If they'd just offer their mix of fact and opinion in a linear fashion instead of that stupid "here's what happened in the 4th inning through the 9th and then here's the stuff that happened before the 4th" system, I'd be happy.
Ahh - the inherent bias in sports reporting is unaviodable, and frankly welcomed. In sports, so much more than other journalistic fields, you're dealing with far more certainties (Team A won; team B lost, reporter was there), which opens the discussion up for opinions earlier. Given the connections that a lot of established sports jounalists have, they do occassionally deserve their insider reputations. It isn't as grey as other fields which rely on conjecture, circumstantial evidence and 2nd party accounts. I think the real issue most people have is not the nature of sports jounalism, but the fact that a lot of jounalists just aren't very good at it, and would rather flame controversy as a method of getting readers than actually going about and bothering to learn what it is they are writing about. That and the constant interviewing of other journalists as a way of getting the inside info - which is oxymoronic since it comes from an outsider.
tommy the only bias here is yours. Stop riding the Rally-Monkey's ass, its chafing. No one is saying that the Angels are a bad team. I REPEAT. No one is saying that the Angels are a bad team. rcade put it best:
A good beat reporter observes the game and shares the insight that results from his observations. No one would want to read a game story that was a dull recitation of the box score.
We all know that you are an Angels fan, and we encourage you to be an active supporter and commentor in threads about the Angels. But it gets tiresome when over half of your posts/comments say little more than "Angels Rule", "Dodgers Suck", "The A's Suck", "This reporter/news source/columnist sucks for doing anything less than fellating the Angels". You don't have to be a fanatic to be a fan. And I can give you an example. I know that fellow SpoFite Ufez is a Mavs fan. He doesn't go out of his way to post links that are tenuously related to the Mavs, nor does he pretend that the Mavs are perfect. At times he has been critical of the Mavs. See his
anti-Shaq trade column here. In short tommy, you don't always need to go to 11.
I think all of these comments have merit. I think some of nemo's comments have merit; but some not a lot. For example, how do you know I'm an Angel fan; where did I ever say that the Dodgers suck or the A's suck or the reporter sucks for not doing that bad thing on the Angels? (All of the Angels? at the same time?). Seriously, I do appreciate your comments, nemo. They were instructionally critical but not vicious personal attacks, I think.
But realistically if your job is for the hometown paper and your ripping ass on the home team, how long do you think youd have your job? How many news papers actually own teams? Next thing you know congress will begin hearings on bias in the news media.
Next thing you know congress will begin hearings on bias in the news media. Vol, interesting you'd say that. I'm not a reporter but I do sit on the Credibility Panel for a major newspaper and analyze news coverage for bias. Many major newspapers in the country are going through a self analysis to eliminate any bias in news reporting. Part of the reason is because of declining circulation but part is to prevent what I hope is not your profetic statement.
how do you know I'm an Angel fan Somewhere around the 3,000th Angels-related post, light dawned on Marblehead for us.
Geez, I don't know... Dodgers suck? A's Suck? Sure you don't use the word "suck" but we all get your point. I'm still interested to hear your take on the assesment of Cabrera's play last night and how your opinion weighs in the matter.
Well as long as we're on a whos "sucks" rant lets not count out the Cub's. They do too.
In addition to not understanding the distinction between beat reporting, features and columns (and granted that some editors don't crack the whip on their writers' coloring within the lines)...some of y'all apparently are having trouble with the distinction between "opinion" and "bias". Just sayin'.
Like Joe Morgan is biased against any pitcher who doesn't throw "a cutter" or "a slide-piece" ? c'mon google show me some love...
But realistically if your job is for the hometown paper and your ripping ass on the home team, how long do you think youd have your job? Quite a while if your readers buy your reasoning. Her in Los Angeles Bill Plashke of the Los Angeles Times makes his living by ripping on Kobe, the Lakers, and the Dodgers. I'm pretty sure that if you open up a paper in Anytown, U.S.A. you're bound to find a beat reporter, or columnist riffing on the idiot manager, the selfish player, the loud-mouth agent or something of the like. Its the nature of the beast.
The single qualification for being a beat writer for a major sport at the Boston Globe seemed to be hating the team for a good deal of the 90s. It's still true in hockey, basketball and football and each of those guys has parlayed their bile into additional media deals both locally and nationally. The goal is to get noticed and then get on the gravy train of radio and tv. Some of the Boston Herald writers now say they would give up their position at that sinking ship before they'd give up the local media dollars.
Somewhere around the 3,000th Angels-related post, light dawned on Marblehead for us. OK, fatma, since you're my hero, I'm going to use your approach: Prove, or provide source for, this fact.
I don't know what about these?
I'm still interested to hear your take on the assesment of Cabrera's play last night and how your opinion weighs in the matter goldie, I think the Official Scorkeeper made the correct decision on Cabrera's play. I don't know what you mean by "how your opinion weighs in the matter".
I think YukonGold is referring to this:
Opinion: Cabrera's misplayed Swisher's ground ball allowing Payton to score from third. Fact: Cabrera momentarily bobbled Swisher's ground ball allowing Payton to score from third.
The difference between "misplayed" and "momentarily bobbled" is flimsy at best. If Cabrera fields the ball cleanly, the odds of Payton scoring from third decrease. Your basis for arguing bias in the media is built upon value judgement. What you somehow do not see is how your interpretation is biased in that you are unwilling to assign blame to the Angels, and yet simultaneously unwilling to credit the A's. Thats bias. Which is interesting, considering that is the charge you are levelling at others.
I have worked as both a sports reporter and a news reporter. I can tell you that any sports reporter who continually filed stories in a "facts only" style would be reassigned to the obits. Sports reporters have always been analysts. Maybe a few had a very dry style, but the best sports reporters have always spent more time on "why" than "how."
nemo, thanks for your comments. I apparently am not making myself clear. I'll try again. My opinion is that there is bias in sports news reporting. By "bias" I mean any reporting which includes: opinion , view , sentiment , feeling , belief , conviction , persuasion, anything other than facts. An opinion is a "judgment based on grounds insufficient to rule out the possibility of dispute". [The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language - Fourth Edition] I made up the opinion/fact examples I gave. The only reason I used A's and Angels' players in the examples is because the article I referenced is about the A's Angels game. I agree with you that my premise is biased but the examples have nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not I am an Angel fan.
My opinion is that you're beating the world's tiniest dead horse. Leave that little feller alone. Also, the "whether or not I am an Angels fan" thing is odd. Admit you're an Angels homer the way I'm a Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers homer, so people can call you on situations where your love of a team might be coloring your judgment.
Understood. Bias:
2a. A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment. b. An unfair act or policy stemming from prejudice.
It is possible for a reporter to have an opinion and still be impartial. If you're looking for reporting devoid of:opinion , view , sentiment , feeling , belief , conviction , or persuasion than perhaps DrJohnEvans is right, you need to stick to the boxscores. Or invest in a cyborg reporter.
**NEWSFLASH** There is bias, as you refer to it mr. sands, in every type of reporting. Either real or perceived, you can find bias in damn near anything written or spoken from the media. Many refer to this as punditry (almost sure thats a real word), others bias, and yet others OPINION.
How do we spin K-Rod's brainfart today?
Admit you're an Angels homer rcade, you want me to admit I'm an Angel fan after what happened today?? OK, I'll admit it, but reluctantly...so there. Now everyone can beat me up... How do we spin K-Rod's brainfart today? fatma, I've never seen this happen before in the bigs so I haven't the faintest.
How do we spin K-Rod's brainfart today? A gift. Manna from God. A sign that He wants the Oakland Athletics in first place.
Naw, I don't think we should beat you up. Look, I'm a complete homer for every major pro team in the New England area. I'm just realistic about what's my opinion on this site. Otherwise I'd go nuts with people who don't understand why it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a Yankee fan to get into heaven. It's all about penance and suffering. On the other hand, that might be the Irish Catholic New Englander fatalist in me.
I'm a complete homer for every major pro team in the New England area Oh my, oh my. While I'm in the confessional, I might as well come all the way clean. I'm a proud, card carring, charter member of the Myron Cope Terrible Towl Club (MCTTC for short.) My Sundays during the fall are spent in front of the TV waving the towl for the old black and gold. We may not be able to communicate here about our favorite teams at all this fall, and for one of us, into the brutal cold of early February.
The only New England teams that I'm a homer for are the Pats and the Suns. yerfatma can keep the rest of 'em. (I'm a pretty big Pats homer, though...funny story, because I work weekends in the winter at a place that sees a lot of New Yorkers, and yes, I wear my Pats hat to work on game days)
