The Media

[James17930]

Before I start let me make it extremely clear -- I am not writing this to attack any of the journalists who read this board. I simply want to start this debate because I think it's important.

Now:

Many Toronto sports coaches, past and present, have complained that the media is too negative, and that it affects the fortunes of both the players and organizations that run the teams. The question is, of course, do they have a point or are they just looking for something to complain about to deflect the focus from themselves?

I think there's a little bit of the latter there, but overall I actually agree with the coaches -- I think the media in Toronto tends to approach sports reporting from the wrong angle sometimes, in that they take it too seriously.

I think Toronto sports reporters tend to go past of the limit of what is relevant to the fans. They tend to act like investigative reporters and muckrakers where really these types of 'prying eyes' are not necessary. This isn't government or big companies trying to defraud people, or something. It's entertainment, and therefore should be treated more lightly.

That being said, if there's something over and above just the sport going on, then of course reporters should get in there and bring light to it. Steroids. Match Fixing. The CBA, etc. This is where investigative journalism needs to take place. But 'Player X's feelings got hurt' is not relevant. That type of regular day-to-day stuff which happen behind closed doors in any team anywhere in the world should not come out because it just brings unnecessary negative pressure to the team. I'm thinking specifically of the Danny D stuff last year and the Robbo stuff this year.

And I would say it doesn't matter if us supporters would be really interested in it -- it's really none of our business.

I know many of you will completely disagree with me, and that's fine -- I just wanted to get the debate started. Maybe someone will be able to convince me otherwise :)

[dupont]

fuck the media

[Blizzard]

Before I start let me make it extremely clear -- I am not writing this to attack any of the journalists who read this board. I simply want to start this debate because I think it's important.

Now:

Many Toronto sports coaches, past and present, have complained that the media is too negative, and that it affects the fortunes of both the players and organizations that run the teams. The question is, of course, do they have a point or are they just looking for something to complain about to deflect the focus from themselves?

I think there's a little bit of the latter there, but overall I actually agree with the coaches -- I think the media in Toronto tends to approach sports reporting from the wrong angle sometimes, in that they take it too seriously.

I think Toronto sports reporters tend to go past of the limit of what is relevant to the fans. They tend to act like investigative reporters and muckrakers where really these types of 'prying eyes' are not necessary. This isn't government or big companies trying to defraud people, or something. It's entertainment, and therefore should be treated more lightly.

That being said, if there's something over and above just the sport going on, then of course reporters should get in there and bring light to it. Steroids. Match Fixing. The CBA, etc. This is where investigative journalism needs to take place. But 'Player X's feelings got hurt' is not relevant. That type of regular day-to-day stuff which happen behind closed doors in any team anywhere in the world should not come out because it just brings unnecessary negative pressure to the team. I'm thinking specifically of the Danny D stuff last year and the Robbo stuff this year.

And I would say it doesn't matter if us supporters would be really interested in it -- it's really none of our business.

I know many of you will completely disagree with me, and that's fine -- I just wanted to get the debate started. Maybe someone will be able to convince me otherwise :)

I think you raise some very valid points. I doubt that this is strictly Toronto phenomenon though. Look at the muckraking that takes place at certain (lower) levels of the British press for example.

Yes, most certainly many sports scribes are now trying to go beyond the game itself and want to establish themselves as something more than that.

I believe that sports writer have always been seen to be on the lower rung of journalism and for that reason, many have chosen to try and prove that they can be Investigative Journalists within the world of sports.

Is that what we want from them? Well, some do and some don't. It certainly does seem that the appetite for all things TFC is insatiable. This being the case, I don't think things are going to change much in the future.

[TFCRegina]

I'm just glad they're writing about TFC.

When MLS has established itself more firmly in Canada, I'll start bitching about the negative attitude more often.

I have, in the past, commented on J. Mo being a bit rude and harsh in the way he goes about dealing with the team. Generally, I like what he unearths, but I think he's a bit of a prick about it.

But as I've said, as long as they're covering the team, it's all good. Any publicity is good publicity.

[AL-MO]

But 'Player X's feelings got hurt' is not relevant. That type of regular day-to-day stuff which happen behind closed doors in any team anywhere in the world should not come out because it just brings unnecessary negative pressure to the team. I'm thinking specifically of the Danny D stuff last year and the Robbo stuff this year.



I would agree with you if this organization handled situations properly. But the PR department for this club is a disaster and seems to drop the ball at every opportunity. They constant try to lie to us thinking that we are naive enough to believe what they are saying. Unfortunately its at the point that noone believes anything they are say anymore.

The Dichio situation was a perfect example of this. "He's too injured to fly on long flights" was the weak excuse they came up with. It didn't take long for people to call BULLSHIT on that one. The Robbo situation wasn't as bad as Dichio, but I thought he deserved a bit better send off. Fuck, at least thank him for the service he has given the club.

Anyway when it comes a point that we can actually take what they say for face value, then I can see the need for the media to back off a bit.

Until that point, keep diggin' guys.

[James17930]

I would agree with you if this organization handled situations properly. But the PR department for this club is a disaster and seems to drop the ball at every opportunity. They constant try to lie to us thinking that we are naive enough to believe what they are saying. Unfortunately its at the point that noone believes anything they are say anymore.

The Dichio situation was a perfect example of this. "He's too injured to fly on long flights" was the weak excuse they came up with. It didn't take long for people to call BULLSHIT on that one. The Robbo situation wasn't as bad as Dichio, but I thought he deserved a bit better send off. Fuck, at least thank him for the service he has given the club.

Anyway when it comes a point that we can actually take what they say for face value, then I can see the need for the media to back off a bit.

Until that point, keep diggin' guys.

Good point on the DD thing, but I would maybe ask:

In a situation like this, should the media actually get involved or should it stay something directly between the supporters and the club?

Like, if the supporters are pissed about it, they can come on the boards, or send e-mails to the club, or, and most significantly, make banners and chants in the stadium to let everyone know what they want.

??

[ensco]

This has got zip to do with Toronto or TFC.

Ever seen the coverage of the Yankees/Mets? Or the Cowboys in Dallas?

The media everywhere take it to extremes. They're giddy when you win, suicidal when you lose. Because our teams all lose, the sports page here is always a downer.

The NY media is 10x tougher, and 20x more interested in off-field stuff

[CretanBull]

I've never heard the coach of a winning team complain about the negativity of the media having a bad effect on the team. Our city's problem is that we haven't had enough winning teams.

[Beach_Red]

Before I start let me make it extremely clear -- I am not writing this to attack any of the journalists who read this board. I simply want to start this debate because I think it's important.

Now:

Many Toronto sports coaches, past and present, have complained that the media is too negative, and that it affects the fortunes of both the players and organizations that run the teams. The question is, of course, do they have a point or are they just looking for something to complain about to deflect the focus from themselves?

I think there's a little bit of the latter there, but overall I actually agree with the coaches -- I think the media in Toronto tends to approach sports reporting from the wrong angle sometimes, in that they take it too seriously.

I think Toronto sports reporters tend to go past of the limit of what is relevant to the fans. They tend to act like investigative reporters and muckrakers where really these types of 'prying eyes' are not necessary. This isn't government or big companies trying to defraud people, or something. It's entertainment, and therefore should be treated more lightly.

That being said, if there's something over and above just the sport going on, then of course reporters should get in there and bring light to it. Steroids. Match Fixing. The CBA, etc. This is where investigative journalism needs to take place. But 'Player X's feelings got hurt' is not relevant. That type of regular day-to-day stuff which happen behind closed doors in any team anywhere in the world should not come out because it just brings unnecessary negative pressure to the team. I'm thinking specifically of the Danny D stuff last year and the Robbo stuff this year.

And I would say it doesn't matter if us supporters would be really interested in it -- it's really none of our business.

I know many of you will completely disagree with me, and that's fine -- I just wanted to get the debate started. Maybe someone will be able to convince me otherwise :)

Sure, I'd like to see a little more investigative journalism but I think there's too much emphasis on the soap opera of the personell moves (really, Dichio is still with te team and very happy and Robinson is a very well-paid player in MLS, there's no "scandal" there) and not enough on the other issues you mention.

For example, was TFC prevented from signing players until the CBA was settled? Chances are everyone's going to deny it, say it wasn't a factor at all, but that may be the decision that has the biggest effect on the team's chances this year and the way they seemed to panic once it was signed seems to indicate something was going on.

I don't know if there's a story there or not, but there might be.