ECU and news coverage
Some East Carolina football fans, justifiably proud of their school for winning back-to-back games against ranked opponents, squawked that the Sunday Sports section didn't herald the team's achievement loudly enough. A quick e-mail sample:
You would think when a college football team in your state pulls off one of the biggest back-to-back upsets in the history of this state (North Carolina) that a newspaper for a city of 250,000 would plaster the headlines with the story. Not the Greensboro News & Record.
Last week's sports headline after the Va. Tech win was a front page story on N.C. A&T beating a nobody. Then you would figure when it happens again, surely ECU would be plastered all over the front page. NO NO! ECU had a small caption in the top left side of the front page. What gives?
True. ECU is big football news and the team is now ranked #14. No slight was intended.
But the school is 160 miles away from Greensboro, and the two stories on each Sunday that got greater play had much more interest locally. A&T's victory snapped a 27-game losing streak. And on Sunday, the front-page package was about the NFL season kickoff and the Panthers' prospects.
Passionate sports fans make political junkies look like pink-cheeked freshmen when it comes to scrutinizing newspaper coverage. When they feel passionate about a school, they let us know about any slights they see in our coverage. That's good. We like passionate people reading the paper.
As ECU continues to win through the season, we'll pay more attention to them. But Vince Lombardi to the contrary, winning isn't the only thing. Proximity to the bulk of the newspaper's readers helps.
Comments (6)
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What happen to the Troublemaker blog - it is by invite only now. Do you have contact information on how to receive an invitation?
Posted on September 9, 2008 11:59 AM
I am the wrong person to ask that. Maybe a reader knows how to help Froggie?
Posted on September 9, 2008 12:06 PM
why no comments for the "Carla Bagley RIP" post?
Posted on September 9, 2008 4:52 PM
My sad experience is that people, particularly anonymous commenters, tend to leave mean-spirited comments on such posts.
Posted on September 9, 2008 5:51 PM
My sad experience is that people, particularly those in charge, tend to be mean-spirited and take a heavy hand with their subordinates.
In the past you have posted other staff and former staff RIPs with the comments enabled. Some comments even posted anonymously.
Perhaps there is another reason you don't allow comments on Ms. Bagley's death. Besides, what's the big deal? If you don't like the comment, you have the power to delete it.
Posted on September 10, 2008 8:45 AM
So true. But I've learned things along the way.
Posted on September 10, 2008 8:50 AM