On multiple occasions, this website has pointed out to college football coaches across America that the local media does not work for them. They are not supposed to be cheerleaders. They are not “in this thing together.” They are not required to be positive. They’re the media. Their goal is to cover the news and report it objectively. Unless they’re on the university payroll, they don’t work for the athletic program.
So it’s only fair that when the local media does cross over into that uncomfortable realm of being pom-pom waving cheerleaders for the local sports team, that it should be pointed out as well.
Jim Romenesko reported that Columbus Dispatch publisher Brad Harmon wrote a memo to staffers encouraging them to wear the scarlet and gray of Ohio State before big game against Michigan State this weekend, a pretty blatant slap in the face of any sense of objectivity coming from the local paper of record:
Let’s support our Ohio State Buckeye’s [sic]!
Wear your OSU gear to work on Friday, November 20th in support of the game with Michigan State on Saturday. If you have appointments with clients then accompany your OSU shirt with business casual attire.
Let’s have some fun!
Brad Harmon
First of all, how does the publisher of the Columbus Dispatch put a totally unnecessary apostrophe in the word “Buckeyes”???
Second of all, have Big Nut, BuckeyeMan, and Buck-I-Guy taken over the Columbus Dispatch???
Third of all, this, once again, is *not* the role of the local media. It’s not in the contract of any Columbus Dispatch staffer or any other media member to “support” Ohio State… in spite of what anyone in the Buckeye fanbase or the state capital might believe. Just ask Kirk Herbstreit what happens when someone associated with Ohio State attempts to cover the program objectively.
Thankfully, Dispatch editor Alan Miller pumped the brakes on the premature pep rally. He clarified that newsroom staffers cannot and should not be wearing the local sports team’s colors to work and cheer for them on the clock. Romenesko provided this update to readers:
Miller tells Romenesko readers: “The publisher understands that the newsroom operates differently than other divisions of the company, so I sent this to the newsroom staff to clarify that:
All,
While we appreciate the Buckeyes, and while staff members are free to cheer for their favorite teams in their own ways on their own time, we report the news and cheer for no one. So we won’t be wearing Buckeyes gear to work.
Thanks.
Alan
Those lines between church and state can get blurred on occasion in a town where one team and one program dominates so much of the fan interest and headlines. But thankfully someone in a supervisory role working at the Dispatch can articulate where the line still is. After reading this story though, maybe it’s understandable why so many college coaches get the very wrong idea that the local media should be working for them.
