Oklahoma student newspaper does basic reporting, gets media session canceled

[Alma]

I've said what I've said. Again: You can do it once as a student journalist. Anybody else isn't doing it because, if you'd like to work that beat, pulling a pair of binoculars and going to the fifth floor of a building isn't how professionals generally do things unless there's malfeasance/ethical violations to uncover.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

I've said what I've said. Again: You can do it once as a student journalist. Anybody else isn't doing it because, if you'd like to work that beat, pulling a pair of binoculars and going to the fifth floor of a building isn't how professionals do things.

LOL

Gueas you have @ChrisLong on ignore.

 

[Twirling Time]

Wait a cotton pickin' minute.

Where were the beat writers on this story? Lesson 1 of CFB 101 is you take roll at practice.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Eh. This is the kind of stunt you do once, and you'd better do it for reasons bigger than which QB is taking No. 1 reps. (If a team is practicing four hours or something.)

"Availability" = interviews. Those are nice to have when it's the No. 3 team in the nation.

I'm not sure what Lincoln Riley accomplishes by punishing everyone else. It's not like the regular beat media is monitoring what the OU Daily is doing.

One more thing: Is the "public building" a parking garage? An academic hall? With binoculars? Really? The OU kids had to live up to the most laughable stereotype of what media will do?

I'm not sure I understand your critiques here. If you're covering a top-5 D-I football team and you are a student writer, the clock is ticking (you're not gonna be there forever building contacts and relationships that will pay off with a bigger scoop) and there's no bigger reason than a QB controversy. And by being peers with the athletes, these kids probably have sources the rest of the press corps does not, which opens up the possibility for stories like these. We can argue/agree all day long that the importance of OU football is overblown, but the resourcefulness of these kids should be lauded and will hopefully motivate them to continue pushing back once they're out in the "real world."

Plus, play stupid games, win stupid prizes. As noted earlier, this would be a non-story if Lincoln Riley wasn't an asshole. Hopefully the kids pushing back raises their profiles and yields them a faster track in this godforesaken profession. Reminds me of last year, when the Yankees and/or their Triple-A affiliate exploited the pandemic by not allowing writers on the premises to cover the alternate site. The local beat writer watched the entire season from an overpass across the street and ended up as the subject of feature stories while making appearances on WFAN. All that could have been avoided if the Yankees had just opened up the forking press box to Scranton's one beat writer.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Kid did a great job and someone should, but won't, hire him. This is an ethical issue compared to Schefter? Gimme a forkin' break.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Kid did a great job and someone should, but won't, hire him. This is an ethical issue compared to Schefter? Gimme a forkin' break.

In a business growing younger by the day, the only way these kids don't get decent postgrad gigs out of this is if they are smart enough to do something else with their lives. Do it, kids. Do something else.

 

[PaperClip529]

In a business growing younger by the day, the only way these kids don't get decent postgrad gigs out of this is if they are smart enough to do something else with their lives. Do it, kids. Do something else.

I don't buy the first part of your argument at all. The kids did something that they likely will not be able to replicate at their first post-college gig (the spying on practice part, not the calling the parents part). It was smart and they should be applauded for executing this plan, but I am very skeptical that this is going to open a bunch of doors.

 

[WriteThinking]

I've said what I've said. Again: You can do it once as a student journalist. Anybody else isn't doing it because, if you'd like to work that beat, pulling a pair of binoculars and going to the fifth floor of a building isn't how professionals generally do things unless there's malfeasance/ethical violations to uncover.

If those professionals got beaten by those college reporters with the news, you can bet they heard about it.

 

[Twirling Time]

In a business growing younger by the day, the only way these kids don't get decent postgrad gigs out of this is if they are smart enough to do something else with their lives. Do it, kids. Do something else.

The business is growing younger by the day while readership is growing older by the day. Market No. 6, we have a problem.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Didn't Alma see The Front Page? Didn't you Paper Clip? The kid got the story. How he did it doesn't matter unless he broke a law or injured someone in some way. That didn't happen. Just good old resourceful shoe leather reporting.

 

[Alma]

If those professionals got beaten by those college reporters with the news, you can bet they heard about it.

you think the editors at the World and Oklahoman expected their writers to go with binoculars over to an academic building?

 

[Alma]

Didn't Alma see The Front Page? Didn't you Paper Clip? The kid got the story. How he did it doesn't matter unless he broke a law or injured someone in some way. That didn't happen. Just good old resourceful shoe leather reporting.

Yep. Got the story. Never said they didn't. You can do the ol binoculars thing once as a student journalist. They used it.