New Cincy coach criticizes Enquirer, others, for not staffing Big East media day

I thought while reading this "Wow! I want to work there! There is some hope for the industry!"

And then I read the second line and exhaled deeply. Oh well.

 

I did the exact same thing

 

I am not Brian. I do know how he works.

I am not Brian. I don’t work for him and I don’t work for that paper’s competition.

That said I have covered Brian a lot. I have covered him in detail and I can tell you that he is blunt, honest and I have never had him duck literally hundreds of questions. I applaud him for this. I don’t think he should have called out a previous coach, but that is Brian.

I am proud of what I do, but it is a really beef with me when the people in our profession use budget or vacations as excuses to do the right thing.

I respect a guy that can dish it out straight and take it back.

 

Here's what Kelly's missing: papers everywhere are cutting back on travel, so why should this be different? Anybody seen the attendance at Cincy games recently? Enquirer had a correspondent there, had the same amount of copy they'd have had with a beat writer there. This came on the day the Post announced it was officially done, so I can't imagine he has a real gripe with that paper.

Big East media day is his biggest opportunity for exposure for his program, and he uses that platform to ... rail against the lack of coverage in his local paper. And the railings were unsolicited, I can assure you ...

 

Well, if the Enquirer doesn't bother busting its butt to cover Ohio State, then it certainly isn't going to kill itself for UC. I mean, this wasn't exactly like the Raleigh paper saying it no longer had the budget to cover Duke basketball. Or the Indianapolis Star saying it wasn't putting a beat writer on Purdue.

 

If you actually knew Brian personally and had an informed opinion of who he really is and what he's really all about, you wouldn't say that.

 

In a previous life, I covered Bearcat football for two years for the Enquirer. Interest then was minimal, both among the students and the alumni, and nearly 30 years later I have yet to discern much progress on the apathy front. (I did see the goalposts torn down once, after an upset of Wisconsin, and the administration was thrilled because it indicated someone actually cared. It was, it turned out, a phase.)
Antagonizing the one media outlet that has historically shown the most interest in the program is an interesting tactic, and probably a low-risk proposition. Unlike myopic, self-important coaches, the Enquirer has to strive to be above petty payback. It is obliged to take the high road.
That said, if Kelly thinks he's going to embarrass a Gannett paper into spending more money on discretionary travel, I wish him well. And would advise him to pack a lunch.

 

Yeah. in a perfect world the Enquirer staffs this thing. But SEs work with budgets, and if skipping this media day means sending a reporter on the road for a big college baseball series (stop laughing, please), or to an Olympic Trials where a local is competing, then hire a stringer for the media day. Don't know who they lined up, but there are some pretty darn good stringers out there (really), better than staffers in some instances.

As for the coach, I can't wait until be blows a big fourth-down on a potential game-winning drive. Enquirer: "Maybe if Kelly had spent more time in July designing plays than criticizing the news media for skipping Media Day, the 'Cats wouldn't have lost four yards on that fourth-and-1.''

 

I would argue that as many people in Cincinnati care about Kentucky as they do about Ohio State. I mean, when I was at UK, I remember the Enquirer having a UK beat writer, yet NO Ohio State writer.

 

How did the Enquirer blow it big time? I assume it was the editors weighed the pros and cons and decided against it for budgetary reasons or whatever.

You can disagree but I hardly think that is blowing it.

Also, I think we in the media put way too much stock in these canned interviews. They feed you these sound bites and you eat them up, dutifully report some boring story and think you've done your job.

 

not if you're good