I didn't chime in on Chris W's Buzz Bissinger vs. Will Leitch post from last week because I hadn't yet seen the "Costas Now" segment in question. Today, I was at a friend's place who had DVRed it, so I decided to see what all the hullabaloo was about. (Is it on Youtube? Well, shit. Evidently I'm too stupid to realize that until... now.)
Anyways, all I can say is: barf.
Regardless of which side of the argument you personally find more appealing, it would be hard to disagree that Bissinger's performance and execution was flat out disastrous. I'm not talking about what he had to say- I'm just talking about how he said it. Despite obviously having spent a significant amount of time getting ready for the segment (what with his "Big Daddy Balls" printouts and extensive and complex questions for Leitch) he came off as woefully unprepared. He stumbled, he stuttered, he couldn't keep his cool, he was flustered almost the entire time. Hey Buzz- I understand it's a topic you find very compelling and important. But if you're going to appear on a nationally televised show to talk about it, you might want to make sure you can express your points without sounding like an out-of-control douche. Breathe deep, relax your shoulders, and talk like a grown up. Try keep your sentences to four clauses or less. Stop shouting and cursing at this man on your left that you've never met and who has done nothing to wrong you personally. Stop asking him six-part questions and not giving him a chance to answer them. And way to ask Leitch if he had ever ready any W.C. Heinz as your big opening salvo, obviously hoping he would not have. You pretentious ass. Even if he hadn't, that would prove... what, exactly?
I'm well aware that I am about 120 hours late for the party, and that this is old news already, and that 100% of the people likely to read this already know that Bissinger is a complete zero. But I was so surprised and how poorly he handled himself that I had to put this up. Real posting to resume tomorrow.
Last point- Bissinger's performance overshadowed the jackassery of Mike Wilbon, who more or less claimed in one of the pre-recorded segments that he doesn't respect most bloggers because they don't have "credentials." OK, buddy. You go on feeling that way. I'll be sure to take what you scream on PTI much more seriously than the musings of my well-spoken and well-informed sports fan friends, because you have credentials. That makes your speculation and opinions much more valid and legitimate.
Now, no offense to anyone out there, but back in college it seemed like Communications was a major for people who had no real idea what they wanted to do, or for people who were just too stupid for any other major.
ReplyDeleteObviously this is a broad stroke, but those who graduated with a Communications degree weren't exactly the cream of the crop.
And these are the people that have "Credentials" and thus are entitled to speak on television or in publications because they took two studio classes and a writing course?
And the rest of us do not have valid opinions because we didn't get a Communications degree (or weren't professional athletes)? It's just crazy.
j-school is not something the "elite" of america do.
ReplyDeleteperiod.
"credentials" is a joke
"Credentials" is the fallback position of someone who doesn't have an answer for the fact that many bloggers are unmasking sportswriters as the shallow and clueless wastes of space that many of them are.
ReplyDeleteYou would think that someone with "credentials" would know enough to check their references before spouting their uninformed and misinformed opinions on sport, so that those out of touch bloggers wouldn't have the opportunity to do it for them.
I think the only true thing that separates these "legitimate" sportswriters from bloggers is access. They have access to the athletes and the stories that they may want to write at a given time.
ReplyDeleteThey also have access to a forum to express their opinion on sports and this is something they have worked semi-long and semi-hard to secure. So when "uninformed" bloggers come along that have better and more well informed opinions than them, they get pissy. They figure they are more important because they have access to the news stories and resources to report the stories, which is not true. The access and forum to express their opinions is important to them because it allows them to shape public opinion and perception with THEIR point of view. So they get pissy when others who don't have the access and public forum are able to comment.
Do you mean to tell me that I have been reading this blog for all these months and NOW you admit that you don't have credentials? Don't you think that is the kind of thing that you should post at the top of the site just so unsuspecting people know in advance???
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone actually know what goes on at Journalism school? It seems like the majority of the classes would be spent on improving their writing. Probably a class on interviewing. I'm guessing one on ethics. What I'm getting at is that I'm guessing the majority of their training was irrelevant to the journalists vs. bloggers argument. But I really don't know and I would be interested in someone filling me in.
ReplyDeleteLarry B, you should really listen to the Boog Sciambi-Buzz Bissinger interview. I had been pretty indifferent to Sciambi because he goes by the nickname Boog, but he destroys Bissinger.
http://www.790theticket.com/audioplayer.php?mp3=2016550200Bissinger31.mp3&show=The%20Boog%20Sciambi%20Show&id=2543
Do we really have a "post" label? I'm going to go back and re-apply that to every post I've made here, because I feel like it applies.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, journalists tend to view their craft as sacred, which requires the unitiated to go through an incredible and trying process to become one.
ReplyDeleteA journalism degree is exactly like any other. The department didn't just take the top 5 applicants. They took anyone, most of which probably had no geniune talent but liked tv and thought, what the hell, that'd be awesome.
For example, news anchors aren't all brilliant (some probably are), they just look good and can read smoothly from a teleprompter. The sheer majority of them are probably as ill-informed and uncreative as the average guy.
It's this theme in our society where we're all too dumb to do anything specialized. We call other profesionals to do things we believe we can't do like fix our plumbing, change our oil or cut our grass and plant our flowers. And for some reason, expressing our thoughts has become something specialized and reserved only for "professionals"?
Also, J-school probably has more to do with reporting than writing columns right? I mean, it doesn't take a journalism degree to write an op-ed. How is that different than a blog. If Wilbon is talking about journalistic standards of reporting, maybe something like Deadspin's drunken athlete pictures, then that's one thing. But writing a column is completely different.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing is that even the sports reporters don't serve the same role as policitical reporters. Its not like you expect your local beat writer to be a watchdog or anything. How often are they expected to ask hard hitting questions? I'm not saying that they aren't important or that they're replaceable, just that sports writers need to take themselves a lot less seriously.
Yeah, that's true. The two biggest sports writers today are Bill Simmons and Rick Reily- they're not exactly asking hard hitting questions, especially Simmons. We don't expect that, you're right, because sports is not really a serious thing at then end of the day, though journalists want to make it seem tht way.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think your above point is a good one. Journalism students probably spend the majority of their time learning about the ethics in reporting, how tocorrectlu write a factual article, what editors are expecting, etc etc. Writing columns is probably not the focus of most J-schools.
The creative energy that goes into writing entertaining or thought-provoking columns is available to anyone, regardless of educationnal background or if you suffered as a beat reporter for local highscool teams for eight years.
Buzz who?
ReplyDeleteOne might also point out that it was our fair haired credentialed reporters who managed to not report on the steroids problem in baseball, with a wink wink, and blind eye. Does it take credentials to ignore the concussion problem in the NFL for years and years? One of the biggest problems for the press, and these anti-blog folk, is that the everyday person can now see just how lazy, and bad they are at their job. By catching the press lying down on its job, again and again, the public became bloggers who neither value, nor respect, the job that most of the press do.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that a Journalism degree was a prerequisite to calling everyone "knuckleheads."
ReplyDeleteYeah, the steroids thing is exactly what I mean. Sports reporters spend the vast majority of their time accumulating meaningless cliches. They aren't expected to actually report behind the scenes stuff, because it would unpopular with the teams that they cover. For instance, the only time Florida papers actually wrote about the draconian methods that Nick Saban used was after he left the team. Before that, reporters were just writing a filtered version of events. Which is ok, because they're essentially just entertainment reporters. But I don't think its the type of thing where typical journalistic standards and ethics apply.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I came across this piece on J-school this afternoon. Its written by Michael Lewis (the computer that wrote Moneyball).
http://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/MediaCultureUVM/jschool_critique.html
Well, that link didn't work, but just google Michael Lewis J-school ate my brain, if you're interested.
ReplyDeletehere's the thing--maybe we should cut Buzz some slack.
ReplyDeleteAfter Friday Night Lights was released, West Texas wanted to run him up. I wouldn't be surprised to hear he got death threats, etc. You can imagine what a guy like that who was held ultra-accountable for his journalism thinks about guys like Will Leitch who take potshot after potshot at dudes who could beat them down, neckbeard and all, with pretty much impunity.
Doesn't mean Buzz is right, just trying to put the rage-off into SOME context.
i'll cut him a little slack, only because Friday Night lights was a fucking awesome book and movie
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the input and discussion from everyone, but one last time, let me re-clarify that I'm not even picking on Bissinger for his message. I'm picking on him for acting like a total shithead and being completely incapable of expressing his points.
ReplyDeleteDude, you're a "credentialed" journalist. Your whole job revolves around being good at articulating yourself. Maybe you should just stick to print format from now on.
I think this interview goes a long way to clarifying what Bissinger was trying to say. I think some of what he says has validity, although as one commenter on the interview post pointed out, the man is totally humorless about sports. Which, honestly, seems a bit ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteHaving finally watched the Costas Now thing, I have to say...Braylon Edwards's ideas intrigue me, and I'd like to subscribe to his newsletter.