Arkansas radio personality fired for wearing Gators hat

[mlh1981]

Waiting for someone to wear a Miami Heat hat to a Cavaliers press conference at Quicken Loans Arena.

[WVRed]

I've always heard Arkansas fans (in the state) are pretty delusional, but people say it about Kentucky as well.

They take up for Bobby Petrino, who has a pretty shady track record when it comes to his mercenary status. If he left for a better job, Fayetteville would burn to the ground.

In football, it's the Dallas Cowboys, so everything Jerry Jones says is pretty much gospel.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by Brutus the Pimp

If they're not pretending to be journalists, why did they have a credentialed reporter at a press conference? That's journalism.

The media is not supposed to show bias. That's one of the first rules of journalism. There's a big problem with it.

Sports media is a little different than general media. In sports media, I would much rather the media have some bias, because they just simply care more and want real answers more because those answers truly do make a difference for them. Just my opinion though.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Sports media is a little different than general media. In sports media, I would much rather the media have some bias, because they just simply care more and want real answers more because those answers truly do make a difference for them. Just my opinion though.

No cheering in the press box is a real rule.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Sports media is a little different than general media. In sports media, I would much rather the media have some bias, because they just simply care more and want real answers more because those answers truly do make a difference for them. Just my opinion though.

Many people care about the job they're doing and want to be the best at it without having to necessarily have or show bias though. I completely get what you're saying, but you don't have to be bias to excel at something. There are some really good people in the profession that can do a fantastic job without having to be bias.

[cincrazy]

Originally Posted by Brutus the Pimp

Walter Cronkite must be turning in his grave at these free passes. Has journalism really gotten so bad we're now saying it's OK to be bias if you're not hiding it?

Journalists are supposed to be objective reporters of facts -- not cheerleaders. These are the ethics that are taught to journalists in school. Many Rivals and Scout "reporters" are not trained journalists. That's not to say they aren't good at what they do... but it doesn't make it right if they're there cheering on their team(s). Some of them--and believe me, I know a ton of them because I'm intimately familiar with the profession--are very good and come from newspaper and seasoned print backgrounds. But many are Web 2.0 beginners that haven't been properly educated on the ethics and expectations of the profession.

I promise you... this is not OK. This is the exact reason the two Cincinnati "journalists" were reportedly booted from the Denver locker room. Wearing a hat is as bad as asking for an autograph and firing someone, not for wearing a hat mind you, but for wearing the hat of another team is as bad as both.

I have a problem with radio broadcasters being slanted. Always have. But I know, unfortunately, that the stations know they're paying their broadcasters to reach a certain targeted audience. I suppose it's the exact reason the Rivals and Scout people often do what they do. But it doesn't justify it.

It's OK for this radio station to be geared toward Arkansas. That's their niche. That's their clientele. But it's not OK to be so bias that they expect their people to show bias too. That's crossing a big line.

I agree with everything you say. And that's why, as a journalism major, I left OSU, and decided to go in a different direction. What the media has evolved in to makes me sick.

[Unassisted]

U of F has a really top-notch program in Broadcasting that's well-respected around the country. It's one of the only US schools that operates commercial stations, rather than non-profit stations, which makes a big difference in funding and resources.

I imagine there are many many alums of the school working in positions of authority at media outlets around the country. Not hard to figure that some of them would be willing to hire an alum of their school who was fired for supporting their alma mater. My guess is she lands on her feet in a better place.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by westofyou

No cheering in the press box is a real rule.

Sure it is. Been in plenty of them. It doesn't mean that you can't care about what is going on though. It just means don't show it.