The Sports Media: "Spinning" Out of Control
The media obviously plays a crucial role in professional sports. Teams are covered by writers and reporters from all across the country and the world, as fans clamour for as much news as they can find on their favorite franchises. However, the media is in it for themselves, too. Make no mistake about it, there is almost as much money in properly covering the right franchise as there is in owning it.
But what if that franchise is not doing anything overly worthy of coverage? What is the media machine to do then? Well, that's what I'm here to discuss today.
The media is all about spinning stories to get the most out of them. If you look at the Todd Bertuzzi situation in Vancouver (which inspired me to write this column), you'll see a prime example. When Vancouver was a sinking ship ten games ago, it was all about the horrible play of Bertuzzi and his megastar linemate Markus Naslund. Now that the team is back on the upswing, they're being led by the "rejuvenated" Todd Bertuzzi - whose seven points in his last five games is by no means fantastic, but it sure makes for a good story when you've been painting him as the biggest disappointment in the NHL since October.
To further the situation with Bertuzzi, the media has the Steve Moore excuse. "Oh he's playing terrible because of the stuff with Steve Moore," they'll say. Well, how about no, he's not. If you look at Bertuzzi's production over the past five seasons, he was only over a point-a-game twice - coincidentally during the two best years Markus Naslund has had in the NHL. Before Steve Moore ever entered his life, Bertuzzi was on a pace of .869 points-per-game. This year he's on a pace of .864, which is right about where he was before his two great seasons from 2001-2003. But that doesn't make a good story, and personal struggle does. Ergo, Bertuzzi's production must be down due to the Steve Moore incident, and not because the stats suggest 2001-2003 was an anamoly. Stats are boring, a career ruined by a violent on-ice attack is not.
That's not enough evidence? Look no further than Toronto if you want to see media spin. Mikael Tellqvist has a couple of bad games and all of a sudden there are cries that the goalie of the future must come via free agency - with very little mention of the fact that Tellqvist had been forced to watch a faltering Ed Belfour from the bench all season, with almost no game work to keep himself sharp. Yet when he's thrown into the fire of a playoff race, and does not play well behind a team that is constantly hanging him out to dry, it's entirely his fault? The reality is that it's not, but now the Toronto media has a great story in J.S. Aubin, who has played well in his two starts. If Tellqvist comes back and looks strong before the year is out, the questions of "why didn't he play more this year?" will return, just as they did during Belfour's struggles this season. It's all about what the best way to manipulate a story is, no matter what the cirumstances actually dictate at the time.
Another example is in Calgary, where arguably the best team in the West can't win because they don't have a "number one" centre and Daymond Langkow is a bust. Again, spun in such a fashion that people forget that the team has the best defense corps and goaltending in the league, and also give up the second fewest goals-against per game. Not to mention Langkow's figuring to have his second-best season as an NHLer, a point seldom noted. Yet in the postseason, when Calgary wins games 2-1 and grinds out success with great goaltending and defense, there will be no mention of a lack of scoring, but rather how the team was "built for the playoffs".
The Sens have goaltending woes and an injury bug that won't go away, but have actually played better in 2006 without Hasek between the pipes and with a pile of kids filling in than they did when they had their 'A' lineup. The Habs are fighting for their playoff lives and it's an up-hill battle, despite the fact that they are closer to moving up than they are to moving down. The Oilers "keep getting better players, but never get any better" according to one media outlet, and yet their goals-for is way up this year and they are on pace to surpass their 89-point output of 2003-2004.
Yet you only hear about all the Sens' problems, Montreal's playoff struggle, and the Oilers not living up to their potential. No positives are mentioned up front, because those positives will seem that much more heroic in two weeks time when those teams get hot.
"Sometimes you're flush and sometimes you're bust, and when you're up, it's never as good as it seems, and when you're down, you never think you'll be up again, but life goes on," said Fred Jung to his son George in the film Blow. He was talking about going bankrupt in that particular instance, but his words are very much applicable to life in the sports media. When a team is flush, it's never as good as it seems, but the media is going to do everything it can to make it seem pretty great. When a team is bust, those same guys in the media are going to make it seem like no team has ever played so bad before. It's all in the name of a "good story", be it the one planned to go to the presses on that day, or one to be penned in a month's time when a team's fortunes have changed. And make no mistake about it, the pen is the mightiest tool in the industry. The Opinion Blog of Matthew Ryder
But what if that franchise is not doing anything overly worthy of coverage? What is the media machine to do then? Well, that's what I'm here to discuss today.
The media is all about spinning stories to get the most out of them. If you look at the Todd Bertuzzi situation in Vancouver (which inspired me to write this column), you'll see a prime example. When Vancouver was a sinking ship ten games ago, it was all about the horrible play of Bertuzzi and his megastar linemate Markus Naslund. Now that the team is back on the upswing, they're being led by the "rejuvenated" Todd Bertuzzi - whose seven points in his last five games is by no means fantastic, but it sure makes for a good story when you've been painting him as the biggest disappointment in the NHL since October.
To further the situation with Bertuzzi, the media has the Steve Moore excuse. "Oh he's playing terrible because of the stuff with Steve Moore," they'll say. Well, how about no, he's not. If you look at Bertuzzi's production over the past five seasons, he was only over a point-a-game twice - coincidentally during the two best years Markus Naslund has had in the NHL. Before Steve Moore ever entered his life, Bertuzzi was on a pace of .869 points-per-game. This year he's on a pace of .864, which is right about where he was before his two great seasons from 2001-2003. But that doesn't make a good story, and personal struggle does. Ergo, Bertuzzi's production must be down due to the Steve Moore incident, and not because the stats suggest 2001-2003 was an anamoly. Stats are boring, a career ruined by a violent on-ice attack is not.
That's not enough evidence? Look no further than Toronto if you want to see media spin. Mikael Tellqvist has a couple of bad games and all of a sudden there are cries that the goalie of the future must come via free agency - with very little mention of the fact that Tellqvist had been forced to watch a faltering Ed Belfour from the bench all season, with almost no game work to keep himself sharp. Yet when he's thrown into the fire of a playoff race, and does not play well behind a team that is constantly hanging him out to dry, it's entirely his fault? The reality is that it's not, but now the Toronto media has a great story in J.S. Aubin, who has played well in his two starts. If Tellqvist comes back and looks strong before the year is out, the questions of "why didn't he play more this year?" will return, just as they did during Belfour's struggles this season. It's all about what the best way to manipulate a story is, no matter what the cirumstances actually dictate at the time.
Another example is in Calgary, where arguably the best team in the West can't win because they don't have a "number one" centre and Daymond Langkow is a bust. Again, spun in such a fashion that people forget that the team has the best defense corps and goaltending in the league, and also give up the second fewest goals-against per game. Not to mention Langkow's figuring to have his second-best season as an NHLer, a point seldom noted. Yet in the postseason, when Calgary wins games 2-1 and grinds out success with great goaltending and defense, there will be no mention of a lack of scoring, but rather how the team was "built for the playoffs".
The Sens have goaltending woes and an injury bug that won't go away, but have actually played better in 2006 without Hasek between the pipes and with a pile of kids filling in than they did when they had their 'A' lineup. The Habs are fighting for their playoff lives and it's an up-hill battle, despite the fact that they are closer to moving up than they are to moving down. The Oilers "keep getting better players, but never get any better" according to one media outlet, and yet their goals-for is way up this year and they are on pace to surpass their 89-point output of 2003-2004.
Yet you only hear about all the Sens' problems, Montreal's playoff struggle, and the Oilers not living up to their potential. No positives are mentioned up front, because those positives will seem that much more heroic in two weeks time when those teams get hot.
"Sometimes you're flush and sometimes you're bust, and when you're up, it's never as good as it seems, and when you're down, you never think you'll be up again, but life goes on," said Fred Jung to his son George in the film Blow. He was talking about going bankrupt in that particular instance, but his words are very much applicable to life in the sports media. When a team is flush, it's never as good as it seems, but the media is going to do everything it can to make it seem pretty great. When a team is bust, those same guys in the media are going to make it seem like no team has ever played so bad before. It's all in the name of a "good story", be it the one planned to go to the presses on that day, or one to be penned in a month's time when a team's fortunes have changed. And make no mistake about it, the pen is the mightiest tool in the industry. The Opinion Blog of Matthew Ryder
posted by Matthew Ryder at 5:46 AM
1 Comments:
that article was radical.
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