NY Daily News writer takes a different approach with his Mets lead

Analyze is one thing.

"blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...they suck." is another. You don't say that. You quote somebody else saying that.

We are the storytellers. Not the story ... Truer words have never been printed here.

 

This argument assumes that there's no room to have an opinion based on experience and expertise AND not be a homer, and it's an argument I reject.

Just like anything else in this business, there's a right way and a wrong way to do things.

 

Period. Ever.

Middle ground.

Hmm....

 

A good suggestion was made between the lines above: Let someone else say it.

This is an example, I think, where the reporter would have served himself and his readers well by getting out of the press box. Writing the blah, blah lede is somewhat clever, yes, but it's really a cop-out.

A better approach would be this: do some reporting.

Instead of sitting in the press box bashing the team, spend innings 4 through 7 in the bleachers with some fans. Find the right person to be the voice in your story. Maybe it's a kid at his first game, or a guy who's stuck with the Mets for 40+ years and just hates having to start giving up on them this early in the season.

If you're not going to write about how the pitcher pitched, it's not like you need to be in the press box counting pitches. Get out of the chair. Get out with the fans. The other folks in the press box have nothing to say of use in your story.

The cure for writing is usually reporting.

 

Not for nothing, but this is near impossible for most beat writers, and definitely impossible for a beat writer working for a NY paper on east coast deadlines.
It's fine for someone writing a side bar, or even a column. But the beat writer? Sure, in between tweeting and blogging and radio appearances, they'll find time to plop down in the bleachers with the fans. It's not going to happen, even during day games.

 

Have you been an MLB beat writer? Do you hustle like this for every game?

 

An earnest suggestion, but in this case, completely impractical for the writer we're talking about.

 

Sounds like someone who doesn't understand what a beat writer has to go through on a daily basis.

 

Who here reads the Daily News on a regular basis? Compared to some news stories, this gamer was pretty balanced.

 

There's nothing that brings out the naysayers here more than the suggestion that someone do something more or something different. (Sensibly different, not just different for the sake of being different.)

Except maybe for the retorts in the three-in-one job postings down in Dixie.

 

i believe SOME beat writers should be given the latitude to go against the grain and 'old-time' rules many of us grew up with. now, i do not know anything about this daily news beat writer, other than he looks and sounds like he's a teenager on tv and, as far as i know, has not covered the mets or mlb for a very long time. in fact, i'd bet it's a fairly short time.

in which case, if i was running the ship, he would not be among my reporters i'd give that latitude -- mainly because i don't think someone of his inexperience has built up enough of a trust level with the readers nor with the team to do him any favors.

i'd be sort of like a manager or coach who understands not every player need to ruled with the same hand. yes, beat writers deserve to have the latitude to go with the sort of think this kid tried out (i stilll say it was too early to trot this out there; a more seasoned writer would've known it was better to be aved for later), just not ALL beat writers deserve it.

and now that these same mets have won three straight with some strong hitting and pitching, what does the kid have up his sleeve next? blah blah blah never mind?

you write the definitive, 'this team sucks piece' you'd best be darn sure it's gonna suck the rest of the season (for the most part). the kid may have boxed himself into a corner, wrecking his credibility -- the quality that is most important to us, or should be -- and risking the label of 'front-runner,' just about the harshest label there is.

 

Oh, yes, tweeting. One certainly has to be in the press box to do that. (end sarcasm.) Ever hear of a mobile phone?

Are you seriously suggesting that a beat reporter can't get out of the press box to sit in the stands for a couple of innings to DO SOME REPORTING? I've done it many times. Find the kid whose father stayed up all night because his son was making his major league debut, and sit with him for an inning. Sit with the bleacher bums for an inning. Sit in the alcohol-free section for an inning. There are a lot of good stories out there, even on deadline, even for a beat reporter, even in the age of Twitter.

By the way, for the record, he tweeted during the game: "Starting to rain pretty steadily now." And "It seems the Mets do not realize that Wandy Rodriguez stinks."

That's pretty powerful stuff, and can certainly be sent from anywhere in the stadium. More to the point, I'm not suggesting leaving your seat for an entire game. But you can go do some reporting for three innings. Or two. Or even just one. Being in the press box to hear the in-box announcement, "480 feet on an 0-2 pitch, Reyes's second of the season" is not that crucial.