Comments on: NFL spokesperson: ‘It’s… a content issue’

By: Steve Safran

Steve Safran — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 01:54:13 +0000

Allen: I didn’t take it as a slight. I’m as baffled as you by the sheep-like following that still continues.

By: Allen

Allen — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 23:36:58 +0000

Steve,

You have been on top of this issue. I meant no slight to this fine site.

But I know last season I searched for articles about the tv ban on a daily basis and there wasn’t a lot said about the tv sideline ban. There were a few exceptions with some excellent articles, but what always got me was how NFL spokesman Greg Aiello was never really questioned by the writers because they didn’t fully understand the situation. Anyway, that issue is over and now we are on to this.

By: TheDetroitChannel

TheDetroitChannel — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:38:14 +0000

and why wouldn’t/couldn’t “newspaper sites have the enriched content we could”???

last i looked newspaper’s web channels are doin a darn good job on video. many actually believe that news, sports and weather don’t take the weekends off.

By: TheDetroitChannel

TheDetroitChannel — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:35:12 +0000

i’m still trying to figure what he meant by “the hard questions asked there” which kinda makes me agree with safran on this one point. (yikes! and you thought we never agreed on anything!)

By: Safran

Safran — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:20:59 +0000

We’ve been outraged by the NFL’s attitude toward websites for years. We raised the flag again last year when they enacted still more onerous regulations on coverage. But mostly what we hear back is “So what? What’s the difference if you get footage from the NFL or from your cameraman?” I’m afraid the public doesn’t care, and after thinking about that for a long time, I came up with why:

We’re to blame - too many years of rah-rah coverage and not enough critical reporting have turned the media into an extension of the NFL PR machine. So I can understand the public’s indifference.

Still, Local TV News needs to stop feeding the NFL’s ego. We have to stop following these teams like sick puppies, begging for scraps from their tables, for a TV audience of whom only 20% care about sports.

The change has already happened, and the NFL has made the call. Take those resources in your sports department and make your sports reporters journalists who cover sports news.

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:05:33 +0000

From the Post story…As the Internet becomes a premier source for video reports, teams are increasingly competing with the news media’s Web sites for viewers and advertisers.

TV and Newspaer with web outlets need to decide if Football is their partner or competitor. Football is not the only game in town and it may behoove a media outlet to say to the local Football team: “give us a call when you make the SuperBowl.”

By: Allen

Allen — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:48:52 +0000

It’s interesting to see more coverage about this now that the policy is affecting newspapers and their web sites as well as television. Where was the outrage when the tv sideline ban went into effect last season? I was hard pressed to find many articles about it.