Quick parent rant

[Chi City 81]

I'm seriously going through heck.... we put out a special section on each sports season... fall, winter, spring and today my editor asked me to write a story on the pep/marching band to include in the section.... I about pissed myself...

Might want to think about updating your resume and cutting bait.

 

[Flash]

What in the ever-lovin' world convinced the dorks in the band they were a sport? Jesus, it's like real-life revenge of the nerds.

 

[expendable]

I'm seriously going through heck.... we put out a special section on each sports season... fall, winter, spring and today my editor asked me to write a story on the pep/marching band to include in the section.... I about pissed myself...

The next story should be about the guys cutting the fields. Some communities they're people working off community service hours. I bet they "work just as hard" too.

 

[Chi City 81]

I'm seriously going through heck.... we put out a special section on each sports season... fall, winter, spring and today my editor asked me to write a story on the pep/marching band to include in the section.... I about pissed myself...

The next story should be about the guys cutting the fields. Some communities they're people working off community service hours. I bet they "work just as hard" too.

I was going through the archives at my first paper several years back and, I shirt you not, there was a feature on the groundskeeper. I actually recall it being a popular story at the school, FWIW.

 

[expendable]

I'm seriously going through heck.... we put out a special section on each sports season... fall, winter, spring and today my editor asked me to write a story on the pep/marching band to include in the section.... I about pissed myself...

The next story should be about the guys cutting the fields. Some communities they're people working off community service hours. I bet they "work just as hard" too.

I was going through the archives at my first paper several years back and, I shirt you not, there was a feature on the groundskeeper. I actually recall it being a popular story at the school, FWIW.

Kidding aside, it sounds like it would make for a great feature. Either that, or he'll tell you his life story about how he ran across the country six times "thinkin' aobut Jenny."

 

[Crimson Tide]

I did a feature on a baseball walk-on at UA who will probably never play again due to injury. He just happened to be a groundskeeper as a way of staying close to the team and his teammates.

So, technically, I have not featured a full-time, salaried groundskeeper.

 

[slappy4428]

I'm seriously going through heck.... we put out a special section on each sports season... fall, winter, spring and today my editor asked me to write a story on the pep/marching band to include in the section.... I about pissed myself...

The next story should be about the guys cutting the fields. Some communities they're people working off community service hours. I bet they "work just as hard" too.

I was going through the archives at my first paper several years back and, I shirt you not, there was a feature on the groundskeeper. I actually recall it being a popular story at the school, FWIW.

Kidding aside, it sounds like it would make for a great feature. Either that, or he'll tell you his life story about how he ran across the country six times "thinkin' aobut Jenny."

That's "Juh-nay"

 

[patchs]

The band people in my burg don't expect sports to cover them.
No, they expect A1 coverage, and we give it to them. And even then, it's not enough.
My boss is sick of band parents calling in to bench.
They're crying because the fast food joints didn't put up: "Good luck Podunk High Band at states."
But they did put up "Good luck Podunk football."
It's pure jealousy.
And if the team advances in states, and gets more attention, they'll cry even more.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

These band people b_tching at newspapers really, really need to STFU.

Like some others on this board, I marched in high school ... even did the marching and pep thing in college. Time of my life.

Yes, it requires some skill and dedication. If someone thinks it's newsworthy, that's great. I'll be the first to admit, it was frustrating as heck not to get any financial backing for some trips in high school - though we did a great exchange with a school about an hour's drive from Toronto my senior year - and my university kept taking and taking and never giving anything back.

But for people to demand news coverage and/or a story? Insane. And for the editors to pressure someone to write something on them just because they're tired of taking the b_tchy calls/e-mail/word of mouth is cowardly.

 

[Oggiedoggie]

These band people b_tching at newspapers really, really need to STFU.

But for people to demand news coverage and/or a story? Insane. And for the editors to pressure someone to write something on them just because they're tired of taking the b_tchy calls/e-mail/word of mouth is cowardly.

Damn straight! I think they've got marching band blogs for that sort of thing.

I say write what the heck you want about the sports you want to cover. Let the damn readers get what they want from where ever off the Internet.

When there are no readers, newspapers can get back to what is important: pure journalism.

 

[DesertKnight]

New to the thread and playing catch up a bit, but thought I'd share a method I used for stopping all the "Why wasn't my kid's team in the paper" complaints we use to get.

After having had my fill of them over a five-year stint with my first paper, I started publishing a list of teams that had not reported their game info in the rail at the left of our lead page. And when a reader was really persistent, I'd say, "Yeah, we really wanted to run that but the coach never reported it. Why don't you give the Athletic Director a call?" give them the AD's phone number and let him sort it out.