It dawned on me that I took over this beat about a year ago. What a year it has been!
This season has been better than last in so many ways. Mostly because coming in mid season is tough. But I think my writing is better, which hopefully makes those 1-0 defeats easier to stomach the next day.
Covering the Defenders is fun. Whether it is getting to know the guys as more than baseball players or being around baseball nearly every day for five months, you can't beat it.
Being as competitive as I am, I would like to see better media coverage of the team. I know some outlets are only interested in the Defenders fans' dollars but don't want to return the interest in the team with coverage. I'm also a little fed up with disingenuous responses to why the Defenders don't deserve this or that. Maybe it's that the team knows there are some who view them as second-class citizens. I don't want the Norwich Bulletin to be a follower in the "Who Gave up on the Defenders first" race. It's much nicer making the case for why they shouldn't be ignored; never mind they are a newsworthy element in the community.
That's part of what hurts them. We have plenty of media outlets from Hartford to New Haven on East who ignore them. I understand the TV stations can't get out here regularly. Maybe twice a month would be nice.
The point is that if the media doesn't feel the team deserves coverage, than why should those who watch/listen/read from those outlets believe the Defenders are worth their while.
I had a peer recently ask me why the Bulletin and I continue to cover the Defenders because they are "bad." I would simply say: why bother ever showing up if your not going to make a consistent effort?
There are two other papers within a short distance of Dodd Stadium besides the Bulletin. One shows up every full moon and the other hasn't been down once.
I'll cut one paper some slack, they are very small and don't have a particularly large staff. The other? They're bigger than the Bulletin and just turn a blind eye.
It's time the local media wakes up and realize they have a role in how the Defenders' future plays out.
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6 comments:
Good post Joe. The lack of media coverage has bothered me also. The franchise could certainly use the publicity that would result from greater media interest. Fans might even discover that Dodd is a nice place to watch a game.
ditto
Joe, you know I like you and I refer to your blog from time to time for valuable info. But, I think we show up more than 'once in a full moon', don't you?
As a baseball fan -- not as a beat writer -- why are there millions of excuses for why you guys aren't there regularly? You have a larger staff than we do and there are as many people in your neck of the woods who care about the team. But even for home games are given re-writes of press releases instead of in-person insight.
This isn't that you and everyone who has come out to games has done a bad job. Quite the opposite. But part of the team's lack of appeal is the media's lack of interest in the team. That burden falls no greater than on our papers.
Owen,
I have no idea who you are or what media outlet you represent, but if I recall my astrology, a full moon occurs monthly, or five times during a minor league season. I doubt that you make an appearance more then an average of twice a month. Yeah, its more then once a full moon, but it's still the kind of lethargy that is killing the Norwich franchise.
Do you even care whether or not the Norwich franchise survives, or even if the EL continues to exist? Does your employer? My guess is you would rather stay home in front of the idiot box and get wrapped up in all the redundant Yankee/Red Sox crapola rather then spend a night at Dodd
watching up and coming talant perform live and in person.
This franchise needs to generate enthusiasm, and who better then the print media to get the ball rolling? Lou DiBella has finally put together a staff that knows and understands baseball, but they need more then a year to be successful. They have made a difference this season, in case you haven't noticed. But a positive influence, such as yourself (and you too Joe), can only be a beneficial to the long term health of the franchise.
Well, the gauntlet has been tossed. Admittedly, my understanding of the media is very limited. Reply to whatever extent you feel necessary. Feel free to join me in Section 11 prior to a game if you want to chastise me verbally or simply talk about the problem. But above all,consider using the influence of your outlet to give the Defs some badly needed oxygen.
Hondo--Owen is with the New London Day.
And I remember when the New London Day used to put out a weekly pull out called the Gator Guide with stats, pics, additional stories not found in the "regular paper, etc. Those days are long gone.
The Day used to provide free promotional items back in the day but now all they do is hand out free newspapers once in a while.
The Day had a player blog (D-Mac) and a manager Blog (Dave Mac) last year and with 5 weeks left in this season just got Garrett on board with a blog (what took so long?).
The Day offers no other additional on-line content.
The Day game recaps of Defenders games are often buried in a catch-all recap section lumped in with high school, college sports. Sometimes box scores are not even provided.
The Day's coverage of the team pales in comparison to the Bulletin and I'm a Day subscriber.
Owen, I sent an email to your Mike D. about the poor coverage of the team years ago and he agreed with me that the Day coverage is subpar.
Owen feel free to contact me at
gfogg@ct.metrocast.net
if you'd like to discuss further
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