Chip's article on Smart and Media

Kasey · August 2018

@MikeGriffith said:
As for Georgia fans already knowing, rule number one in journalism is don't assume your audience has read your previous stories. Obviously we don't need to remind people what the mascot is every time -- although we do -- but I thought it was very useful that Kirby was able to give examples of other players who had played on special teams. In fact, I thought Dasher did him a favor by asking the question so he could make the case. No one considers that part of the equation, and it's unfortunate. I'm sure I'll ask questions Kirby doesn't like, but reporters aren't paid to go in there and be fans and tell the coach how great they are. Kirby is a championship coach and everyone in the room knows it, we're there to ask him how he goes about what he does, why he makes the decisions he does, and to tell us more about the team. That requires questions that are sometimes challenging and sometimes what coaches consider invasive. There's a natural rub. I think Kirby handles it well, I enjoy his press conferences, and I was impressed he went over and shook Dasher's hand and made sure they were "all right" after he raised his voice at him.

I feel like this notion is getting lost in everything. I think Kirby lost his cool in the heat of the moment and then went to make it right. He cares and to me that means a lot

umooner · August 2018

@scooterdawg said:

@levander said:
I’m really surprised at the blowback Chip is receiving for writing that article. Like once every two or three months Chip will say something about this access to players thing. Now I don’t agree with him. But to take it so far you’ve stopped reading his articles?

This is why you turn on CNN every night and wow! Somehow, some way, they’ve managed to find another way to report that Donald Trump is evil! It’s because way too many of you get frustrated when you hear something you don’t want to hear. So these national media outlets have given in, and just jazz up whatever reporting they do to accommodate for the biases of their viewers.

I’m glad Chip hasn’t done that.

And there is the issue of goal posts. Where when the coaches take stuff away from the media, what are they going to take next?

You guys think the local OSU media is **** up to Urban Meyer? They may be. I don’t know. But being willing to push back against the administration is what we need if we want to have any kind of sensible reporting during controversial issues like that.

And I’m finding on this board I need to be more specific sometimes. Let me make it clear this post isn’t not a response to @Red_N_Black. I just disagreed with his interpretation. I don’t think he’s one of the people I’m talking about with this post.

I agree. I’d rather have reporters who do more than just tell me what I want to hear. I’m not getting into the political crap but if you get your news from CNN, HuffPost, Fox News, Hannity or wherever, I have a news flash, both sides report the news however they think their particular fanbases want them to. I go to sites like yahoo and I know exactly how a story is going to be framed by which site it is linked from. Usually Foxnews on one side and HuffPost on the other. News is a business and to blindly follow one side and say all the others are biased frankly doesn’t speak well of one’s intelligence no matter which side you fall on. Nor does getting mad because a reporter doesn’t report in a way that validates your personal beliefs.

It’s also disingenuous to say that reporters should only report facts; should we go back to the days when the only way to get news was for a guy to read it off a ticker tape telegraph machine? If that’s the case then get rid of ALL news sites, newspapers, etc. We can just have a channel with a ESPN style ticker at the bottom while playing soothing music and showing pictures of puppies and then each side can go to their liberal or conservative forum/message board of choice and interpret it in an echo chamber of likeminded people. Of course since Kirby, Saban, and most other football coaches would prefer no news get out at all unless they have spun it their way first, following college football would be pretty boring to follow.

I don’t really care if people think Chip is a bad writer or just don’t like him. I’m not the president of his fan club and I’ve been on record about how I think most of the DN writers could use an editor. But if you don’t like him then don’t read his stuff. That’s everyone’s right. I just think that asking for him to be censored because you don’t like something he says is pretty close minded, and having a history degree and being a on overall history dork, history will tell you that having a one sided or censored press has never been particularly good at any time or place. If you can’t handle someone because they don’t write exactly what you want to hear at all times then either grow up or again, stop reading. And if you can’t handle someone having the nerve to dare question someone you like, be it a politician or a football coach then I think you need to open your mind a little bit. I’m not saying you don’t have the right to disagree with what he writes, what he asks, or even his merits or lack thereof, but acting like he should be punished or censored in some way is pretty out there.

How did having nothing but writers who worshipped at the altar of Ohio State football and Urban Meyer work out? I guess for some of y’all just fine, but I’d rather not be lumped in with those ignorant homers. If you only want rosy puff pieces all the time then maybe you should stick to getting your Dawg news from the official UGA website. I like BA but this site would be pretty boring if every writer was an unapologetic fan. Some of y’all are fine with Kirby treating the fans like mushrooms .ie. keeping them in the dark and feeding them crap (unless they are McGill donors) but I prefer to make my own opinion and read those of others. I’m not even saying that Kirby is wrong for following the Saban way of limiting the press, but it puts the guys whose job it is to write about the team in a no win situation. Either they can stick to the facts that Kirby decides to give them and maybe write one story a week that is basically just a box score, or they can try to find other things to write about and give their opinions, and probably get sh#t on either way.

Sorry, but I personally wanted someone to ask Kirby about Zamir being on the special teams unit. Any part of society goes to crap pretty quickly when the press can’t dare to ask a question of someone in power without that person going off on them and others acting like they committed a crime or something. Believe me, Kirby is a grown man who knows what he is doing and doesn’t need people on a forum to protect him. In fact I’m quite sure that he knew someone was going to ask him about the punt coverage thing, and his reaction was probably calculated to a certain extent at least. That or he made a mistake, because to blame the press who wasn’t even at the practice for leaking the story when there were over a thousand big donors who got to see every minute would be disingenuous at best. He got to vent a bit of frustration, didn’t really have to answer the question, and deflected most of the attention off of him and onto the reporters. Even he realized that it wasn’t right or why would he have apologized right after? Again, he knows what he’s doing. I don’t think he needs people to get offended on his behalf.

Anyway, that’s my opinion and if you feel threatened by it or by Chip, or someone else writing something that you don’t like, then you’re certainly entitled to feel that way. I just happen to think that the world is definitely a more boring and probably less healthy place when everyone has to toe the company line or else. When everyone has the exact same point of view and opinions, and we all close our minds to anything we don’t want to hear. Just a thought. Go Dawgs.

It looks like no one read your post because it was so long, but it should be required reading. Everyone just wants their bias reinforced at all times.

DamnYankeeDawg · August 2018

@MikeGriffith said:
There's nothing "yellow" about how that press conference went down, and for you to infer that shows a lack of understanding of how reporting works. We get paid to ask questions that the public can't ask for themselves. There is plenty of evidence that, even after Kirby explained it, people want to know why a player 8 months out from surgery with a knee brace was on special teams. The question needed to be asked, and you can quibble with the wording or style, but it was hardly confrontational or second-guessing. The whole shoot-the-messenger thing gets old, because I know Chip and Dasher and have known them for a very long time, and they are very well respected and in no way shape or form "Yellow." Very **** word to use, and in this case inappropriate and naive, in my opinion. For the record, I don't have an issue with Zamir White on special teams because he was not going to make the travel team otherwise, he was not among the top four backs and was working his way back into a football mindset.

Mike...I've seen you mention this one other time. IIRC, you also said that he didn't have the same burst/cut/speed or words to that effect in the same post.

Just curious...did you find your observation of Zamir consistent with other RBs that you covered who were at a similar stage in the recovery process, ie 8 months post injury, knee brace on, participating in drills, making cuts etc? Were you surprised that he didn't seem all the way back from his injury given the way he was practicing? Or, did he seem on schedule...he just needed more time?

I was under the impression (wrongly maybe) that he was ahead of schedule and looking good to this point.

MikeGriffith · August 2018

Yes, I saw the same thing happen with Robert Meachem at Tennessee .... didn't look like the same guy for a couple years, and then all the sudden, he was back...... Jamal Lewis had a shoulder injury in 1999, I wondered if he'd ever get back, and not only did he get back, but he went for more than 2,000 yards in one season for the Ravens. Backs are finely tuned machines... hate it for Zamir, hope he gets back. Long road ahead, very unfortunate.

scooterdawg · August 2018

Sorry for posting a wall of text. I didn’t realize it was that long. And I know that I shouldn’t be giving the Dawgnation guys crap about needing an editor when I misplaced a number of words myself. After I posted I wanted to edit it but I’ve had issues a number of times with a long post disappearing when I tried to. Glad someone read it @umooner lol.

I probably have given you crap about the headline thing in the past @MikeGriffith but I actually think you’ve settled in a bit since you first started. I get the “shooting the messenger” thing after all this popped up because I’m one of those people who wanted someone to ask Kirby that question. I’m not saying he’s at fault for a guy getting hurt but I wanted to know what he had to say about it and I don’t think that should be taboo or that it makes me less of a fan. I love the Dawgs and I try not to insult people who feel differently than me though I’m certainly guilty of flying off the handle now and then as most are. The **** season just needs to start already lol. Go Dawgs!!!

UnderDog68 · August 2018

@biggen said:
He needs to grow tougher skin. He got chewed out by CKS and he needs to write an article to vent about it like a child.

Exactly. They still aren't used to the new Sheriff in town, it seems.....and are whining about his rules.

JayDog · August 2018

I think part of the negative reaction to the question and then the article Chip wrote actually stems from a recurring theme that started during the 2016 season. The complaining about the press restrictions has been laced into some of what Chip writes. Then there is the article like this week's and the scab is picked for some people. It all got old in 2016 and it continued periodically into 2017 and now we see it again in 2018. I've come to pretty much ignore it--but I do note when it happens. And I don't mind adding my 2 cents on the topic.

Dawg14 · August 2018

@MikeGriffith said:
The reporter asked the question that many fans have asked -- he did his job. Sometimes it is the media's job to ask questions that some might consider challenging. Coaches don't always like it, and that's understandable. But fans want to know about that third-down call that didn't work out, or why this guy is starting over that guy, or why this person is on special teams -- right? I thought it was beneficial for Kirby to point out all the other talented backs that have played on special teams -- that made his case. If the reporter doesn't ask the question, Kirby doesn't have the chance to introduce that information to the discussion!

Mike, thanks for your explanation and it makes sense to me that reporters ask the tough questions to get the response and that we fans want to hear from the coach’s mouth. The problem with Chip and this article is he got offended by the response even though we all knew that question was not going to be received well. If you’re going to ask the question don’t cry about the response. Like a kid sticking his hand in a beehive then getting pissed when he’s stung.

TomGrose · August 2018

I liked Chip's article.

TomGrose · August 2018

Great article, thanks Chip.

dawgy10 · August 2018

Chip better see if there is a position open at the athletic

dawgy10 · August 2018

People read chip towers articles? Sentell only thing worth reading

levander · August 2018

@Dawg14 said:

@MikeGriffith said:
The reporter asked the question that many fans have asked -- he did his job. Sometimes it is the media's job to ask questions that some might consider challenging. Coaches don't always like it, and that's understandable. But fans want to know about that third-down call that didn't work out, or why this guy is starting over that guy, or why this person is on special teams -- right? I thought it was beneficial for Kirby to point out all the other talented backs that have played on special teams -- that made his case. If the reporter doesn't ask the question, Kirby doesn't have the chance to introduce that information to the discussion!

Mike, thanks for your explanation and it makes sense to me that reporters ask the tough questions to get the response and that we fans want to hear from the coach’s mouth. The problem with Chip and this article is he got offended by the response even though we all knew that question was not going to be received well. If you’re going to ask the question don’t cry about the response. Like a kid sticking his hand in a beehive then getting pissed when he’s stung.

To me, it was a lot more obvious that Kirby’s response wasn’t going to be received well by the media than a question that was something like, “Was it notable that Zamir was playing special teams when the injury happened?”

I don’t remember the exact wording of the question, but it was something innocuous like that.

But I don’t know why we as fans have to dig in and take one side or the other on this little dust up. It’s two groups working together that don’t always have the same goals. It’s not going to be smooth all the time. I see valid points made by both sides in this lthing.

Dawg14 · August 2018

@levander yeah I don’t think it’s about taking sides more so about pointing out that if you ask questions that you know are going to elicit poor responses, then don’t get offended when you get a not so nice response. Not sure why you took it in that direction.

umooner · August 2018

@Dawg14 said:
@levander yeah I don’t think it’s about taking sides more so about pointing out that if you ask questions that you know are going to elicit poor responses, then don’t get offended when you get a not so nice response. Not sure why you took it in that direction.

I don't think that analogy totally works (it does partially). Sometimes questions that people don't like should be asked. That doesn't give the person the question was asked too the right to be angry just because of that. Even if someone isn't surprised doesn't mean they should just accept it.

Signed

Doesn't-think-this-is-a-big-deal

Chip's article on Smart and Media

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