have at least done a second take to get rid of the stammering.

 

[G8rChuck85]

tmz is the new SI

 

[carolinaviking]

I like Chris Low a lot and I think it allows them to be a little bit more knowledgeable on the teams they are reporting on. You can't tell me that the national guys watch every game and have the time to interact with all of the programs in the country.

This is an excellent point that I had not considered.

Hell look at how the local guys are dressed when doing the media reports wth the team. 1/2 of the time they look like they just rolled out of bed and are nursing a hangover. I think journalism is going through some grunge movement or something.

Yeah, this is the main thing that annoys me. It feels as though ESPN really doesn't care about providing me with quality, just something to keep me hooked and hoping that the next item will be better.

But taking into consideration both points, I like Stevorino's point and will view these guys in a different light now. But it might be a good idea for ESPN to lay out some stricter groundrules about being a blogger analyst, such as wearing a jacket at least and adding a little razzamatazz to their on-air personas. They speak like deer caught in the headlights; no smiles, no jokes, no laughs...just obvious fear.

 

[emzeeee]

Good post.

Reporting is out. Opinions are in. True journalism is dead. Every aspect of news no matter the subject is slanted now. They make it all about the personality of the presenter or subject of the story with little regard to the image of the institution that they represent.

You realize this is the fault of the mass reader and not the fault of every journalistic organization, right?

News does not sell as well as fluff and drama to the greater populace. Yes you still have people who do want the news exactly as it is, but sadly this isn't profitable.

And if you saw the salaries of a journalist using their 'profitable' plan, you wouldn't be surprised. Because it's terrible. If they sold only news, then it would be even lower.

You have to start 'crowdsourcing' your information, e.g. reading multiple bloggers to receive the same 'wealth' of information as before. Whereas, before you could just read one beat writer who you relied on and get the full story. There simply isn't that type of writing anymore (in general, always exceptions).

And I see nothing wrong with business casual, like most other jobs out there (note: not talking about tv). But, this whole rolling out of bed look needs to stop.

 

[VolMaster14]

Good post.

Reporting is out. Opinions are in. True journalism is dead. Every aspect of news no matter the subject is slanted now. They make it all about the personality of the presenter or subject of the story with little regard to the image of the institution that they represent.

Spot on, spot on!

 

[carolinaviking]

The guys on the front page video are embarrassing. You'd think they could have at least done a second take to get rid of the stammering.

This was the video that prompted this thread. I finally got fed up.

 

[DD4ME]

Good post.

Reporting is out. Opinions are in. True journalism is dead. Every aspect of news no matter the subject is slanted now. They make it all about the personality of the presenter or subject of the story with little regard to the image of the institution that they represent.

Their editors and institutions are allowing it though. Best I can figure is since the whole industry has experienced a down turn they feel some self entitlement to make it look low rent or that it's acceptable to put in less effort. I've seen people working fast food counters and bagging groceries that were more presentable than a lot of what you see presented as news. As you mentioned though it's mostly just regurgitation of the press wire or sensationalism it isn't really news anyway.

 

[Aesius]

Good post.

Reporting is out. Opinions are in. True journalism is dead. Every aspect of news no matter the subject is slanted now. They make it all about the personality of the presenter or subject of the story with little regard to the image of the institution that they represent.

Very true.

Plus, a lot of sports/opinion websites are following the Bleacher Report model. Recruit an army of amateur writers armed with a strong opinion and not much else, pay them nothing (or very, very little), and use their labor to keep fresh content rolling in on an hourly basis.

It works because most people don't care if the article is written by Chris Low or Joe Blow--if it has "branding" like BR or ESPN, they think it's legit. Or, in the case of BR, if it's pandering to their interests (hence the individual team sections), they'll eat it up no matter how poorly written or researched it is.

 

[emzeeee]

Very true.

Plus, a lot of sports/opinion websites are following the Bleacher Report model. Recruit an army of amateur writers armed with a strong opinion and not much else, pay them nothing (or very, very little), and use their labor to keep fresh content rolling in on an hourly basis.

It works because most people don't care if the article is written by Chris Low or Joe Blow--if it has "branding" like BR or ESPN, they think it's legit.

Sadly, that's true. Even local news stations pay people damn near nothing to do every job. (One man band, set up the camera, shoot the story you're reporting on, edit the story and submit it yourself).

It's all about huge profit margins.

 

[carolinaviking]

You realize this is the fault of the mass reader and not the fault of every journalistic organization, right?

News does not sell as well as fluff and drama to the greater populace. Yes you still have people who do want the news exactly as it is, but sadly this isn't profitable.

Mark Schlabach had this to say when queried about preseason rankings:

"I've never been a huge fan of preseason polls, even though I publish one a few hours after the BCS National Championship Game every year. We update it a couple of times, after national signing day and then after the deadline for underclassmen to enter the NFL draft. Why? Because college football fans eat it up and just want something to read about their teams during the offseason, even if it's silly predictions in May."

source: College football -- Teams and coaches in trouble? Readers want answers - ESPN

 

[DD4ME]

You realize this is the fault of the mass reader and not the fault of every journalistic organization, right?

News does not sell as well as fluff and drama to the greater populace. Yes you still have people who do want the news exactly as it is, but sadly this isn't profitable.

And if you saw the salaries of a journalist using their 'profitable' plan, you wouldn't be surprised. Because it's terrible. If they sold only news, then it would be even lower.

You have to start 'crowdsourcing' your information, e.g. reading multiple bloggers to receive the same 'wealth' of information as before. Whereas, before you could just read one beat writer who you relied on and get the full story. There simply isn't that type of writing anymore (in general, always exceptions).

And I see nothing wrong with business casual, like most other jobs out there (note: not talking about tv). But, this whole rolling out of bed look needs to stop.

Airline mechanics had their wages greatly reduced several years ago across the board and yet they still put safe planes in the air and I'm sure they still wear clean uniforms to work. They just learned how to stream line. I'm ok with the ala carte model used by airlines to make up for lost revenue, just like "insider" options on espn and others. That shouldn't negate you putting on a decent outfit though on your main channels.
Having the ability to film in your wife beater covered in your morning cereal crumbles doesn't mean it should be done.

 

[SCvol333]

This is an excellent point that I had not considered.


Yeah, this is the main thing that annoys me. It feels as though ESPN really doesn't care about providing me with quality, just something to keep me hooked and hoping that the next item will be better.

But taking into consideration both points, I like Stevorino's point and will view these guys in a different light now. But it might be a good idea for ESPN to lay out some stricter groundrules about being a blogger analyst, such as wearing a jacket at least and adding a little razzamatazz to their on-air personas. They speak like deer caught in the headlights; no smiles, no jokes, no laughs...just obvious fear.

so you listen to other people's points, take all valid ideas into account, and then try and make a decision instead of just always thinking what you already thought

you clearly are not American

 

[DD4ME]

Sadly, that's true. Even local news stations pay people damn near nothing to do every job. (One man band, set up the camera, shoot the story you're reporting on, edit the story and submit it yourself).

It's all about huge profit margins.

The local news is one of the last bastions of self respect in journalism imo. They still put on the suit and they still do material that is local and not rebroadcast world wide.

 

[81Bubbavol]

I agree. The only thing I can say is that at least Chris Low is not the worst. I watched a blog Video on the Gatornation section of ESPN and those guys were absolutely turrible. Stuttering, stamering, using the wrong player's name, you name it.

Here it is. I can't exactly recommend that you watch it, but if you want to see a perfect example of what the OP is talking about, give it a look.

GatorNation: Florida-Tennessee Preview - ESPN Video - ESPN

 

[emzeeee]

The local news is one of the last bastions of self respect in journalism imo. They still put on the suit and they still do material that is local and not rebroadcast world wide.

They definitely have more 'true' content, it's just a shame how much they've been stripped down.

 

[carolinaviking]

I watched a blog Video on the Gatornation section of ESPN and those guys were absolutely turrible. Stuttering, stamering, using the wrong player's name, you name it.

Here it is. I can't exactly recommend that you watch it, but if you want to see a perfect example of what the OP is talking about, give it a look.

Yep, that's the vid. It is currently on the front page of ESPN. Sad, really.

 

[DD4ME]

I agree. The only thing I can say is that at least Chris Low is not the worst. I watched a blog Video on the Gatornation section of ESPN and those guys were absolutely turrible. Stuttering, stamering, using the wrong player's name, you name it.

Here it is. I can't exactly recommend that you watch it, but if you want to see a perfect example of what the OP is talking about, give it a look.

GatorNation: Florida-Tennessee Preview - ESPN Video - ESPN

I agree Chris Low is better than a lot of them. If i was into video editing i'd take some reporter shots from our media videos and show you what looks like a check out line at Walmart. The guy slinging those cheap steaks from the cooler in the back of his truck looks more presentable.

 

[SCvol333]

I agree. The only thing I can say is that at least Chris Low is not the worst. I watched a blog Video on the Gatornation section of ESPN and those guys were absolutely turrible. Stuttering, stamering, using the wrong player's name, you name it.

Here it is. I can't exactly recommend that you watch it, but if you want to see a perfect example of what the OP is talking about, give it a look.

GatorNation: Florida-Tennessee Preview - ESPN Video - ESPN

Mike wasnt that bad but Jeff was pretty pathetic

I think I found my next job!

 

[carolinaviking]

Here is a GameDay Onsite report that is exactly what I expect from ESPN. It has two guys who played the game, not armchair QBs. Then it has video showing the key players and how they will affect the game. The two presenters are obviously professionals: they sound the part and they look the part. The difference is huge, and this kind of expert analysis really is the main reason I go to ESPN:

NCAA College Football Teams, Scores, Stats, News, Standings, Rumors - College Football - ESPN

This, on the other hand, is dreadful:

College GameDay Kickoff: Week 3 preview - ESPN