Media Relations with the Sabres
We’ve hacked this story to death… and Pete and I have very differing viewpoints on the topic of how hard the media should go after the Sabres ownership and management about the way they run the team, and as a result that has led to spirited debates between us. We’ve also engaged in mutual commentary with our partner sports sites at WNYMedia, and yesterday Kevin Pritchard at Bfloblog checked in with this piece touching on the latest pile-on, that being Bob Dicesare and his take on the goings on with the team. Once again, Kevin’s spin had me nodding in agreement.
Not to be outdone, Donny Osmonde’s latest pile of crap yapping about “big box stores” runs today, this one night after an assortment of macadamias gathered at this so called “forum” to tear apart the Canal Side vision yet again.
So is there a conspiracy at the News? Is there a jihad, as I have called it?
I got a detailed commentary from a good friend an unnamed source at the Buffalo News this past weekend, someone who is a regular reader of this space and whose opinion I greatly respect. Here’s what was shared:
A lot of people are talking about Bucky’s combative nature with Quinn et al. I guarantee you this is intentional. The News didn’t fail to re-sign BOTH captains, the team did… And then arrogantly defended their decisions by saying there was nothing they could have done about it when everyone knew better.
Should the paper do a better job supporting the team?
Not our job. Period. Not any paper’s job. Don’t get confused by Ch. 2. It WAS their job to support the team because they carried the games so they’re never going to say anything perceived as negative. You said in your post “we need to move forward and rally around the team now more than ever.” Perhaps the fans do. But we’re not rallying around any team. That’s not the media’s job.
The corporate philosophy at The News was clearly for them to WIN the whole thing. Paper sales would have been wild during the finals and we were going to do a coffee table book had they won. So to say The News doesn’t support the team — and you hear that constantly from callers on WGR — is missing the big picture.
Why does the News keep hammering the point of the poor decisions made by the team over and over again?
What are Bucky and Sully supposed to write through all this? That the Sabres are doing a great job of maintaining fiscal responsibility? Of course they’re going to hammer the team. This is a team that’s getting laughed at across Canada. What would any big-city US paper write about their MLB team for instance if they let their top two players just walk in free agency — when both guys would have stayed had the team not been so cheap? Has that EVER happened anywhere other than maybe the ‘97 Marlins? This is an instant, historic dismantling of a franchise in the four major team sports, not just some bump in the road for our beloved Sabres. We covered it that way — like any paper in any big city would.
This is where I part company with my unnamed source and I replied in kind. I don’t see all of Canada laughing at the Sabres, more of an attitude like “gee that sucks for you”. The loss of two co-captains doesn’t even begin to touch the garage sale that happened with the Florida Marlins. This is still a team that will be exciting, competitive and hopefully in a position to again make a run for the Cup.
Lastly, is there a Jihad within the Buffalo News?
There is none of that. There are no back-door meetings, no plans to get anybody…Just imagine the stories about “Regier the builder” had they won the Stanley Cup. To say they’ve done pretty good with four trips to the final four is absolutely true. But this season was a failure because of their own marketing campaign — the media didn’t start up One Team, One Goal. They did. So they failed to meet their own expectations.
Most of our staff meetings frankly discuss things like graphics, photos, how long each story is going to be, who is doing what story. There is ZERO talk of any agenda. It’s the No. 1 fallacy people have of journalism, that we sit there and conspire and plot what we’re doing. Nope.
My unnamed source admits that the Regier “devil photo” was silly and called it a cheap shot. As well as stating that Bucky is all wet in terms of his oft predicted meltdown in ticket sales and the soon to come yawning gap of empty seats.
I’m sure that anyone is welcome to join the Bucky and Jerry show in the News’ cafeteria, they are always eager to share a plate of falafel and other delectables permitted under the Halal diet. And I am VERY appreciative to my unnamed source for sharing these thoughts and opinions with me. It certainly gave me a new perspective on things.
As a member of the media, what will be very interesting to observe this coming season is how Sabres representatives and management will interact with the Buffalo News journalists at hockey games, practices and other Sabres events. Will it be business as usual? Will the chilly frost be in the air? Watching this scenario as it unfolds might be one of the more interesting side stories of the 2007-08 season.
Kevin Pritchard Says:July 19th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
What are Bucky and Sully supposed to write through all this? That the Sabres are doing a great job of maintaining fiscal responsibility? Of course they’re going to hammer the team.
Obviously. But why have the last two articles Gleason wrote on hockey personalities from Buffalo descended into a session to hammer management? The articles that are singular in their topics - such as Sullivan’s column on losing Drury - are tolerable because they don’t smell of a personal agenda.
But when Gleason uses his column to write what seems to be nice articles about Adams and Miller, then turns it into “Regier is an idiot,” it’s an insult to the subjects of the articles, to the readers intelligence, and to journalistic integrity. It’s obvious to many of us that Gleason has allowed this to becomes a very personal issue, as evidenced by his meltdown at the Sabres press conference and subsequent writings. I realize he is writing opinion columns, but when your opinion strolls into the extreme range (ala Ann Coulter, Michael Moore, and others who write in order to get a reaction) it alienates huge chunks of rational people like myself.
So I can accept that there is no organized agenda to “go after” Sabres management, but I can’t accept that some, mostly two, writers are over-the-top extreme in their approach to the subject and have become disconnected with anything resembling rationality.