Sometimes it's now what you say, but what you wear

[GeorgeKramer]

As a season ticket holder to the Bills and the Sabres, I've observed local jocks and talk show hosts doing their remote broadcasts and there's a topic I've always wanted to address but never took the time to post it here until today.

I was finally inspired to do so when I saw Mike Schopp and Chris Parker doing their broadcast at First Niagara Center before the Leafs-Sabres game.

Mike was wearing a "Sabres" sweatshirt. Yes, he is allowed to be a fan and yes, WGR is the home of the Sabres, but it brings me to the question of is that "OK" when talking about trying to be fair and balanced as a broadcaster?

Of course those of us who listen to WGR know that Mike is actually far more critical of our hometown heroes on the ice that Chris is - in fact, you could make an argument that Mike is THE BIGGEST critic of the Sabres on that station - but I cringed when I saw him wearing that shirt. It isn't the first time I've seen him wearing some type of Sabres "gear."

Flip over to Ted Shredd and Tom Ragan doing their pre-game remote check-ins during as part of the official Buffalo Bills pre-game shows for years. As far as I can recall, I never saw either man wearing any Bills "gear" and I actually don't know if they did it wouldn't be that big of a deal since they were just playing silly games and interviewing fans and not actually breaking down the action and talking specifically about the actual game performances of the team.

My point is... is it no big deal that a broadaster is wearing some type of clothing that represents the teams they are speaking about, or is this something that management may want to keep an eye on?

On a related note, with the Bills now being on WGR starting this fall, will it matter if Jeremy White or Howard Simon or Mike or Chris wear Bills "gear" if they do their shows this season at One Bills Drive? If they are in the studio I guess it's not a big deal, but if they will be seen out in public, will people be OK with them wearing (or maybe not wearing) something with the Bills logo on it?

In Mike's case, he's made it clear in the past he is NOT a Bills fan but he is a Sabres fan. Will his tune change this year? Perhaps, we'll have to wait and see.

I'm a mid-50s guy who used to work in radio sales and I am a sports fan, but these types of observations are the type of things that cross my mind in between periods and at halftime.

 

[SirRoxalot]

You're suggesting that WGR should be "fair and balanced"? That they're a bastion of journalism, not a pro-Buffalo sports station? Really?

I'm sure that any WGR host would argue that they criticize any Buffalo sports team out of "love", not because they're unbiased. Now, it may be the love of money, as in earning their paycheck by stirring up real or imagined controversies, but it is "love" nonetheless.

Any host not sporting Buffalo gear - no matter what the team - is simply too cheap (or too poor) to buy it.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Re: Sometimes it's not what you say, but what you wear

Different rules for talk show hosts than news and beat reporters. Talk show hosts and jocks can wear all the swag they want, in studio or on remote. They're not journalists. They're entertainers and editorialists. OTOH, news people, journalists and beat reporters probably should avoid wearing team colors, especially when working a story outside the station and in the locker room. Collared shirt and tie preferred. What's really important is what comes out of a beat reporter or news person's mouth and goes on the air. It should be objective and accurate, unbiased and uncolored.

 

[chas108]

Re: Sometimes it's not what you say, but what you wear

Different rules for talk show hosts than news and beat reporters. Talk show hosts and jocks can wear all the swag they want, in studio or on remote. They're not journalists. They're entertainers and editorialists. OTOH, news people, journalists and beat reporters probably should avoid wearing team colors, especially when working a story outside the station and in the locker room. Collared shirt and tie preferred. What's really important is what comes out of a beat reporter or news person's mouth and goes on the air. It should be objective and accurate, unbiased and uncolored.

Indeed, JPB.

The music stations in my cluster spent a good deal of the past fall doing live shots from our Big East and NFL home games. Today two/three of our personalities will broadcast live from the MLB home opener.

I'm not a journalist...I'm supposed to be an entertainer. Get fans and talk to them, the wilder the better. Have fun!

I always look for someone wearing the opposing team's jersey and put them on too..."to be fair" is how I position it (wink wink nod nod) and the stuff that comes out of their mouths is usually priceless. Even better is when I catch people who are obviously friends...one wearing the home team swag and the other the visitors.

One "apple of gold" came when I got a couple of lifelong friends driving in from 400 miles away to see the game...one a diehard fan of the home team, the other a diehard fan of the opponent.

When you're a talk/music jock, it's all about emotional connection.

But there are sales opportunities too. We need a base of operations and there are plenty of clients adjacent to the sports venues willing to oblige.

Then there's the TOMA that comes from seeing your vehicles/banners at the event.

BTW I usually wear station swag to these things but my assistants often trade off between station and home team swag.