Media Coverage: DMN/SMU vs Chron/UH

[MustangIcon]

This may just be a reflection of the DMN as a paper vs the Houston Chronicle as a paper, but this one blog post by the Chron University of Houston beat writer is more content than a good week's worth of DMN SMU coverage.

http://blogs.chron.com/cougars/2010/05/ ... h_you.html

[RGV Pony]

This may just be a reflection of the DMN as a paper vs the Houston Chronicle as a paper, but this one blog post by the Chron University of Houston beat writer is more content than a good week's worth of DMN SMU coverage.

http://blogs.chron.com/cougars/2010/05/ ... h_you.html

I've always thought about that. Since, after all, "papers sell papers" and the usual refrain. If that's the case, one would think DMN:Bevo stories=Chronicle:Aggie stories, no?

[mr. pony]

You're both right.
The DMN's attitude toward SMU is ridiculous. (This ISN'T about Kate.)
The hometown team should get ink, whether they win or lose. For example, SMU should appear as a separate feature, not as just another "regional" or "area team."

These guys think they're the NYT or something: "We just can't get too excited about some mid-major non-BCS school. After all, our UT readers can't be bothered."

SMU is Dallas' hometown team. Real editors would cover it that way.

[mr. pony]

And don't forget, the Chronicle has two hometown D-I teams.

[BIGHORSE]

Be careful now, some of our "fans" will tell you how we don't deserve any coverage.

[Dairy Crampus]

Yea, I agree that the Chronicle covers UH better than DMN covers us but Houston is a different town and has different dynamic and the guy who covers UH is basically a dolt (take a look at his byline photo) - actually I cancelled my subscription to the Chron yesterday after 30 years due to it's ridiculous editorial content...particularly that aggie business section writer who derides all Texas centric businesses.

[mr. pony]

Be careful now, some of our "fans" will tell you how we don't deserve any coverage.

Isn't that nuts? Never have understood that.

[Garret]

The Chronicle has an article in tomorrow's paper about Thad's documentary.

ESPN has green-lighted Pony Excess, directed by SMU film school graduate Thaddeus D. Matula, to air on the night of the Heisman Trophy presentation in December as part of the network’s 30 for 30 series.

Matula and his crew are still gathering material on the film, which will examine the SMU scandal in the context of Texas’ oil-fueled economy of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s and the cutthroat Dallas newspaper war of that era between the Morning News and the late Dallas Times-Herald. The title, of course, is wordplay on the Pony Express nickname for the Dickerson-James teams.

Now, however, is a good time to take stock of the topic in the wake of SMU’s first bowl trip last season since the 1980s. At least now there will be a semi-happy ending to one of the truly unfortunate tales in the history of Texas sports.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/barron/7015313.html

[ponyboy]

UH is an arguably legit top 25 team with a true Heisman candidate. Watch what happens to coverage when we're there.

[Topper]

UH is an arguably legit top 25 team with a true Heisman candidate. Watch what happens to coverage when we're there.

DMN ownership has longstanding ties to UT. No one will argue that UT has more readership interest than SMU, but historically the local coverage of SMU sports has been done grudgingly and with little enthusiasm. It is extrememly unlikely that SMU will ever get a "pass" from the hometown media. No doubt we have given the negative journalists plenty of fodder over the years, but I have always felt that the DMNs and Dale Hansens of the world would never go after UT the way they went after us. We are expendable. Journalists can sacrifice our program for the sake of going after media awards by exposing the well documented corruption once fostered around here, but no one had the guts to tell the truth about UTs dirty secrets.

[Wuba]

UH is an arguably legit top 25 team with a true Heisman candidate. Watch what happens to coverage when we're there.

DMN ownership has longstanding ties to UT. No one will argue that UT has more readership interest than SMU, but historically the local coverage of SMU sports has been done grudgingly and with little enthusiasm. It is extrememly unlikely that SMU will ever get a "pass" from the hometown media. No doubt we have given the negative journalists plenty of fodder over the years, but I have always felt that the DMNs and Dale Hansens of the world would never go after UT the way they went after us. We are expendable. Journalists can sacrifice our program for the sake of going after media awards by exposing the well documented corruption once fostered around here, but no one had the guts to tell the truth about UTs dirty secrets.

DMN owned by Belo which is a publicly traded company. What are the longstanding ties between their current ownership and UT?

[leopold]

Be careful now, some of our "fans" will tell you how we don't deserve any coverage.

The truth hurts.

Until our own fans start showing up and showing intrest in our athletic programs (which hopefully starts this year) we aren't getting coverage. Print newspapers are losing readers left and right (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-Dalla ... l?x=0&.v=1) and they aren't going to waste money and possible readers on a charity case. And yes, we have been a charity case for over two decades now.

Sports news isn't like other news - just because it happens doesn't make it automatically relevent. I don't care what our geographic location or history is, until people start buying the DMN to specifically read about our teams we are going to have to live with it.

That's life. Deal with it.

[BIGHORSE]

I am just saying I would like see us have more coverage than we do.

[ponyboy]

I think others have argued persuasively that the DMN wants to have a reason to increase coverage for SMU. We are starting to give them just that. Again, wait and see what happens when we're legit top 25 material. Dallas has a strong record of supporting teams when (and only when) they're winning. The DMN simply reflects the Dallas market.

[Dutch]

I thought coverage was great in late Nov/all Dec. what are they supposed to be reporting on now? JEFF REINBOLT ON THE ROAD FACEBOOK UPDATES?

C'mon. it's MAY people. we don't have a baseball team. spring practice is over. what is there really to talk about? conference realignment? let's be honest with ourselves. we will simply fall in line when that happens - we're not the gem that any of the AQ's are after. (1 bowl win in 25 years does not make a high demand team)

**none of this means that I don't love me some Mustangs as much as the next guy, i'm just a realist.