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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Is 2 lines in the Herald enough coverage?

In what should have been  a great article about a 7th straight win for Bruno Yizek and his team, came out to be a 2 line last second insert in the Calgary Herald. I mean YES, it is news coverage but come on.....

If anyone ever wonders why the growth of this sport remains somewhat limited it is because of articles like this. When in the world will a wheelchair based sport, curling or not, get the recognition it so basically deserves no offense to anyone.Is it not about time that wheelchair sport be raised to an equal plateform as that of other sports? Should the accomplishments of those who work no less harderthan other athletes no get a mention on such a great accomplishment more than 2 lines at the bottom of an atricle.

No offense to the writer; it really is not about him. Honestly!!!

It is about what society think is news worthy. How sad is it when a writer is some what forced based on readerships to make only a last second mention. I mean good for him for putting it in but why could the  Herald not step up an make this a top of the line article?

The article in the Herald was the last two lines which read:

" . . . Calgary's Bruno Yizek won the Alberta wheelchair title on Saturday in Edmonton to advance to the Canadian wheelchair championship March 18 to 25 in Thunder Bay, Ont."

Read the original article (last 2 lines at): http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Curling+takes+cake+over+birthday+party/6033762/story.html#ixzz1kV6zNMtN

Well Bruno, We congratulate you once again on not only winning but winning for the 7th straight time!!! I invite everyone to share your comments on this because I think we are very close to the most abysmal placement article on our sport I have seen in a very long time.

10 comments:

Curling Guy said...

In Al's defence he was on a deadline when I sent him the result. I wasn't able to send him more info because Twitter chose that moment to go on hiatus and I was also busy filling out paperwork. However, I hope the story gets more coverage soon.

Andy Jones - Team Yizek coach

Wholesale Printing said...

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Eric Eales said...

Participants in the sport, athletes, coaches and administrators need to take personal responsibility for getting publicity.

It is possible to get articles in the paper, especially local papers where they can be very helpful in building participation. We proved that in Kelowna when I was curling, but it did mean hand feeding the press with material.

If I was associated with a team expecting to make news at a forthcoming event, I would have a press release already written and needing only actual results and a sentence or two of game action needing to be added perhaps before distribution.

I would also have contacted the local news outlet, describing the newsworthiness of the coming event, and promising usable copy. That may even inspire them to send their own reporter.

Publicity does not occur by accident. Norm Gervais, mentoring his Sudbury team and at the same time publicising his wheelchair service company, is a shining present example of what can be done.

Andy Jones, by his own admission, did a poor job on behalf of his team, if indeed it had been his responsibility to publicise their success. He relied on Twitter rather than email, and chose administrative paperwork rather than getting the word out.

If my memory serves me, in the years I wrote a wheelchair curling blog, only Bruce Cameron, Laughie Rutt and Ernie Comerford made a consistent effort to publicise the sport in their area.

In publicity you reap what you sow.

Curling Guy said...

Thanks for letting me know that this is all my fault Eric. It may surprise you to find out that coaches do more than just head to the ice for time-outs. we have a laundry list of jobs and those jobs are increased with a wheelchair team. One of the obligations of the winning team is to fill out a large volume of paperwork from the governing body (Alberta Curling Federation) so that we can attend the next level. I guess I should have skipped this step to send an email to the newspaper. Now I know.

Chris Daw said...

I want to make this clear. The intent of this article was not to point fingers at any one!

The fault lies not on the coach nor does it fall on writer fully. I believe to a small degree with Eric’s comment that some work prior to an event needs to be done by the TEAM; but look at the word team not coach.

However, and more to the point; to report on an accomplishment is not that of the TEAM is that of the reporter who was there and if they could not stay till the end then sources ; LOTS of source are available to find out the results like this blog. Twitter was also reporting the results so there is no excuse.

Take this blog for an example; we sourced out, phoned in, and much more in order to get the coverage we thought the event deserved. But again; we have a readership that WANTS and to a degree NEEDS to hear what is going on. So in defense (just a little) of a writer ( I actually respect); if he does not have the s the readership to his column for this type of story than how can he place the accomplishment on a larger scale.

What I am saying here folks, in a more general since is this; we as persons of interest in this sport need to lobby and provide better coverage but we also need everyone else involved to support the structure which we are trying to build and endorse that so we get the coverage we deserve. This has been a major issue in media for some time. You don’t see the standings in papers of the NWBA teams (wheelchair basketball) do we? We need to move out of special interest or special event coverage and into prime time.

The better question now is…How do we get media to believe that we are more than a feel good story and the real deal worth prime time coverage?

Thoughts anyone?

Anonymous said...

Like it or not, this is not the NHL, or even for that matter, Brier or Scotties playdowns. Coaches are busy with coaching, not public relations.

Reporters are inherently lazy, and will not work a story without recognizable large following.

This is WHY Team Canada helps by raising the profile of the game generally. Identifiable players in international events at least generates some interest since the following is national, rather than provincial

Such are the realities.

Mark W said...

Thank for clearing that up Chris! You are correct that we as w/c athletes have to find a way off the feel good pages of News story to the Sports page. We need to get the coverage but we also have to be professional about the way we do it. In the past a informational page to spark interest sent to all media days before the event happens , include Blog and twitter sites and a phone number so questions can be answered. Make it as easy as possible and you will get coverage ,it may take time but it will happen. If holding a press conference have a some food and refreshments if you expect a professional to come to your event treat them well and it always will be in your favor. Its tough but if all we have is family and friends watching us at the rink then what does a reporter ' think ' of the sport. They need information given to them in a positive and respectful manner to get a good report.

Eric Eales said...

It was Chris' disappointment at the paucity of coverage of Team Yizek that was at issue here, not the coach's. Yes it's unfair to blame the coach for lack of coverage when he may not have thought it important, or indeed his responsibility to provide the newspaper with information.

However, blaming Twitter when we have cellphones and email is pretty weak. Paperwork is predictable, so is contacting media. I have no idea if Andy's responsibilities included getting word out, but if they did, perhaps the team ought to discuss ways of ensuring it happens. If they care, that is.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't Team Canada carry a media liason along with their coaches, team leaders, equipment managers and all?

Eric Eales said...

Team Canada's media liason is coach Wendy Morgan, and she has at various times made commitments, never kept, to issue news about the team.

The last time I asked her whether it might be a good idea if Team Canada had a media liason, she replied it was her job, but she didn't have time.

No one on Team Canada invites scrutiny, or is paid to care about publicity. Their only purpose is to keep their head down and win medals, and by so doing continue to earn their wages and stipends.

That works as long as the team keeps winning. It also explains why winning medals is the be all and end all of their existence, and excuses the rule stretching and scandals of the past.