Bluefield_Rules 46 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 In reading many of the postgame stories on the local teams I've found the BDT is allowing the radio crews to write the summaries instead of an actual writer/reporter/etc. That's all well and good, but I've also found these stories are extremely short and most of the time have no quotes from players or coaches. What's that about? I can understand for out-of-the-area road games, but they're doing the same for home games. Come on! They need to spend more time on local sports. I, and 99% of others, read the BDT for local sports coverage. Leave the rest to ESPN b/c by the time you print something everyone read the same story on ESPN hours ago. Okay, rant over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaverborn 10 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 I noticed that also. That "newspaper" and I use the term very loosely, is a joke to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoard 18 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 In reading many of the postgame stories on the local teams I've found the BDT is allowing the radio crews to write the summaries instead of an actual writer/reporter/etc. That's all well and good, but I've also found these stories are extremely short and most of the time have no quotes from players or coaches. What's that about? I can understand for out-of-the-area road games, but they're doing the same for home games. Come on! They need to spend more time on local sports. I, and 99% of others, read the BDT for local sports coverage. Leave the rest to ESPN b/c by the time you print something everyone read the same story on ESPN hours ago. Okay, rant over. Agreed. Small town newspapers are stupid for providing anything more than token coverage of national sports. The BDT has sucked for as long as I can remember. I wonder how soon it will be before a newspaper shuts down its print edition and goes to a 100% online edition? BTW, whatever happened to John Carson (I think that's his name, he was from NJ and spent some time in GA before becoming sports editor of the BDT)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frito gonzales 103 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 I agree 100%....plus the lack of coverage of middle school and rec athletics is horrible. I've lived in other areas and all the newspapers had much better sports coverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 They, like every newspaper in the country, are spread too thin. The BDT has a HUGE coverage area, and a staff of what... about three writers? They depend on stringers (including radio guys who write) for a lot of what they cover. Newspapers are shutting down all over the country and the day is coming when 100% of our local sports coverage will be online. And 99% of that will be in the form of "Citizen Journalism". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VHSLhelper 571 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 another problem is the early deadline they have to get the paper set, printed, and on the road by 4 am. Also, the radio guys can't be on the sideline at the end of the game to talk to the coach or players because he's a half-mile away. By the time he'd get down there, the coach is usually gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 (edited) That's a good point. I'm not exactly sure what their deadline is, but the window from end of game to deadline is small. When I shoot for the BHC they need pictures at halftime. Edited November 7, 2009 by BigD4VT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMoney55 11 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 The BDT is a joke, especially the sports section. From the favoritism toward certain teams, the not-so-obvious bashing of certain teams, the incorrect stats, the wrong names, the horrible photography...I don't even know where to begin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrb 26 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 (edited) Big D don't you do the sports photos for BDT. Just Joking. Edited November 7, 2009 by mrb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 Yeah, meant to type "BHC". I fixed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefield_Rules 46 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 It's all about effort. I'm fully aware of all the deadline, etc. the paper faces. However, they were able to provide appropriate and well deserved coverage of local athletes in years gone by facing the same issues. The local sports paper should serve the local community first and foremost before anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 In years gone by they sold newspapers and could afford the appropriate amount of staff to provide coverage. You call them lazy but I see them busting their butts on the sidelines every week. They're simply spread too thin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81Snowbowl30 10 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 I agree 100%....plus the lack of coverage of middle school and rec athletics is horrible. I've lived in other areas and all the newspapers had much better sports coverage. I live in Wytheville and they have one sports writer. I have been writing the varstiy baseball stories for about 6 years and have done the basketball games for two years. I was also asked to do the football game last night. The Wytheville Enterprise is down to two prints per week so the deadlines are usually workable. This paper prints just the local sports and has decent rec coverage. The reason I enjoy doing this is because it means so much to the kids. I made the paper a couple of times growing up and it was pretty cool to see my name and picture every once in a while. If it weren't for the local paper write ups, our kids wouldn't have anything for their scrap books. When i coached rec football and basketball, I also put together team highlight DVDs (my wife recorded all the games) and I gave the DVD out to all the kids on the team at the end of the year. I have also made a couple of highlight DVDs for George Wythe football. A coach asked me to do one a couple of years ago so that they could watch it on the way to a play off game against Gate City. Sometimes these memories are all the kids have of their time in sports. To me, it makes it 100 times worth it. That is why I have so much respect for what BigD4VT does. His pictures are great and they might be the only pictures some of these kids end up having of their sports career. If anyone gets an opportunity to be a stringer for any youth or high school sports, it can be very rewarding. I can't tell you how many times people in the community have approached me to thank me for doing the articles. I am not a professional by any means, but I do get as many kids' names in the articies as possible and try to make them feel good about what they accomplished in the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81Snowbowl30 10 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 In years gone by they sold newspapers and could afford the appropriate amount of staff to provide coverage. You call them lazy but I see them busting their butts on the sidelines every week. They're simply spread too thin. Exactly! I failed to mention that the one sports writer that the Wytheville paper has is responsible for all sports for all three Wythe County High schools. If it weren't for the help he gets from the stringers, it would be impossible to keep up this coverage. I can promise you he is not doing this for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 Same situation with the Richlands News-Press and Clinch Valley News. There is one sports editor/writer providing 100% of the sports coverage for both papers. It's impossible for him to cover everything and he only has two schools. The BDT has at least six counties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefield_Rules 46 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 In years gone by they sold newspapers and could afford the appropriate amount of staff to provide coverage. You call them lazy but I see them busting their butts on the sidelines every week. They're simply spread too thin. Then it's time to re-examine policies and practices. Cutting back and reducing the local sports coverage isn't the way to go about trying to rekindle sells of your newspaper. Other areas are facing the same issues from deadlines to large coverage areas, but still manage to do an adequate job of covering the local sports scene. It's all about priorities and understanding how to connect with your readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 Lol, there is no rekindling of sales. They're just trying to stay afloat. hundreds of papers all over the country have closed their doors for good in the past couple of years, and many others have cut back from daily to 2-3 times per week. Some have gone online only. Thousands of writers and photographers have been let go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefield_Rules 46 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 Lol, there is no rekindling of sales. They're just trying to stay afloat. hundreds of papers all over the country have closed their doors for good in the past couple of years, and many others have cut back from daily to 2-3 times per week. Some have gone online only. Thousands of writers and photographers have been let go. I'm fully aware of what's taking place across the country with regard to print newspaper. I've said my peace and stated my opinion on the topic; it won't change. The BDT needs to re-think its sports coverage and give more print to local teams, leaving the rest to the professionals at ESPN, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokie07 11 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 I haven't read a print edition of the BDT in I don't know how long. When I subscribed, there wasn't much in it worth reading, IF it even arrived at my doorstep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoard 18 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 Does anyone know what a stringer makes nowadays for covering a Friday night high school game? Do they get paid by the hour or by the story? I used to do it years ago when I was in college and it was better than working in retail or food service, plus I got into games for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHS71 10 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 The papers today rely on the coaches to call in results. What happened to the writters who used to actually get out and work to get their stories!?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 About $25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 It's all about effort. I'm fully aware of all the deadline, etc. the paper faces. However, they were able to provide appropriate and well deserved coverage of local athletes in years gone by facing the same issues. The local sports paper should serve the local community first and foremost before anything else. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EH31 2,532 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 did they not do a story on big creeks last game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD4VT 11 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 Newspapers, not just the BDT but all of them, are doing everything they can afford to do. They will continue to do everything they can afford to do until they can no longer afford to do anything at all. Then they will be gone... Take a look at these sites - http://www.rivals.com http://www.highschoolsports.net http://www.twitter.com Those site (or others like them) are the future for local sports coverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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