Winnipeg media: asleep at the job

[CorgisPer60]

Sports Media is there to get a quote or pick a story and spin an opinion piece on it. They aren't our voice, in fact, it's their voice that often changes ours.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Please take your angry screed to the Pavelec mega-thread.

The role of the sports media in a market like Winnipeg is always going to be difficult. A guy like Gary Lawless lives and dies by his access to the team. If he is too negative, too critical, too hostile he's going to lose any and all access to the team. Hell they could even take away his press pass if they were so inclined. So the media has to approach the team carefully.

On the other hand, if a media figure like Lawless does nothing but act as the PR spokesperson for the team, and never says a critical word, they lose any and all credibility with the fans and just make themselves redundant (the Jets already have PR people).

It's a tough job, and one far more difficult than the OP gives them credit for.

 

[nags]

I don't know what we're yelling about?

Some kids walked across my lawn and I failed to yell at them so we are making up for that collectively.

 

[White Out 403*]

Please take your angry screed to the Pavelec mega-thread.

The role of the sports media in a market like Winnipeg is always going to be difficult. A guy like Gary Lawless lives and dies by his access to the team. If he is too negative, too critical, too hostile he's going to lose any and all access to the team. Hell they could even take away his press pass if they were so inclined. So the media has to approach the team carefully.

On the other hand, if a media figure like Lawless does nothing but act as the PR spokesperson for the team, and never says a critical word, they lose any and all credibility with the fans and just make themselves redundant (the Jets already have PR people).

It's a tough job, and one far more difficult than the OP gives them credit for.

Not surprising to hear from someone who so lovingly defended pavelec until just last season.

edit: Also, no it's not a tough job. Welding on an oil rig is a tough job. Crack ***** is a tough job. Getting fat off donuts and writing crappy articles about a hockey team, and being sent around the continent to watch hockey as part of it, is not a tough job.

 

[nags]

I don't know what we're yelling about?

Some kids walked across my lawn and I failed to yell at them so we are making up for that collectively.

 

[King Woodballs]

What purpose does media serve then?

To provide news and entertainment?

You want a voice? Call a politician

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

So with Pavelec not being bought out (hes not on waivers so its impossible to do) I want to discuss who's to blame. I think by now everyone is on board with what I've been saying since day one of my existence on HF and since year 1 of the Jets back in Winnipeg: Pavelec is a problem.

Kevin Cheveldayoff: He's the architect of this disaster. He signed a guy to a fairly decent contract, but failed to do his due diligence. Pavs was convicted of a crime that summer in Europe and no one in our organization knew.

More damning, however, is that now with all this data painting a very obvious picture for all to see, he is sticking to his guns.

Ondrej himself: I'm not going to blame a guy for not being good enough to be an NHL calibre goaltender. He is what he is. I can blame him for his piss poor behaviour. Concealing his criminal record in Europe while negotiating a new long term deal. being unfit and unwilling to learn and adapt. but again how much can be blamed on him: if he isn't good enough he isn't good enough.

Winnipeg media: The biggest cowards in all media. Lawless in particular. This guy is such a clown.He does nothing but powdery fluff pieces on the Jets with no teeth. He actually just a few months ago wrote an article with the scathing question "if indeed goaltending is the main problem for the Jets". What? are you serious? He actually trotted out that embarrassing piece of garbage article to try and show he tough he was on TNSE.

So here we are... and I blame the Winnipeg Media for not doing their jobs. The Winnipeg media in print and online and tv is a joke. They're all basically answering not to the readers and fans of Winnipeg, but to TNSE. They're so star struck by having the pros back in Winnipeg they wouldn't dare ruffle any feathers. Lawless really is the captain of this garbage dump of a field. Ed Tait is no better.

I'm not asking for our media to run a player out of town, I'm asking for them to have the balls to ask our GM why he's anointing the worst goaltender for 3 years running as our starter. Or how about why he's hell bent on Pavelec being the #1 when Hutch has more grooming in the AHL, better AHL numbers, and better NHL numbers than Pavs. Or how about asking why a small market team wouldn't want to save 1/3rd the salary of a contract for a player who's better off not showing up?

There's no words to describe my utter contempt for our useless media, sitting and purring on the laps of true north like trained little house cats. It's embarrassing. I deserve better. YOU deserve better. WINNIPEG deserves better. We pay out the nose to enjoy our Jets (yes, our Jets. Not Chipmans or TNSE) and we deserve to have the tough questions asked.

Shame on the Sun, Free Press, and every trained house cat who thinks they're a journalist in this city. You should all resign in embarrassment and go work for McDonalds.

I think your post is really good. Excellent points about Pavelec concealing a criminal record.

This has to be Pavelec's make or break season, no substantial improvement either he leaves, or if Chevy is still behind him..well, he'll need his head examined.

 

[White Out 403*]

To provide news and entertainment?

You want a voice? Call a politician

Sports media have a responsibility to their subscribers and readers. In any other market, except maybe Ottawa where no one cares, TNSE would be held accountable for their crap management of our goaltending. Here? No one breathes a word.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Resurrection, Lawless and the rest of the mainstream media does not instruct the Jets on how to handle their affairs.

Personally, I would have liked to seen Pavs bought out because he has sucked for some time. But to blame the MSM is ludicrous in my opinion.

Blame the Jets management if you want to blame anyone....

I think he is blaming the media simply for not asking the hard questions which, by some definitions of their role they are supposed to do.

It drives me nuts nobody has asked Chevy how he views Buff. Maurice says he's a Forward. Buff says he's a d-man. Unless I've missed it, nobody has asked Chevy.

That doesn't really strike me as a GMs role. How to use the players is up to the coach.

If Chevy bought out Pavelec only because the MSM was questioning him on it, then it would make him even a worse GM. I don't want to see this franchise being run by the media.

I'm not happy about the Pavelec buyout, but lay the blame squarely on those responsible (Management).

Nobody wants that. But the media has at least some access. Something we do not have. There are a number of questions that are not being asked or that are asked quietly then dropped after a nonsensical answer.

He did blame management first.

I'd like someone in the media to ask what the hell is going on with Telegin! Not one question all season.....

And in the end it turned out there was a story if not quite an explanation.

It APPEARS that way to you. But if you take a look at the advanced numbers, they really are not.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Please take your angry screed to the Pavelec mega-thread.

The role of the sports media in a market like Winnipeg is always going to be difficult. A guy like Gary Lawless lives and dies by his access to the team. If he is too negative, too critical, too hostile he's going to lose any and all access to the team. Hell they could even take away his press pass if they were so inclined. So the media has to approach the team carefully.

On the other hand, if a media figure like Lawless does nothing but act as the PR spokesperson for the team, and never says a critical word, they lose any and all credibility with the fans and just make themselves redundant (the Jets already have PR people).

It's a tough job, and one far more difficult than the OP gives them credit for.

And what is the main function of the team's PR staff? It is to get as much publicity and as favourable as possible. Without the media the team doesn't sell nearly as many tickets. They are not as influential as they used to be before the internet but they still carry a lot of weight. So there is a balancing act. A team doesn't restrict media access because they ask hard questions. That line is drawn somewhere else, like making up lies to sell papers.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

I think your post is really good. Excellent points about Pavelec concealing a criminal record.

This has to be Pavelec's make or break season, no substantial improvement either he leaves, or if Chevy is still behind him..well, he'll need his head examined.

I think last year was Goat-Lender's make or break season. This is Chevy's make or break season. By failing to handle the goaltending problem he has taken a running start down the 'break' path. The good drafting buys him only so much rope. That is just doing his job. It is what we expect. He now needs to pull a rabbit out of his hat to recover.

 

[viper0220]

I think Winnipeg, like all other Canadian teams are just happy that they are making money, I don't think it really matters to them if they win or lose.

 

[YWGinYYZ]

Sports media have a responsibility to their subscribers and readers. In any other market, except maybe Ottawa where no one cares, TNSE would be held accountable for their crap management of our goaltending. Here? No one breathes a word.

They have a responsibility to provide entertainment. Period. Anything beyond that is a bonus, IMHO.

Some in the media have started questioning our goaltending - as others have said, it's a very fine line between questioning and having your access cut off. These people have to make a living - it's not as if they're entrenched with the military reporting on atrocities.

 

[garret9]

It APPEARS that way to you. But if you take a look at the advanced numbers, they really are not.

 

[drumzan]

That doesn't really strike me as a GMs role. How to use the players is up to the coach.

I don't disagree. Chevy buys the groceries, Maurice is the cook. But, when there's a disagreement between coach and player, GM should chime in.

 

[Duir]

Oh geez.

 

[wpgsilver]

Sports media have a responsibility to their subscribers and readers. In any other market, except maybe Ottawa where no one cares, TNSE would be held accountable for their crap management of our goaltending. Here? No one breathes a word.

Yes. They have to be held accountable. So stop reading.
Most people here don't have the same zeal and criticisms you do.
Could we have better coverage? Yes. Could every market say that? Yes.
I understand the difficulties of being part of the media here. I'm not sure you do.

 

[HannuJ]

guys,
can i now tell you what i'm thinking?

 

[theamazingchris]

Gotta say, though, this was very cathartic to read.

 

[truck]

Pav is Chevy's fault.

It was a bad contract before it was signed and he is sticking to it.

 

[stimpsoncat]

Mostly agree with the op. Yes, sports media is entertainment. Most sports media ask tough questions that fans want to hear because it helps sell newspapers and increases viewership. Our media suckles at the teat of True North. They won't touch anything controversial or negative toward the way the team is managed. Sports media is opinionated and different than regular news media and the great thing about sports media is that for every positive piece, someone is there to highlight the other side. Except in Winnipeg this doesn't exist. Every market has their "homers" and every market has the ones that stir the pot and ask the tough questions. None of the Winnipeg media ask any of the tough questions, it's like press conferences are scripted. The media in Winnipeg are not paid by the Jets, and shouldn't act like they are. One simple question is all I want to hear answered - "Why is Pavelec the number one guy when he has been the worst goalie statistically in the NHL the last 3 seasons?" As much as everyone thinks it's not the media's job to ask what the fans want to hear, does anyone believe that this question wouldn't have been asked in any other Canadian city? If the same situation were happening in Toronto, would the media ask that question? How about Montreal? Ottawa? Vancouver? We all know the answer. Luckily, the national media is starting to question the goaltending situation in Winnipeg. I'd like to see a one on one interview between Chevy and James Duthie. Chevy would be asked more hard questions than he's ever had to answer before he got a chance to say "process".

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

I'd like someone in the media to ask what the hell is going on with Telegin! Not one question all season.....

And in the end it turned out there was a story if not quite an explanation

I don't recall anyone from the Jets ever commenting on this issue at all. His agent brought up a story of a "fight with a fence" that the Jets repeated at the 2012 draft, but declined to let Telegin comment on.

After being sent down to the Ice Caps he got concussed missed the remainder of the season, came to 2013 camp, didn't play due to lingering concussion issues, got sent down refused to report for personal issues, then went home to Russia.

Jets lifted the suspension in January 2014, never explained anything & assigned him to CSKA Moscow where he is "playing" yet I've yet to see his name as much as appear in a game. Final stats for the season are:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0050392014.html

& his name appears nowhere. Apparently he played 0 games & doesn't appear it the KHL database at all:

http://en.khl.ru/players/?letter=T

But he is listed as on the team although no sign of him in the team photo.

http://en.khl.ru/clubs/cska

It's no wonder he didn't report to St. Johns. If "The Russian Roadrunner" isn't playing back home it's because he's still injured. What else could it be?

Anyways like I said, this has never been asked or explained, but the kid hasn't played a game since January of 2013, 18 months ago.

Former Senators draft pick & Canada's starting goalie who backstopped Canada's jr's to gold at the 2005 Worlds, goalie Jeff Glass, is a team mate. Perhaps someone with connections could ask him.

 

[Hunter368]

Yes. They have to be held accountable. So stop reading.
Most people here don't have the same zeal and criticisms you do.
Could we have better coverage? Yes. Could every market say that? Yes.
I understand the difficulties of being part of the media here. I'm not sure you do.

100% agree. The opening post has some valid points which we all know already, dead horse. The opinion on the media being our voice is a bit naive IMO. Media is there to sell papers, advertising, etc......it's there to make money not to be any holy voice of the people. Like WPGSILVER said if you don't agree with the media have your voice heard and stop buying their papers etc. While most agree with the opening post to some degree this is a dead horse. Jets management, likely including Chipman have decided to keep Pav's, soooo let's move on and let it play out.

The difference between Pav's sv% vs the league average compared to the shots he faced last year amounts to about 20-25 goals if I recall. While that sucks it's amounts to us needing a extra 20-25 goal scorer. It's a hindrance no doubt but isn't the end of the world either.

 

[pegjets]

Not surprising to hear from someone who so lovingly defended pavelec until just last season.

edit: Also, no it's not a tough job. Welding on an oil rig is a tough job. Crack ***** is a tough job. Getting fat off donuts and writing crappy articles about a hockey team, and being sent around the continent to watch hockey as part of it, is not a tough job.

It's not a physically demanding job, sure, but it requires a lot of travel (time away from family) - I believe Lawless has a young daughter, so that can't be easy for him to be away from his family for a good chunk of the year. For all it's overt society status perks, it really isn't an incredibly financially rewarding job (journalism in general is trending down rather than up).

I hear your passion but don't let it completely cloud your vision.

 

[buggs]

Some kids walked across my lawn and I failed to yell at them so we are making up for that collectively.

I got you covered. I yell at all the kids in the neighbourhood (mostly because I have a teenage daughter).