Wednesday, July 12, 2006
7.12.06
It's time to play catch up with a few things as Jennifer and I have been on the road:
- Spent the weekend in Indiana for my sister's wedding. It was a great weekend and a beautiful ceremony. The Indiana University campus is maybe the quintessential college campus. It has a number of quads or malls with a number of fraternities and residence halls in featured locations around the campus. As pretty as it was, I was a little overwhelmed with IU branded material. As a Bucky alum, that's hard to swallow for three straight days.
The other thing about Indiana is that everytime I visit the state, I feel like I'm traveling back to 1950. I start looking for cars with tail fins and drive-ins serving malts. I'm tempted to check the paper and see if Ike is the president and if Bobby Darin is performing somewhere that night in an auditorium. It's almost like when Marty McFly landed in the Delorean.
- I know it's old news, but did we see the sensitive side of Ozzie Guillen last night when he started crying during the Clemente tribute at the All-Star Game? Must be all that training he's been going through lately.
Should Ozzie have said it? No
Should it have been discussed? Sure
Do the White Sox care? Yes - at least in the PR game when the camera is rolling. But behind the scenes, Reinsdorf and the rest of the front office is excited because for the first time since the 50s and 60s - the Sox are the sports story in Chicago. Bigger than Da Bears, Da Bulls, and the Cubs. The Sox lead the 10 p.m. sports on WLS-TV. The Sox are on the front page of the sports section. And, the tickets are hard to get. The Sox are relevant to the whole city today. In the past, the Sox mattered to their niche of fans on the southside and segments in the suburbs. Today, everyone is a casual Sox fan.
What about Mariotti? He's still a tool. Has been since he started writing. But, he's not paid to be buddies with the players or other media members. He has one job - to write his opinion on the printed page and provide a compelling argument that makes people want to grab a copy of the Sun-Times on their way to the Metra station. Mariotti's opinionated writing is why some people pick up the Sun-Times instead of the Tribune, the Daily Herald, or the Daily Southtown.
I've paid close attention to this discussion since it started last month. I've read about it on the internet and in print. One piece of analysis I never saw was a discussion of the fact that Chicago is still a multiple newspaper town. Opinions and editorials still matter as the newspapers battle for readers. Give the sports fan an opinion they can get in the competition or on the internet and it might drive single copy sales and subscriptions. Objective reporting should be in every paper. Unique opinions and columns provide each individual daily a competitive advantage.
This wasn't discussed as a number of major metro including Houston, Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Los Angeles are (for the most part) single newspaper towns. These publications don't need to worry about their competitor. They're the only game in town. If the Houston Chronicle's writing isn't too cutting edge, it doesn't provide a disadvantage to anybody but the readers. The Chron's bottom line is okay because there isn't another choice for a local daily newspaper delivered to your front door.
The same way the Sox are okay with Ozzie running his mouth, the Sun-Times love Mariotti's notoriety. It's free publicity and the kind you can't purchase with an advertising and marketing plan. It's water cooler talk and viral.
It also goes to show that strong cities and nations have more than one voice - whether that's an objective voice reporting facts or a conservative on Fox News. This, of course, is also part of the challenge of media in 2006 as Chris Anderson writes about in The Long Tail. As the choices for music, media, television, news, print, and more explode, the targeting of the audience becomes more difficult. I've read excerpts of The Long Tail. For those interested in the media, it's fascinating.
It's also sad. An era is over. The reporter with the derby hat and source at the local cop shop matters less than the middle-aged blogger from The Woodlands. Disseminating information to the public is changing as facts are valued less than opinions. If you don't believe me, ask a friend who voted republican in '04 and then ask a friend who voted democratic in '04. Find out where they get their information. The answers are predictable, but paint a picture of today's media world.
-30-
- Spent the weekend in Indiana for my sister's wedding. It was a great weekend and a beautiful ceremony. The Indiana University campus is maybe the quintessential college campus. It has a number of quads or malls with a number of fraternities and residence halls in featured locations around the campus. As pretty as it was, I was a little overwhelmed with IU branded material. As a Bucky alum, that's hard to swallow for three straight days.
The other thing about Indiana is that everytime I visit the state, I feel like I'm traveling back to 1950. I start looking for cars with tail fins and drive-ins serving malts. I'm tempted to check the paper and see if Ike is the president and if Bobby Darin is performing somewhere that night in an auditorium. It's almost like when Marty McFly landed in the Delorean.
- I know it's old news, but did we see the sensitive side of Ozzie Guillen last night when he started crying during the Clemente tribute at the All-Star Game? Must be all that training he's been going through lately.
Should Ozzie have said it? No
Should it have been discussed? Sure
Do the White Sox care? Yes - at least in the PR game when the camera is rolling. But behind the scenes, Reinsdorf and the rest of the front office is excited because for the first time since the 50s and 60s - the Sox are the sports story in Chicago. Bigger than Da Bears, Da Bulls, and the Cubs. The Sox lead the 10 p.m. sports on WLS-TV. The Sox are on the front page of the sports section. And, the tickets are hard to get. The Sox are relevant to the whole city today. In the past, the Sox mattered to their niche of fans on the southside and segments in the suburbs. Today, everyone is a casual Sox fan.
What about Mariotti? He's still a tool. Has been since he started writing. But, he's not paid to be buddies with the players or other media members. He has one job - to write his opinion on the printed page and provide a compelling argument that makes people want to grab a copy of the Sun-Times on their way to the Metra station. Mariotti's opinionated writing is why some people pick up the Sun-Times instead of the Tribune, the Daily Herald, or the Daily Southtown.
I've paid close attention to this discussion since it started last month. I've read about it on the internet and in print. One piece of analysis I never saw was a discussion of the fact that Chicago is still a multiple newspaper town. Opinions and editorials still matter as the newspapers battle for readers. Give the sports fan an opinion they can get in the competition or on the internet and it might drive single copy sales and subscriptions. Objective reporting should be in every paper. Unique opinions and columns provide each individual daily a competitive advantage.
This wasn't discussed as a number of major metro including Houston, Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Los Angeles are (for the most part) single newspaper towns. These publications don't need to worry about their competitor. They're the only game in town. If the Houston Chronicle's writing isn't too cutting edge, it doesn't provide a disadvantage to anybody but the readers. The Chron's bottom line is okay because there isn't another choice for a local daily newspaper delivered to your front door.
The same way the Sox are okay with Ozzie running his mouth, the Sun-Times love Mariotti's notoriety. It's free publicity and the kind you can't purchase with an advertising and marketing plan. It's water cooler talk and viral.
It also goes to show that strong cities and nations have more than one voice - whether that's an objective voice reporting facts or a conservative on Fox News. This, of course, is also part of the challenge of media in 2006 as Chris Anderson writes about in The Long Tail. As the choices for music, media, television, news, print, and more explode, the targeting of the audience becomes more difficult. I've read excerpts of The Long Tail. For those interested in the media, it's fascinating.
It's also sad. An era is over. The reporter with the derby hat and source at the local cop shop matters less than the middle-aged blogger from The Woodlands. Disseminating information to the public is changing as facts are valued less than opinions. If you don't believe me, ask a friend who voted republican in '04 and then ask a friend who voted democratic in '04. Find out where they get their information. The answers are predictable, but paint a picture of today's media world.
-30-
