Team photos

[2underpar]

Again, nobody likes to run these things. I personally don't like to run a ton of 10k results either. But we have a page (or four columns) devoted to these things that runs once a week. On it, we run a couple of submitted team photos, a photo package of youth league or golf tournament or something like that, and an occassional feature on a bowler or a rodeo guy, etc.. We also run our sports calendar on it.
We have guidelines -- like IDs required, etc. My agate/part-timer does the page in less than two hours.
I'd love to tell everyone no, but the higher-ups decided it was a good thing. So we do it.
The photos are first-come, first-serve.
It all depends on your market and your bosses. It's easier for me to bite the bullet on this issue than to fight city hall. I'd rather wage my wars on something more meaningful in the long run.
I can see a time in the near future when we'll put them on the web in a gallery and be done with it.

 

[Trey Beamon]

Here, we're forced to run ALL submitted photos, regardless of quality (publisher's orders). Maybe I should start sending those resumes...

 

[sportsed]

An update on our team photo policy:

We put in an announcement Tuesday that we were seeking area results from the Iowa Games. In the announcement was this message: WE WILL NOT PUBLISH INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM PHOTOS. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Woman calls in today, wanting to run a photo of her son's basketball team: "Can you make an exception for these boys? It would mean so much to them." The negative answer was not to her liking.

Also, 10-11 Little League team advances to state. We're doing a story wrapping up who is playing where this weekend. Coach says, "Can I submit a photo to go with the story?" Answer: No.

Come into the office this morning, in the e-mail is a team photo from the guy with this note: "You don't realize what an accomplishment this is for the community."

Is there any chance at all that you don't realize what an accomplishment it is for the community?

 

[zeke12]

No.
It's 10-11 year olds.
Ad chances are, someon goes every year, or every other year.

Trust me, no one cares.

 

[shotglass]

I've got absolutely no qualms with keeping team photos out of anyone's section. In fact, any photo with more than 4-5 people in it.

But I also kind of see this from the way Henry presented it, and I always have. We seem to take delicious delight in slapping away the "offending" parents. Hey, do it, but understand you're pissing off a reader too.

And 11-year-olds "rolling out the ball" is considered a major sporting event in some small towns.

 

[JBHawkEye]

An update on our team photo policy:

We put in an announcement Tuesday that we were seeking area results from the Iowa Games. In the announcement was this message: WE WILL NOT PUBLISH INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM PHOTOS. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Woman calls in today, wanting to run a photo of her son's basketball team: "Can you make an exception for these boys? It would mean so much to them." The negative answer was not to her liking.

Also, 10-11 Little League team advances to state. We're doing a story wrapping up who is playing where this weekend. Coach says, "Can I submit a photo to go with the story?" Answer: No.

Come into the office this morning, in the e-mail is a team photo from the guy with this note: "You don't realize what an accomplishment this is for the community."

Is there any chance at all that you don't realize what an accomplishment it is for the community?

We're a community of 30,000. We've had Little League teams make it to the state tournament every year I've been here (it's not hard, the district for the younger age groups isn't very competitive). Some have moved on to regionals. Last year a Junior League team made it one step from the World Series. None of them got team photos in the paper. Almost all were grateful for the coverage they received.

No, it's not an accomplishment for the community. The only accomplishment this community cares about is saving 160 jobs at the local factory, or drawing in new industries.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

At my last stop we had this girls' basketball team called the Beautiful Christian All-Stars. Every weekend they'd be in some AAU tourney and every week they'd turn in a photo. I think it got to the point where we held the photos for a week or so and then ran them, even though more photos had come in. The coach just couldn't get a clue.

At my paper now we run everything people send in...I think. I've never really done anything with youth sports as far as that goes, so I could be way off base.

 

[shotglass]

No, it's not an accomplishment for the community. The only accomplishment this community cares about is saving 160 jobs at the local factory, or drawing in new industries.

How enlightened.  :

"Why yes, Monsignor ... I know sports are unimportant ... of course I've wasted my career..."

 

[TrooperBari]

And toi answer some one's question about why not just run it all to make everyone happy -- because even at the smallest papers, over 90 percent of your readers NEVER care. You can't say that about almost anything else, even the dullest of AP stories. People might care. An American takes the lead at the Tour de France? i might care.
Little Jiimmy wins Novice C swim event? If I ain't related to little Jimmy, I plain don't give a flying fork.

Dead freaking on.

I've had people complain about a lack of college baseball, NASCAR and snowmobiling in our paper, but a lack of Little League, ASA or Babe Ruth coverage? Not so much.

 

[Batman]

At our 15,000-daily we run them no bigger than 2x3 in the events calendar twice a week and only when we have the space. Small newshole? Sorry Jimmy, wait till next week. We also try to limit them to league champions, or first or second in a major state tournament. We have a good relationship with most of the coaches on our tournament teams and they'll wait until the end of the summer to send us a picture.
Plus, the way I figure it, they have some positives:
A) We don't have bosses telling us to be friendly and take the pictures ourselves
B) It's better and easier than putting together an 8-inch story on the Mid-state regional qualifying subsection Class D tournament because it "was such a big accomplishment and would mean so much to the kids." Just run the picture, the team name, and be done with it.
C) It actually does mean a lot to the kids. In theory, their grandparents and parents are buying an extra copy or two of the paper for relatives out of town or for scrapbooks.
D) On the days we run the pictures, we usually have big sections. It's a handy piece of secondary art on an inside page

 

[slappy4428]

then I got the line, "Well, that's the way it was done before." I'm sure it was, but I'm the new SE in town, and I'm setting some standards in these here parts.

Always makes you wonder who preceded you, doesnt it...

 

[zeke12]

Exactly my thoughts, Batman.

I'm going to kill two birds: Run it so the kids parents can cut it out, and use it to break up some grey-ass agate.

And if it's a standing deal, and people get used to it being there, it'll be ok.

And I'll probably still go out front for the state champions.