The "Tennessean" HS Basketball coverage is lousy!

[defender25]

Well, the Tennessean used to be decent in covering high school basketball, but it's gone way downhill in the past 5-6 years. Even though it's pretty bad now, it's still better than the Jackson Sun They're awful when it comes to high school basketball. And I'm not sure they would sell any more papers if they stepped it up in this area, but I know a lot of people would like it, including myself. My name was mis-spelled quite often, but I was one of many

[MidTennFootball]

How about holding your local papers accountable instead of the tennessean. I agree with everyone that their coverage is bad, but its not like people should be expecting otherwise. Look towards your local papers for the high school sports fix and not a mega paper like the Tennessean.

[spartans3]

In the vast majority of games, they will not publish a box score unless the stats are called or faxed in.

yeah, exactly. high school basketball used to be huge in The Commercial Appeal in Memphis. The Memphis Tigers would recieve the most coverage. Now that the Grizzlies are in town, they recieve the most coverage, the Tigers second and HS sports recieve a raw deal. Pro sports dominate.

[defender25]

Oakland[/url]Grad' post='826301132' date='Dec 12 2006 - 04:57 PM']

How about holding your local papers accountable instead of the tennessean. I agree with everyone that their coverage is bad, but its not like people should be expecting otherwise. Look towards your local papers for the high school sports fix and not a mega paper like the Tennessean.

I'll agree with that. Local papers aren't exactly the stuff either. But then we couldn't all bash the SAME paper on a state-wide message board

[flngrvy]

It seems like this post comes up year after year about this time just like the god-forsaken "who's student section is better...". Like every other year the coverage in the Tennessean picks up in January and on into tournament time. I think that they do a decent job and as a side note, patience is a virtue.

[jls311]

You have to remember that on Tuesdays and Fridays, there are nearly 200 games being called in within 3 hours! It can get hectic! Sometimes it doesn't help that the person calling in the scores/stats might rush faster than the person on the other end can type. Or they might be on a cell phone with a lousy connection. Or they might be sitting in the stands surrounded by screaming fans!

 

Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are not peak days for basketball. When you call in a game, it's not always gonna be written up in the paper. Odds are that there won't be a roundup those nights.

 

And when the folks at the Tennessean ask if anything interesting happened...give them an answer and don't assume that they already know.

[thomas_corhern]

But you guys all need to remember that while the Tennessean is the major paper in the region, it's still primarily the Nashville newspaper (which doesn't explain the Franklin-Siegel incident that was mentioned since it was a local game for them, but follow me on this...)

 

Advertising space is the first and foremost importance of any newspaper, taking up its place before anything else can go in the newspaper. The Titans and the Predators are the professional teams in that city, have larger fan bases than any one high school and thus will bring in more readers and money to the paper than a high school story, so they'll have more importance than preps. After all, it's still a business and it's money that puts the paper on the newsstands and the front porch every day. Do we see nationally televised high school games on a nightly basis?

 

And then, based on how much advertising they have, their page quantity is determined. It's not as simple as just adding another page or two. If the ad money doesn't support it...

 

Then the sheer quantity of high school games in counties that they cover is impossible to send a reporter out to every single game. So they are then at the mercy of whoever sends the scores in, as it has been previously stated. I've seen Associated Press box scores on college games make the same mistakes — it happens and they're really not out to sleight anyone, honest.

 

Their goal is to represent as many games as they can, and right now everyone is still in the early stages of the season. Yes, district play has begun, but the races haven't even heated up yet, so the meat-and-potatoes of the season is still to come. A lot of people don't really get into basketball until the football bowl season is complete, especially since a lot of state teams go elsewhere to play tournament games until the new year, and it's like looking for a needle in a haystack to get results from those games.

[franklinrebelsfan]

Here's a wonderful example.....JUST POSTED ON TENNESSEAN.COM

 

Friday, 12/15/06

 

Franklin off to surprising start in basketball

 

By CHIP CIRILLO

Staff Writer

 

 

Someone forgot to tell Franklin this is a rebuilding year.

 

The Rebels lost nine seniors to graduation, but that hasn’t stopped them from getting off to a 6-2 start.

 

 

 

 

Franklin hammered Hillwood 58-28 on Tuesday for the Rebels’ fourth consecutive victory. Coach Jay Johnson’s ball club is the only unbeaten team in District 11-AAA at 3-0.

 

One of the Rebels’ most impressive outings came in a 61-58 road loss on Dec. 2 to Antioch, which boasts a 13-0 record. Donta Brown leads Franklin in scoring with a 13.3 average, and Derek Anderson isn’t far behind at 10.6.

 

The Rebels lead the district in scoring (65.2) and rank second in defense (48.8). Johnson has led Franklin to 79 wins during the past three seasons, including a 31-4 record last year.

 

Williamson County rival (4-4, 2-3) visits Franklin tonight in a district game.

 

 

DEREK ANDERSON AND DONTA BROWN NO LONGER ATTEND FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL!! THEY BOTH GRADUATED LAST YEAR!!!

Edited December 15, 2006 by franklinrebelsfan

[jls311]

Here's what's on the site now...it was added at 1:57 pm/cst:

 

 

Franklin off to surprising start in basketball

 

By CHIP CIRILLO

Staff Writer

 

 

Someone forgot to tell Franklin this is a rebuilding year.

 

The Rebels lost nine seniors to graduation, but that hasn’t stopped them from getting off to a 6-2 start.

 

Franklin hammered Hillwood 58-28 on Tuesday for the Rebels’ fourth consecutive victory. Coach Jay Johnson’s ball club is the only unbeaten team in District 11-AAA at 3-0.

 

One of the Rebels’ most impressive outings came in a 61-58 road loss on Dec. 2 to Antioch, which boasts a 13-0 record.

 

Derek Batt, Ryan Glover and Deontrey Siske lead a balanced attack for Franklin, averaging 12 points each. Point guard Michael Young has played well in the Rebels’ last two games.

 

The Rebels lead the district in scoring (65.2) and rank second in defense (48.8). Johnson has led Franklin to 79 wins during the past three seasons, including a 31-4 record last year.

 

Williamson County rival Ravenwood (4-4, 2-3) visits Franklin tonight in a district game.

Edited December 16, 2006 by jls311