Sports is not news

[Nertz!]

I am sickened with all this overkill coverage of a lousy baseball team.
It is enough with the annoying overkill football coverage, but this is just too much.
It is this kind of unbalanced lack of news sense that is typical of a city where you have anchors sleeping with corrupt congressmen and such.
Keep the sports to the sports report!

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

Let's see...the Phillies -- specifically Jimmy Rollins -- boasted in spring training that they were the "team to beat" in the National League East this season. And, until three weeks ago, it looked as if Rollins was going to have to eat those words. The Phillies over came the biggest deficit for a second-place team that late in the season to win the division title, and clinch their postseason appearance in 14 years.

Your city's baseball team is in the playoffs. Please tell me, how is that not news?? Will you be saying that if the Phillies make it all the way back to the World Series?? How about if they win??

There are times when I really wish some posters think first before posting, and this is one of those times.

[In full disclosure, I'm a Yankee fan, so in case that happens, we'll see a repeat of the 1950 fall classic ;D ]

 

[Nertz!]

You are describing a sports story.
It is a sports story and it belongs in the sports report.
If the Phillies team bus plunges off a bridge and kills the team, then that would be a news story.
The fact they won some games is not a news story, it is just a sports story.
I could care less about the team, although I would not want their bus to plunge off a bridge, but still, it is not a news story it is dog bites man. I am guessing they are not going all crazy with sports stories pretending to be news with the Yankees?
That is probably because they have more things to care about there, like business and culture. Washington has politics. Los Angeles has entertainment.
But in Philadelphia it is just sports sports sports and if some football player gets a hangnail it is time to break in for a special report even if it is during coverage of the second coming or world war 5.
It is better when they fail because it means they get less coverage, but still more then they deserve.
I am shocked that the pompous stuffed shirts at channel 12 aren't getting Ken Burns to do a 27 hour long documentary on how wonderful the Philadelphia Phillies are.
I want all the Philadelphia teams to fail since the local media goes way too nuts about them.
If they get into the world series, hopefully they will get the same sort of result they got in 1993.
It couldn't happen to a worser team.

 

[cool245]

I am sickened with all this overkill coverage of a lousy baseball team.

I agree. I could understanding having it as the first story yesterday since it was news then, but no way did it warrant the 10+ minutes of coverage that the Philly stations devoted to it on their Sunday evening newscasts. One report from the ballpark for 2 or 3 minutes would have been plenty. As of 12:15pm, I clicked on 3 and 6 and each are still talking about the Pep Rally so I'm guessing the noon newscasts are down the drain for today. 10 actually did a split screen a few minutes ago showing Chopper 10 over a crowd of people gathered (surprised they didn't break in for a special report).

 

[BRNout]

Sorry guys - but I can't agree with you here. The Phillies winning their division for the first time in 14 years is pretty big news, particularly the way that it happened (with the Mets' historic collapse). It is the story that everyone in town is talking about and it is local news that makes national headlines (unlike, say American Idol - which is a TV show).

To provide other examples, the Mets' collapse is one of the top stories in New York and the Red Sox' division win ;D is a HUGE story in New England (not just Boston). It's the first time that's happened since 1995 and it's a big deal to local viewers.

Successful local sports teams become news items as so many people in the community feel that they have a stake in the team. And, in cities where tax dollars paid for stadiums, they do. Not to mention that there will be games held in town, national media coverage, and full hotel rooms. All provide a big boost to the local economy - and free advertising (unless you're The Bronx, circa 1977). For those of you who gripe and moan about murders leading the news, here you go - "good" news.

And, like it or not, it IS news. If you don't like it, turn the antenna to Baltimore where they'll be talking about anything but the O's.

 

[cool245]

If you don't like it, turn the antenna to Baltimore where they'll be talking about anything but the O's.

Actually, I usually watch 69 and click back and forth to the Philly stations, but I guess I won't have to do that tonight since it will be all Phillies on 3, 5, 6, and 10.

 

[Nertz!]

Sorry guys - but I can't agree with you here. The Phillies winning their division for the first time in 14 years is pretty big news, particularly the way that it happened (with the Mets' historic collapse). It is the story that everyone in town is talking about and it is local news that makes national headlines (unlike, say American Idol - which is a TV show).

I know a great many people who could care less about the Phillies winning and unless the team winning their division has somehow cured cancer, caught Osama, or ended the obscene murder rate in the city it is not news. It is just a sports story.
Most of the people I know want the Philadelphia sports teams to fail, since they could care less about them and they know the media goes all crazy about them. And can you show me where it makes national headlines? The national newspaper of record The New York Times is not devoting their front page to it, instead they are placing the story in the sports section where it belongs. Why? They know it does not belong with actual news. If, God forbid, the team's plane crashes on the way to a game then that would be a news story.
If the manager decides to beat the first basemen to death with a baseball bat, then it would be a news story.
Baseball teams win divisions every year and it is just a curiosity, which is all sports is.
Until someone dies, it saves someones life, or does something of actual value to improve life it is just not a news story, but a sports story.
I don't even know, or care about, the team they are playing other than greatly hope that that team, whoever it may be, is victorious so the nonsense can stop.

 

[Irishfl]

I know a great many people who could care less about the Phillies winning and unless the team winning their division has somehow cured cancer, caught Osama, or ended the obscene murder rate in the city it is not news. It is just a sports story.
Most of the people I know want the Philadelphia sports teams to fail, since they could care less about them and they know the media goes all crazy about them. And can you show me where it makes national headlines? The national newspaper of record The New York Times is not devoting their front page to it, instead they are placing the story in the sports section where it belongs. Why? They know it does not belong with actual news. If, God forbid, the team's plane crashes on the way to a game then that would be a news story.
If the manager decides to beat the first basemen to death with a baseball bat, then it would be a news story.
Baseball teams win divisions every year and it is just a curiosity, which is all sports is.
Until someone dies, it saves someones life, or does something of actual value to improve life it is just not a news story, but a sports story.
I don't even know, or care about, the team they are playing other than greatly hope that that team, whoever it may be, is victorious so the nonsense can stop.

No, news is information about ANY recent happening, regradless if its weather, sports or entertainment. News isn't defined within the scope of poltical, educational, informed on world/nation/local affairs, or bad happening (such as the Phillies dieing in a plane crash).

Sports is always news. Thats why they have a sports section in papers, a portion in newscast devoted to sports, ect. Sports is always changing, and thus is always the subject of being newsworthy. When something big happens it gets bumped up to the front page/top story. Thats whats happening now. Thats what happened in January with the eagles.

I'm sure you do know a great many who could careless about the Phillies, but sadly for you there are plenty of people who do care. Thats why they talk about it. Just like when we get a inch of snow. They don't interupt their daytime shows just because they like to hear themselves talk. I could careless about the shore forcast when i'm not going to the shore, but I understand many people are going, and do care.

Now with that said, I agree with you that they're going overboard with devoting large portions of a newscast to the Phillies.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I know a great many people who could care less about the Phillies winning and unless the team winning their division

O.K. It's annoying to you. After you have said it three times, what can we accomplish to go further.

I don't think it is news worthy of being on the 6:00 P.M. news when a small residence somewhere in the city is on fire. But since we have a helicopter in the air, we are going to see that house three or four times in the news. What is it they say: "If it bleeds, it leads." One person in a city of 4 million gets shot in the arm and we see it two or three times because we can actually see the bleeding. That isn't news either.

He who owns the ink barrel gets to decide what is printed.... whether it is news or not.

Some days life is just not fair!

 

[imhomerjay]

It's OK, Nertz can add it to his vendetta against various stations in town.

News is by definition something out of the orindary, a change to the status quo. The TV stations' job is to deliver eyeballs, and that means covering what the largest slice of the pie cares about. You're not in that largest slice of the pie, and in a few weeks one way or another it will be completely over.

 

[Nertz!]

Myself and most of the people who could care less would actually be in the demographic the station wants. Since I am not even going to bother watching their newscasts until the team does what most observers expect and collapse. My only hope is that it is as fun as what happened to the team in 1993, but only sooner.

 

[Newname]

"Nertz" to Nertz, and every other non-sport whiner who cwies whenever sports-related content is mentioned outside of that nice, tidy little 5-minute segment that they can ignore while composing diatribes to vent their pathetic, narrow-minded viewpoint on the internet.
Oh, and go Phillies!

 

[imhomerjay]

Myself and most of the people who could care less would actually be in the demographic the station wants. Since I am not even going to bother watching their newscasts until the team does what most observers expect and collapse. My only hope is that it is as fun as what happened to the team in 1993, but only sooner.

"Myself would be...."--wow, hooked on phonics doesn't work for everyone. Regardless, it doesn't matter what demographic people who don't care are in. That slice of the population, i.e., those who are so strongly opposed to the coverage of sports in the "news" segments, is not large enough to outweigh the benefits of catering to those who do care, while not having any impact on those who don't care one way or another.

 

[Nertz!]

Ask yourself this, what legitimate news stories get pushed aside because they have to waste reporters on covering something trivial.
No, instead have them go off and cover some staged event which was done at the instructions of the commissioner of baseball, you know the guy who is ignoring the whole steroids thing.

 

[BRNout]

Nertz, you need to understand that there are certain news stories that impact everyone in a given market in a very personal way. A snowstorm is such as story and so is big local sports story. Both are stories that viewers relate to and that directly affect their lives in some way.

Are they going overboard? Yes, they are. But, the topic of the thread is "sports is not news" and I disagree with you there.

3 or 4 or more sold-out playoff games impacts local businesses, traffic, restaurants and hotels (as I said before). And, having the city featured on live TV for multiple nights is a big deal too. Not to mention the unlikely way in which the Phillies got into the playoffs. Yes, that makes it news. Hey, I am a Red Sox fan - but I also know that the same thing is happening on the local news up there. It's a big deal to most people in the market and that makes it news.

Do me a favor and don't use the New York Times as an example of some grand arbiter of what is news and what's not. For one thing, the editors of that paper are a bunch of stuffed shirts who don't deign to report most things as 'news' unless it suits their political agenda. Secondly, publishing national secrets apparently IS news as far as they are concerned. Thirdly, they are losing circulation by the day.

Although the stuffy Times doesn't consider sports to be news, The Boston Globe and the Inquirer apparently do. Their respective local baseball clubs made the front pages of both.

With so many non-stories proliferating the local (and national) news shows, why not pick on something else? There are lots of examples of needless crap on the news. Criticizing those "stories" is like shooting fish in a barrel. Just check out any local newscast between :09 and :16 and you'll have lots of ammuntion that I'll support you on. But, you're barking up the wrong tree with this issue.

 

[Nertz!]

1. You give the typical arguments that those who want to waste public money on stadiums and arenas make. They will be wonderful and spread the wealth around as if it was some sort of Ronald Reagan trickle down wet dream.

2. The New York Times is putting more focus on online so they are not worried about the physical paper. I heard something on NPR about it recently. What you say is "national secrets" is just exposing governmental corruption. Let me guess you also support the war and drive a SUV. Just because some papers that are not the national paper of record put their local sports collective on the front page is meaningless. As for the Inquirer, I would not consider that a newspaper, since it is a mix of AP wire stories and lousy local reporting. Could you imagine a real newspaper like The New York Times going all rah-rah booster for the local millionaires sports club? I think not, because it would be showing some Fox News type bias.

3. This is the right time to bring up the issue. Sports is not news, which is why it should not be in the news section of the newscast. If the corrupt mayor goes and shoots the entire team dead and raising the out of control murder rate that would be news, but some league mandated rally of simple minded fools who would show up for what ever the mob mentality would dictate, whether supporting needless wars, anschluss or getting free donuts.

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

1. You give the typical arguments that those who want to waste public money on stadiums and arenas make. They will be wonderful and spread the wealth around as if it was some sort of Ronald Reagan trickle down wet dream.

2. The New York Times is putting more focus on online so they are not worried about the physical paper. I heard something on NPR about it recently. What you say is "national secrets" is just exposing governmental corruption. Let me guess you also support the war and drive a SUV. Just because some papers that are not the national paper of record put their local sports collective on the front page is meaningless. As for the Inquirer, I would not consider that a newspaper, since it is a mix of AP wire stories and lousy local reporting. Could you imagine a real newspaper like The New York Times going all rah-rah booster for the local millionaires sports club? I think not, because it would be showing some Fox News type bias.

3. This is the right time to bring up the issue. Sports is not news, which is why it should not be in the news section of the newscast. If the corrupt mayor goes and shoots the entire team dead and raising the out of control murder rate that would be news, but some league mandated rally of simple minded fools who would show up for what ever the mob mentality would dictate, whether supporting needless wars, anschluss or getting free donuts.

You just don't get it, do you? You have no argument left, so it's best if you just pack it in. I'll be looking for you at the Phillies' NL Championship Parade down Broad Street (after the Yankees win World Series No. 27 ;D).

 

[Nertz!]

All I am hearing is the typical sports fan replies.

 

[BRNout]

All I am hearing is the typical sports fan replies.

Nertz, I attempted - in vain - to have an intelligent discussion with you about this and for my trouble I get attacked (along with Ronald Reagan, which is good company to be in).

It is clear that you have absolutely no interest in participating in an exchange of ideas and would prefer to bang an out-of-tone drum over and over again.

In summary, I've concluded that you're just sour. And I'm done. :

 

[knight]

I was so pissed when Hurricane's Andrew and Katrina made news! After all they are just weather events and should have been relegated to only the weather portion of the news!