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Commodore Notebook – September 19 9/19/2006 Commodore Notebook The Front Page Sometimes reporters get a bad rap. The public ranks them with used car dealers and shifty lawyers. Everyone is a media expert. Journalism is art, not science, and journalists have a tough job. They play an important role in our society and we as citizens depend upon them to tell it like it is. When we hear something we agree with, we believe we are getting the facts. But when we disagree, we often claim the reporter is biased. In sports the stakes are not as high as they are in international affairs. But when your job is to bring Vanderbilt student-athletes and coaches to the public through the filter of the media, you pay attention to details. I don’t care who you are, if you were assigned to cover a sports beat it would not be long until someone would find a bone they want to pick with you. We are easily offended and when a reporter covers something as emotional as your favorite ball team, it often becomes a no-win proposition. One of my toughest calls is determining when to constructively correct, when to question and when to gripe. If I whined at every error or contrary opinion I would do nothing else. So you pick your spots. Last Friday I choked on my Cheerios sitting down with a local paper. It was the day before our opening home football game; there was the obligatory front page story on the Titans, whose popularity in town is undeniable. Then there was a story on UT-Florida, a key battle with lots of implications. OK. Story number 3, however, was on Auburn-LSU. I had to turn to the back page to find our game coverage. Wait a minute?Auburn — LSU is on page one and Vandy-Hogs is page four of a Nashville paper? So what gives? Newspapers — or radio and television – are not for or against Vanderbilt. No way. They have opinions but their function is not to be cheerleaders. Papers have declining readership. In sports, the editors are eager to cover what they honestly think their readership wants to read. The Tennessean, for example, puts tremendous stock into surveys it conducts on a regular basis. As a relatively small, private school in a conference with state school giants, we are seldom going to win a popularity poll or a battle of numbers. The Tennessean also puts values the number of “hits” stories receive on their web site. Every day those charged with allocating space receive information on Tennessean web traffic. We’re told that Titans and Tennessee Vol stories receive the most hits. Gone are the days when Nashville natives and Vanderbilt alumni such as John Bibb and Fred Russell knew that Middle Tennessee has a bigger interest in Vanderbilt athletics than it may poll. Local editors today are imports who look at hard, cold numbers and make judgments. There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to sports coverage. Those include a team’s success and the team’s fan base. Much of local media’s budget is spent following the Titans so unfortunately many outlets don’t follow us on the road. Production schedules can also enter in; The Nashville City Paper provides excellent coverage but does not publish on weekends, making it tricky for them to cover Friday and Saturday events. There are other factors but one is not a bias against Vanderbilt. In fact, reporters have whispered over the years that they secretly pull for us to win because they know that will provide them a wealth of great stories and because they admire the Vanderbilt kids and coaches. If you want your opinions heard, here are some tips: *If you get to participate in a media survey, take that opportunity seriously. *If you are surfing the web at work, click on those Vanderbilt articles so someone realizes you do care. *If you call or write the editor, think through your key points in advance and be respectful in your approach. Nothing is a bigger turn-off than a flaming phone call or ultra-cynical email. And, while you’re at it, pass along a compliment when you like something. Despite how it may look at times, journalists are working hard to get their coverage right. |
