How bad is the Vancouver hockey media?

[TheDiver*]

I have noticed for a little while now, with so many media members with 4 newspapers, two radio stations, social media, and all the others from TV covering the Canucks, the quality of coverage has gone downhill.


The best discussion and insight I get is from others who post here, or from the occasional beat writer or columnist, or from hockey insiders who cover all, or other teams. But the average Vancouver sports media personality so far are just not insightful...

Case in point...



Over the last couple days, the two biggest stars in Canuck history (arguably) held press conferences. Here are most of the questions thrown at them:

ROBERTO LUONGO (Post Trade Deadline)
STARTED WITH OBVIOUS QUESTIONS...
Are you relieved this is over?
Did you think today that something happened?
Are you dissapointed?

What kept you from being traded? Length of contract, term (both are the same thing)?
Have you thought about how difficult is to move your contract? (Roberto's answer: well..yeah, I'VE HAD A YEAR TO THINK ABOUT IT)

THEN A HYPOTHETICAL:
Could you move yourself if you were a GM?

THEN ANOTHER...
What if you had to do this again next year?


Are people going to see the same side of you, through social media and your personality, does today change that?

If you were writing a story in the paper, how would you approach it?

Is it frustrating to know that you could be elsewhere?


Then Bure returned for the first time:

PAVEL BURE...
What are your top 3 memories as a Canuck? (Pavel: I don't just have 3)

THEN 4 QUESTIONS ON THE SAME TOPIC AFTER HE ADDRESSED IT WITH THE PREVIOUS ANSWER...
Are you going to retire your jersey?
What will it mean to have your jerey retired?
Is it going to happen?
Should you have been honoured with your jersey retired before...is it the same as the Hall of Fame?



THEN CRAP ABOUT HIS PERSONAL LIFE THAT ANYONE WITH A GOOGLE SEARCH COULD HAVE LEARNED IN 2 SECONDS...OR THAT ARE NONE OF OUR BUSINESS AND NO ONE CARES ABOUT...

Where do you live mostly?

Are you having a baby soon?

Is it going to be a boy or a girl?

Do you have a name picked out?

(Is this TMZ?)



These press conferences, especially the Bure one, were a joke in terms of the quality questions, and I think the Vancouver media just seem to like the access they get, and ask stupid questions just to get some soundbites and move on.

Especially the Bure one. The questions about his personal life just reminded him of one of the reasons he probably wanted out of here...our dumb media and their focus on the unimportant.

Click to read more...

 

[Wheatley]

Well yeah, they're sports journalists, not investigative reporters. I wouldn't expect any hard hitting questions

 

[lush]

It's hard to say, I'm so entrenched in this market and this team, it's the same writers day in and day out. There are some interesting blogs out there but I don't have time to read it all. You kind of have to compare the media to other markets though to see where ours ranks. It's also very subjective, what some people consider 'bad' others consider 'good'. So I suppose it also depends on what you're looking for from these people. At the end of the day a lot of them are simply talking heads.

 

[iamtherunner]

The guys who write for the Province are pretty terrible, I especially dislike Tony Gallagher. I remember I liked reading that paper when I was about 12 years old, now that I've actually grown up I can see how must of their writing is just utter crap.

The negative spin put on the Luongo situation is just because the media has been talking about it so long. I think that is much more stressful for the parties involved (ie Lou, the staff, other players perhaps) because of the media than because of the situation in of itself. It's like what Bieksa said earlier this year, the team could care less about the supposed "controversy." As much as people like to think it causes troubles in the locker room, no one actually knows except the players themselves.

Everyone likes to feel bad for Lou and say how he is a consumate professional, yet at the same time people say it causes locker room problems. How could this be the case, isn't it one or the other?

 

[TheDiver*]

Well yeah, they're sports journalists, not investigative reporters. I wouldn't expect any hard hitting questions

True...but if I had the chanc to ask Pavel Bure on his first visit here in a long time 2 questions I wouldn't ask him the gender of his unborn child...then when he says no...wouldnt ask him the name of a kid whose sex he doesn't even know!

Tells me there's a lack of brain cells in the room.

 

[thepuckmonster]

On a scale of 1-10? Satanic. They're awful. I know that SN used to get in **** for being too homeristic Canucks but come on, Vancouver media now just wants to find every reason to hate the Canucks. If TSN is allowed to practically ******* the Leafs, I think SN PAC and the newpapers can afford to tone down the negativity a bit.

I actually would rather watch the other teams feed 95% of the time over SPAC or CBC (exception: TSN) because they're less anti-Vancouver than our own damn media

Also, John Garrett is Pejorative Slured.

 

[Superpest]

It has always been like that. It's not just in Vancouver. I remember there was a couple videos of Iginla getting interviewed and it was some really bad questions. Some that Iginla couldn't even answer.

 

[Royal Canuck]

Vancouver is a big hockey market, players and staff know that when they enter the organization and have to accept the pressure and craziness of it.

 

[Rick Rocket]

Horrendous. I like Donny T.
The rest SUCK, actually hurt the team I would say... stirring up **** to be entertaining.

 

[TheDiver*]

On a scale of 1-10? Satanic. They're awful. I know that SN used to get in **** for being too homeristic Canucks but come on, Vancouver media now just wants to find every reason to hate the Canucks. If TSN is allowed to practically ******* the Leafs, I think SN PAC and the newpapers can afford to tone down the negativity a bit.

I actually would rather watch the other teams feed 95% of the time over SPAC or CBC (exception: TSN) because they're less anti-Vancouver than our own damn media

Also, John Garrett is Pejorative Slured.

HAHAHAHAHA.

That explains his one word answers.

"Yes."
-John Garrett

 

[Superpest]

I really dislike the Sportsnet crew.

They're intermission shows are a snooze fest (I'd rather watch a full game of the Canucks vs Blue Jackets) with stupid analysts (Shannon, MacLean, Kypreos (who isn't as bad as the others).

Shorthouse is great. Don Taylor is fine. Garry Valk is all sorts of bad. Garrett is awesome, but a huge homer and says stupid things. But the stache is amazing.

 

[thepuckmonster]

I really dislike the Sportsnet crew.

They're intermission shows are a snooze fest (I'd rather watch a full game of the Canucks vs Blue Jackets) with stupid analysts (Shannon, MacLean, Kypreos (who isn't as bad as the others).

Shorthouse is great. Don Taylor is fine. Garry Valk is all sorts of bad. Garrett is awesome, but a huge homer and says stupid things. But the stache is amazing.

Valk makes me want to punch babies.

 

[TheDiver*]

I really dislike the Sportsnet crew.

They're intermission shows are a snooze fest (I'd rather watch a full game of the Canucks vs Blue Jackets) with stupid analysts (Shannon, MacLean, Kypreos (who isn't as bad as the others).

Shorthouse is great. Don Taylor is fine. Garry Valk is all sorts of bad. Garrett is awesome, but a huge homer and says stupid things. But the stache is amazing.

Shorthouse is awesome.

Don Taylor looks like morning breath.

Garry Valk is the textbook definition of a dumb jock.

Valk makes me want to punch babies.

Most women i'v watched games with would say Valk makes them wanna MAKE babies, not punch 'em!

Garrett is not inisghtful enough for a hockey market.

 

[Superpest]

Valk makes me want to punch babies.

Not only is he boring, he makes stupid comments and thinks he is the ****.

You were a bad player and you're a bad analyst.

 

[Bro Horvat]

am I the only one who loves John Garrett? Without him I would never know which Kraft products to buy! or what new City TV shows to watch!

Alcatraz!

 

[Spectrefire]

Don Taylor is just unbearable.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

We are probably the 2nd worst in Canada.

Toronto is by far the worst. Then we are probably 2nd.

Although alot of the dumb media we get is from Toronto so they kinda bring us down a bit aswell.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

I do enjoy:

Donny Taylor
Shorty
Valk (most of the time, he has gotten back in my good books)
B-Mac
Murph
Ben Kuzma is okay aswell.

Then I am impartial to the rest right now.

 

[dps]

I think the media in general has turned to ****.

I don't mind Taylor, shorthouse, and Garrett, at least they try to be neutral. A lot of the times though Garrett says some dumb ****. Mackenzie is ok but pretty annoying. I hate kipper. The other guys make me wonder what they're watching half the time or if they are at all.

 

[BeardyCanuck03]

The problem with having such a large group of media covering the team is that for the most part you are going to get a) the same **** over and over or b) ideas that are over thought/under thought and aren't correct.

 

[TheBleedingEdge]

They are all competing in a big market for a peice of the pie, so they write whatever gets a reaction. Most of the time as we all know negative stories or drama seems to be the most effective to draw emotion into people and get their attention.

It just shows what a hack alot of the writers are, they havent even hit the ice or shot a puck it seems. Straight up talking heads with little else then fuzz between their ears.

I do wish there was a more positive energy to our city sometimes, I mean one thing I give Toronto fans, as bad as it ever got they still had loyalty and hope LOL

 

[Flik]

I like Shorthouse and Garrett quite a bit.

Shorty does a bang up job calling the games, and I find Garrett to be a loveable oaf.

Since moving from Vancouver I don't bother following up with the rest of the media coverage as close as I used to, so I can't comment on the rest.

 

[Bro Horvat]

We are probably the 2nd worst in Canada.

Toronto is by far the worst. Then we are probably 2nd.

Although alot of the dumb media we get is from Toronto so they kinda bring us down a bit aswell.

Nope, Montreal is worse too, I've lived here 4 years now and can't believe how fast they can get on top guys - particularly last season when they were terrible. We're number 3 though.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

Nope, Montreal is worse too, I've lived here 4 years now and can't believe how fast they can get on top guys - particularly last season when they were terrible. We're number 3 though.

Wow really.

Alright I will trust you then.

1. Toronto
2. Montreal
3. Vancouver

 

[Var]

Don't usually rip on people, but the one guy that's a real channel changer is Jason Botchford from the Province on TSN. Not sure if it's the shrill in his voice or his obsession with sports related drama, but without fail, it's a cue to hunt down the remote.

By and large though, the SportsNet Crew is good. Shorthouse and Garrett are good to listen to - take them over the leaf commentators any day. Valk's a good guy, enjoy listening to him. Listening to Pat Quinn the other night in a round table of GM's was terrific.