Yappi
Go Buckeyes
I talked to a prolific reporter a couple months ago about coverage of HS sports. The thing that struck me was that he was going to cover a local girls basketball game because he would likely be the only reporter there. On the flip side, he had an opportunity to cover a very popular boys basketball game on the same night and decided not to go to it because there would be 30 other reporters* covering the game.
The treatment he would receive from the two different venues was completely different. At the girls game, they were excited to have him and treated him very well. At the boys game, he would be jammed into a small space and asking for any favors would usually cause him problems.
Now to my own personal story, I typically do previews for football, boys and girls basketball, baseball, and softball. It takes alot of time and energy and there is no monetary benefit. I enjoy doing them and reading the information that the coaches provide. Recently, I was working on the softball previews and I received messages back from several of the coaches thanking me for doing the previews and bringing awareness to the game. That is the type of feedback that makes me want to cover schools/sports more whether they are state champions or they don't win a game.
For the other sports, I occasionally get a thank you but it is fairly rare. While football is the most popular sport on here, it is also the most difficult. I have received two complaints from coaches that they refused to participate. Both were from schools that have a small following on here but not in the top 50. The one complaint was something that was said in one of the posts about an assistant coach. The post was removed quickly but the fact that it was said at all was too much for this school. The other complaint was nothing specific but didn't like that people could post negative things (ex. pass defense is weak) while "hiding" behind a screen name. He would not participate in the football previews until the site stopped allowing anonymous posting. I know that the internet has changed drastically and some younger people do not value anonymity, but there are still plenty that rely on it. It allows for more free flow of information. The Bishop Sycamore story is a good example.
I thought this could be an interesting topic to discuss in the offseason. Where do you think coverage of HS is going? Is it a good direction? Bad direction? More of the same? Or just different?
The treatment he would receive from the two different venues was completely different. At the girls game, they were excited to have him and treated him very well. At the boys game, he would be jammed into a small space and asking for any favors would usually cause him problems.
Now to my own personal story, I typically do previews for football, boys and girls basketball, baseball, and softball. It takes alot of time and energy and there is no monetary benefit. I enjoy doing them and reading the information that the coaches provide. Recently, I was working on the softball previews and I received messages back from several of the coaches thanking me for doing the previews and bringing awareness to the game. That is the type of feedback that makes me want to cover schools/sports more whether they are state champions or they don't win a game.
For the other sports, I occasionally get a thank you but it is fairly rare. While football is the most popular sport on here, it is also the most difficult. I have received two complaints from coaches that they refused to participate. Both were from schools that have a small following on here but not in the top 50. The one complaint was something that was said in one of the posts about an assistant coach. The post was removed quickly but the fact that it was said at all was too much for this school. The other complaint was nothing specific but didn't like that people could post negative things (ex. pass defense is weak) while "hiding" behind a screen name. He would not participate in the football previews until the site stopped allowing anonymous posting. I know that the internet has changed drastically and some younger people do not value anonymity, but there are still plenty that rely on it. It allows for more free flow of information. The Bishop Sycamore story is a good example.
I thought this could be an interesting topic to discuss in the offseason. Where do you think coverage of HS is going? Is it a good direction? Bad direction? More of the same? Or just different?