I&#..."/> I&#..."/>
Ball Durham
Fansided

Costas Then…

By robmurray

facebooktwitterreddit
I’m going to go a little off script here and forget about the Duke Blue Devils for a moment (Forgive me). I just got done watching the Costa Now special about the media & sports. If you missed it, Little Bob had a segment about sports blogs that featured Will Leitch of Deadspin fame, Buzz Bissinger (all you need to know is he’s old and wrote Friday Night Lights a crappy book about high school football) and Cleveland WR, Braylon Edwards.
I’m going to go a little off script here and forget about the Duke Blue Devils for a moment (Forgive me). I just got done watching the Costa Now special about the media & sports. If you missed it, Little Bob had a segment about sports blogs that featured Will Leitch of Deadspin fame, Buzz Bissinger (all you need to know is he’s old and wrote Friday Night Lights a crappy book about high school football) and Cleveland WR, Braylon Edwards. /

In short, Buzz went off on Will, ripping him and blogs because they are all vile and vulgar. Of course he did this in a vile and vulgar way, but what the hey. Costas of course, doesn’t like blogs either, so it was a fun night.

Let’s do some quick hits to help these journalist understand what blogs are really about.

– For the most part, Buzz proceeded to read comments from the comments section of Deadspin, while Bob quoted a different writer on Deadspin. If you guys are such great journalist, shouldn’t you at least force Will to defend a a post that Will actually wrote? Guess who did that at least? Braylon Edwards. Good for him.

– Hey old guys…blogging is not journalism! It’s blogging. It is opinion, it’s gossip, it’s good, it’s even great sometimes…some blogs are bad, some really suck. When people (like myself) go to blogs, it’s just fans wanting to hear what other fans have to say. Personally, I avoid the comments section. If you don’t start you’re own blog, who cares what you got to say.

– The one thing I learned was that these guys just don’t get it. They don’t understand how this media works. Newspapers aren’t going the way of the dinosaur because of blogs. It’s not being replace by Deadspin, it’s being replaced with the Internet (as a whole). I don’t get the NY Times, because I can find it online. I don’t need a sports section, when I have ESPN, CNNSI, YAHOO SPORTS, CBS SPORTS, ETC., all online with hundreds of articles and writers between them. I don’t read box scores in my local paper because I can find it the night before online. Hell, I can get it on my cell phone.
– The one thing I learned was that these guys just don’t get it. They don’t understand how this media works. Newspapers aren’t going the way of the dinosaur because of blogs. It’s not being replace by Deadspin, it’s being replaced with the Internet (as a whole). I don’t get the NY Times, because I can find it online. I don’t need a sports section, when I have ESPN, CNNSI, YAHOO SPORTS, CBS SPORTS, ETC., all online with hundreds of articles and writers between them. I don’t read box scores in my local paper because I can find it the night before online. Hell, I can get it on my cell phone. /

– I find it shocking that these old men are so scared of blogs, a media that has about a 1% success rate. Do you know how many blogs are started each year? Millions and just about all of them will never last more than six months on the Web.

– No, blogs (and news radio) are not making fans nastier (like Tom Izzo says). Fans have been douche bags since they first paid a nickel to watch a game. Thanks to the Internet, we just hear more from them.

– If Blogs are a threat to anyone, it’s Sports Talk Radio. Who wants to listen to two old guys ramble four three hours when I can sit in front of my computer and click on two dozen blogs. Radio (like TV) needs ratings and one way to get ratings is to be controversial. Blogs are no different. We rely on hits and one solid post, or one controversial, funny or angry posting can deliver a small blog thousands of hits.

– The greatest thing missed by all these guys is the simple fact that, blogging helps open up the world of journalism to the average fan. A person like me would never read Jason Whitlock, if it wasn’t for the links I get from blogs likes this one. Look, it’s a blog linking to a real journalist, ripping news radio. I think Doc Brown would call this a paradox. Did I really just reference Back the the Future? Talk about a douche.

– Lastly, the beauty of blogs are…there are millions of them. If you don’t like one, don’t read it. I personally don’t read Deadspin too much anymore. It’s Gawker for sports; a little too snarky for my taste.. I tend to read The Big Lead (among others) because it best resembles an old school sports section; facts, opinion, fun, gossip and links.
– Lastly, the beauty of blogs are…there are millions of them. If you don’t like one, don’t read it. I personally don’t read Deadspin too much anymore. It’s Gawker for sports; a little too snarky for my taste.. I tend to read The Big Lead (among others) because it best resembles an old school sports section; facts, opinion, fun, gossip and links. /

These old school journalist will be happier once they learn these simple, little facts. I get it, you got a degree forty years ago, you started off in a small local paper and you worked your way up to be where you are today. I get it. Stop assuming we all live in our basement and stop assuming every 22-year-old kid who starts a blog with a clever name is a threat to your media. I work in television and I’m good at what I do. I went to college and worked by ass off to get where I am today. However, I don’t feel threatened when the millions of people produce and edit their own stuff on You Tube

*** Update: Buzz gives an interview to a blog no less.***

Home/Duke Blue Devils News