As I anticipated, I have come under attack for my remarks on the sports coverage offered by the Joplin Daily. I will amend my remarks to say that the coverage is obviously better than that provided by the Joplin Globe, which is not saying much.
It is when I notice that the games from the smaller Joplin high schools are being covered by Daily staff sportswriters while most of the other Joplin R-8 coverage, other than high school varsity (I repeat, most) is "from staff reports."
I stand by my suggestion that more in-person coverage (and not just photos) of some of these sports, along with less in-person coverage and more "from staff reports" on the private schools, and even MSSU and Ozark Christian College, would benefit the paper in the long run. Those schools should all be covered and some in-person coverage should definitely take place, but the bread-and-butter of a Joplin-only newspaper should be the largest school in this town and the one to which taxpayer money is going.
One of the sports people from the Daily was quick to point out that six wrestling pictures were featured in the Sunday print edition. I haven't seen Sunday's paper. As I noted in my post yesterday, I have yet to receive one of the free papers.
And uhfortunately for the Daily, I am far from being alone in that regard.
16 comments:
We all know you're not getting free papers. Aren't you always writing about media organizations not being lazy and going after stuff - COME ON! CALL SOMEONE ALREADY! They're a new paper with a small staff. Get over it and actually do something instead of whining about it every day.
I actually have gone out and picked up copies of the first three editions. My points has simply been, and I believe most people have understood that, that the Daily promoted itself by saying it was going to deliver free Sunday newspapers to point people in the direction of the website. There are apparently large areas of the city, smack in the center of town that have not received newspapers for any of the first four weeks. Those people are not going to be headed toward the Daily's website and they are certainly not going to drive somewhere to pick up a copy as I have done. I have already told people with the Daily that I have not received a paper, mainly so they would know that an area of town is not receiving it. I did this twice. Nothing changed. Considering some of the e-mail I have received from people associated with the Daily, it is apparent that some of them are a bit thin-skinned. On the whole, the things I have written about the Daily have been far more positive than negative. I doubt seriously that is going to change, considering some of the hard news and feature items that have been appearing on the website over the past several days. The Daily has been producing some excellent copy and is beginning to pound the Globe on some big Joplin stories. My criticisms, whether you agree with them or not, are my opinions, and simply that, but they are based on the experience of someone with more weekly newspaper experience than those on the Daily and the Herald combined.
My apologies for the grammatical error in the post above. It should read "My point has simply been."
If you want copies of the first four print editions of the Joplin Daily you can pick them up in my neighbor's driveway.
Randy aren't you a school teacher?
Shouldn't you be teaching instead of writing on your blog all day? Does the R-8 support this kind of activity?
Oh, come on. Everyone, even school teachers, has a few minutes now and then to post a quick response. Plus, I assume Randy gets a lunch period.
Randy, you can have my edition of the Daily, it is still at the end of my driveway.
So in Randy's world,the McAuley HS football team isn't worthy of coverage because it's not tax supported?
Randy, it's been four weeks. You've even said yourself The Daily's got a small staff. They're still finding their way to games that have never seen actual media coverage before outside of school newspapers, and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts even the school papers don't give JV sports that much coverage. Sure, they could probably schedule their appearances better and spread the coverage out a little, but again, it's only been four bloody weeks. They're still providing better local coverage on sports than anywhere else, including local cable access, which is still airing debates about whether to floridate the city's water supply. Congratulations on one result that's come of this little flare up, though: Even the coaches are sticking up for the paper, that's got to be a first.
First off, my last response was written during my lunch hour. I do not blog during my class periods. And the person who took that cheap shot knows that. I very seldom blog at all during my lunch hours or even my planning periods. Second, I have no problem with coverage of McAuley, Thomas Jefferson or College Heights, but you start with the taxpayer-supported facilities and move outward (or at least I would). That is simply a matter of numbers and simple economics. More people have children who attend the Joplin R-8 schools than all of the other schools combined. I don't say that because I work for the Joplin R-8 School District. I say it because it makes common sense. When there is a big story, such as McAuley making the state football playoffs, you ride that story, but otherwise you follow the basic principle I outlined above.
As for the small staff, while that is true, remember that is a decision made by Liberty Group Publishing. That company actually owns more newspapers than Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI), which owns the Joplin Globe and was recently purchased for a reported $700 million by Fortress. Despite their decline in recent years, newspapers still consistently turn a profit, only it hasn't been enough of a profit to satisfy stockholders and readers have been the ones who have suffered. The managers at Liberty are the ones who decide how big the staff can be. I thoroughly expect the Daily to succeed and it apparently is already developing something of a loyal following among those who have been introduced to it.
Finally, if you have not noticed, the time at the bottom of these postings is approximately two hours off. The two postings I made earlier actually came at 12:37 and 12:38 p.m. My lunch break today was from 12:16 to 12:44.
How do you justify being on at 1:40? Maybe this is why America is falling behind the rest of world when it comes to education.
Let me explain this slowly so you can understand. The clock on this blog is two hours off. Therefore, the post was made at 3:40 p.m. My students do receive a good education. Where in the world, if I may ask, did you receive yours?
let's all get along, shall we?
sunshine! orange juice! happy yet?
Good.
I wonder if former award winnign teachers turned newspaper reporters with a critical blog about teachers and their classroom performances would do as well as this site run by a former award winning jounalist turned school teacher with a critical blog about reporters and area newspapers performances?
Back on the subject, though, I haven't seen "The Joplin Daily" print edition, either. I sure would like to.
I wonder: Could they afford news stands at some central location, even if the paper is free.
It would be a lot easier to get a copy if you knew you could get one at Convenience Store X without having to call about it.
I live out of town and pick up my copy every Sunday at Northpark Mall.
Post a Comment