RIP Rudy Martzke

Many daily sports sections were doing new, next-level stuff.

But USA TODAY, and The National ... that was something else altogether. A sports junkie's dream every morning. And for me, anyway, I can't say that anyone's online product matches those print editions for presentation.

 

Well, not EVERY morning. They were five-days-a-week publications.

 

At the start, The National was six days a week, Sunday through Friday. Sunday was axed around the end of 1990, after college football season, I believe. Distribution was a real problem as Dow Jones drivers had to work an extra day.

 

Getting Caught Up with Retired USA Today
Sports Media Columnist Rudy Martzke

Some good tales in here. This one about a Famous Asshole stands out ...

You covered colorful personalities in their heydays; Brent Musburger, Al Michaels, Dick Vitale, John Madden, Howard Cosell and others. Despite their wealth and glittering successes, many didn’t take well to critical comments in your column. Who of the visible broadcasters was most difficult for you to cover?

ABC’s Howard Cosell. As big of a name as he was, Howard had the thinnest skin of any announcer I covered. Examples:

Following my first review of ABC’s Kentucky Derby telecast in 1983, ABC PR man Irv Brodsky called to provide a Cosell complaint. As a wordsmith himself, Cosell didn’t like my praise of long-time commentator Jack Whitaker on the show. According to Howard, ‘’Therefore, you know nothing about television,’’ was relayed to me.

I told Brodsky I’d like to meet Howard in New York, and he’d find out I’m an okay guy. Irv said, I’ll try to work on it.’’ The next Friday Irv called and said, ‘’Now you’ve done it. You’ll never get to meet Howard.’’ I said I didn’t even write about Cosell in my column that day. Brodsky said that I had noted research that showed that CBS’ Monday Night Football radio team of Jack Buck and Hank Stram had an audience of 7 million. Added Brodsky: ‘’Howard says that means 7 million people are turning down the sound on his ABC Monday Night Football telecast." Of course not. The radio listeners mainly were in cars and trucks.

I eventually got to meet Howard. Our relationship eventually grew, following the bumpy initial meeting. It was in Milwaukee as he was leaving the TV booth he had shared with Al Michaels and newcomer Earl Weaver at a Brewers’ game in 1983. I introduced myself to Howard and wondered what he thought of Weaver’s first telecast. Cosell stopped, looked at me and blurted, ‘’I have the highest respect for Earl Weaver,” then added “none for you.” He then walked away with two bodyguards, one a woman. She turned back and sneered at me. Not a good time.

 

Heck yes. He was fantastic.

 

It's interesting to hear all the positive reminiscing about USAT --- and for statistical presentation, it was grand --- for I remember back in the day a lot of journalists cringing at it. "No depth!" "It's all templated!!!" "Eight-inch front page stories with no jumps (except the CP)?!? Who would work there!?!"

 

I was thinking the same thing. When I went away to college, I was guilted into no longer reading the USA Today b/c my friends at the school paper all thought it was beneath us. Now of course a newspaper with heft, even of the shallow variety, is something to be nostalgic about.

 

I always liked the packaging and shorter reads of USA Today, especially when we're now bombarded 24/7 with news and information from all directions. As Al Neuharth said, (paraphrasing here): "Plenty of newspaper readers want just enough vital information to hold their ground in conversations at a tonight's cocktail party." ... Once, as a lark but also because the opportunity presented itself that night, I did a five-story Metro front without jumps. It was great fun when I saw that it was possible.

These days we deal with a lot of stories of 30 inches and more in which half of the text is a writer's own analysis and speculations. Especially in sports, but also in news. And I'm not a fan of that, especially if the writer is bloviating and of average talent. It's also a pretty good lesson in why much of the public increasingly thinks newspapers are biased.

Report the news, accurately and straightforward. A little analysis, maybe. Or maybe not.
We used to clearly label analysis and speculation as ANALYSIS and COMMENTARY. Not so much anymore.

And thus ends this screed.

 

When I was an outside salesman, always leaned toward grabbing lunch or a breakfast biscuit and coffee at ChikFilA because I knew I could snag the sports section of USA Today and read it without having to buy one.

 

Back in the day, the college football logs, where they published the schedules and results of all the D1 football schools was must reading before filling out my college bowl pool. No other way to figure out how good the teams in the second-tier bowl games were.

 

At the risk of more threadjack, Cosell may be the only person not connected with the Masters who didn't like Javk Whitaker.

 

Thanks for sharing. Not surprised.