A few words on the audio posts
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Feb 21, 2007 
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For about eight days now, I’ve managed to post audio clips of some interviews.
The idea behind this was to provide you with something you don’t normally get and get you inside the process a bit. Most people seem pretty pleased to get the full interviews instead of the 10-second bits you get on television or the radio.
What is disturbing me a bit are the posts where people say, “This proves the media is a bunch of dopes because they ask stupid questions.” Or words to that end.
Yes, there are some dopes who ask stupid questions. I suspect in whatever line of work you’re in, you have a few dopes.
But let me explain a little. When Torre or one of the star players speaks, there are quite often 15-20 media people there. Some are reporters and others are columnists.
Everybody has a different story or angle in mind. A reporter usually wants facts. But a columnist is writing his or her opinion and may press the subject a little. This isn’t the White House press room like you see on television.
Sportswriting is hard to define. You’re writing to inform and to entertain. Plus we’re talking about baseball here, not war and famine. It’s OK to push the envelope a bit.
Torre and the players aren’t likely to volunteer anything. So you poke around and ask seemingly stupid things to try and get to something bigger. It’s verbal sparring sometimes. Some guys (Torre, Mike Mussina, Johnny Damon) are great at it. Others not so much.
We go about it in different ways but all of us are trying to write something you want to read. It may be something that will make you laugh or make you think or inform you or even make you mad. But the hope is you’ll come back the next day.
So, listen to the audio with an open mind. We’re not a bunch of thugs trying to beat info out of the poor baseball player. It actually isn’t as painful as it sometimes sounds.
Thanks.
Cheers!
I think what you are doing is amazing, keep up the great work!
Pete..I don’t care what the others think…I like the audio. I can sometimes actually get more out of the tone and inflection of the speaker more than I can seeing it in writing. I also listened to a couple of your audios and then found other quotes in articles (not you) that got it wrong. Either way. Great blog.
Love the audio, love the blog. Greatly appreciate all of it!
(Jeez, I wish the White House Press corps would’ve “pushed the envelope” a little bit more four years ago.)
I love the audio, wife got me an iPod for Valentine’s Day so I subscribed to your podcast and listen to the bits on the way to work in the morning. It is nice, offers you a front row seat. Keep up the great work!
They are awesome, keep doing it please!
Pete. This, as most things in life, is a matter of numbers. And you can find in our comments how many of us really like your audio posts, and the way you write on this Blog site. Some are saying reporters are dumps? Well, some people around here are dumps, too. You can easily find who they are.
Sorry. I wrote “dumps” instead of “dopes”. English still makes me feel like a dope
Count me and my kid among the fans of the audio. Thanks for the great blog Peter.
Politicians of both parties should be pushed more by the press.
Thanks for the insight, Peter.
I really enjoy the audio a lot. Maybe the press room in the white house should be a little more sportswriter-esque, after all.
Actually though, it’d be great if before the audio you could just write a little about what they said if they said anything interesting… sometimes it’s just hard to find time to listen.
Thanks again!
Sorry people are like that, Pete. But to some (and me) you are really an inspiration. Thanks for the hard work you do, and this blog.
Sure some of these guys can put a bad taste in your mouth, but I know there are many that are really appreciative of everything you do.
Peter:
I really appreciate your addition of audio to this very interesting and entertaining blog. I enjoy listening to them each day.
I certainly do not have the impression that all media people are dopes, quite the contrary, news media appears to be a demanding profession having much self-sacrifice to stay successful. However when you see and hear the same non-baseball questions about Jeter and ARod over and over, you really start to question some people’s judgement! Baseball has been dormant for 3 1/2 months. There’s so many other baseball topics in Spring training to cover! Your weekly poll should give these individuals insight into what a true baseball fan feels about rehashing those “personal relationship” questions.
You do a job, and you do it top-notch, Pete. Ignore the trolls. ;^ )
You’re the greatest, Pete. Say hi to my cousin Carl for me.
pete,
you do a hell of a job. keep it up.
for every piece of work somebody does there will be a small percentage that doesn’t like it, but i have to say i’m with the majority and as i’ve said before pete your blog is #1. thanks for everything…
Pete, you said it best when you mentioned “inside the process.” I think you’re providing details at least I haven’t read before, almosy like being there. Keep up the good work, and thanks!
Pete, sorry, but the guy who kept asking A-Rod repeatedly ad nauseum for a specific quote in a way makes the rest of you look bad. Why? Because he presses for it repeatedly.
Pete, I love the audio but it does give us insight into how everything went down. For alot of us I’d think it’s surprising that reporters really pester rather than interview. Even more surprising is when quotes are put in print to reflect a meaning that wasn’t intended or the liberal use of the elipse.
We can love what you do and shudder at how others com across. There’s no crime in that and if anything, it makes you look so much better (you know, except when you kick a guy like Bubba but give Shef a pass
.
Thanks for writing the stuff we want to read! Keep up the good work….and I am digging the audio! I for one think it’s pretty interesting to hear everything and not just the select few quotes that make it to the paper.
I appreciate the the audio segments and I would appreciate them even more if I had an idea of how long they are. I know sometimes you let us know but other times I start to listen and need to stop partially through because I didn’t set aside enough time.
Peter, not only do you do an excellent job reporting on the Yankees, but you have a highly professional view of other sports journalists. This is an extremely refreshing combination. Keep up the great work!
Peter, the audio is a great feature which leaves your competition in the dust. Keep up the great work.
Did you consult with Torre before you added the audio. Is he ok with it? Does he even care?
JK: Whatever is said in that room is open for any sort of use. Torre doesn’t care. There are 10-12 tape recorders on his desk, he knows what he is saying is out there.
I love the audio and I have a man-crush on Pete.
Thanks Peter.
Check out this one act play about A-Rod/Jeter in NY Magazine.
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2.....nkees.html
Peter,
I was one of those who ripped the media in the comments. As other have said, it really makes people see who the respectable journalists are as opposed to the ones who seem to be moonlighting for Star Magazine. After hearing the raw audio, one only needs to take an inventory of the headlines the next day to see my point. Yours was “A-Rod Talks About Jeter” and most of the others had something along the lines of “Rift” or “Splitsville” and assumed that not being “BFF” means that they had a falling out. (note: I knew Mark’s stories would turn toward drama after arriving at the Daily News but I blame it on the paper’s tabloid mentality and the 8th-grade reading level of it’s patrons–yes that’s been demonstrated)
I’ve heard this described as “newspandex” where journalists stretch the facts to fit the imagination. It is very apparent that you do NOT do this and that’s why I go to your blog multiple times a day as I’m sure others do as well. It really is refreshing and you will go far in your career.
Again, thank you for posting these audio clips and I hope you keep doing so.
Marco
Hey Peter:
I respect and admire your desire to defend your colleagues, but sadly, it seems as if a declining number of them adhere to your standards of professionalism.
I do, however, agree that a distinction must be made between beat writers and columnists. Guys like Wally Matthews, Mike Lupica and to a lesser extent Joel Sherman really come across as blowhards with very little integrity. I realize that columnists need to draw readers in, but trying to ferment controversy is pretty weak.
Having said all that, you do an excellent job and this blog (as well as LoHUD online) has become a must read every morning.
Hi Pete,
The audio is great, especially for someone like me who is not living in the USA. It really gets you up-close to what is hapening. Keep it up. I think it is going to be an interesting season.
I want to point out that if anyone has tried to get information out of someone who doesn’t want to release it (whether a baseball player about his relationship with another player, a government agency about some program they are trying to push through, or a witness who has something to hide), stupid questions are HOW you get it done. Or even more common, repetitive questions are key. It isn’t until the 20th time asked that a clue might be dropped. Heck, how many thousands of times did the questions have to be asked before ARod came clean on the shift inhis relationship with Jeter? While I don’t care about that relationship, the fact is that repetition was ultimately important to getting that info out there.
I think reporters have it rough. It is just an impossible position from which to look good under these circumstances.
Love the audio…thats why I started to spend more time on this site. Thank you
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