Local Media Coverage Of The San Jose Sharks Is Pathetic
- Thread starter TealTown22
- Start date
SJSharksfan39
Registered User
Wait is that true? That’s surprising considering he’s an East Coast guy who moved from Virginia to New Jersey (if I recall from his M vs W days)
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DeadGhost
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- Feb 15, 2010
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Purdy was the only person that even remotely resembled a Sports Journalist the Merc has ever had.
SJSharksfan39
Registered User
Interesting. I remember during the Playoff Run, Wysh kind of made fun of the way the Sharks did their in game entertainment, even though coming out of the Sharks head has been something the team has done since almost their birth. I thought maybe it was an east/west thing. At least now he will stay up for the late games and not complain that they end too late. One of the greatest things about living on the west coast is the whole Sports aspect to it.
As for media personalities, I wish the media here had more accountability and didn't have kid gloves on when talking about the team. I was actually listening to KNBR yesterday and (I think) Fitz and Brooks were talking about Monte Poole and how he's only doing his job but it triggered Kevin Durant. It seems like the Media coverage of the warriors is the gold standard of what the Media coverage is for all sports here should be. Who can be the Sharks Monte Poole? Definitely not Kurz, who while I think writes good stories for the Athletic, comes across as unprofessional. I think the best guy who covered the Sharks as long as I've been a fan was David Pollack. Unfortunately he retired and there hasn't been someone of his caliber since.
My biggest issue is the lack of insider info from the beat reporters in Kurz, Gackle, Pashelka, etc.
Trade deadline day was a great example of how disconnected they are. I realize DW is tighter lipped than most but you couldn't hear a pin drop from any of those guys until after the deadline had even passed. No confirmation of whether the Sharks were done or anything. Some of them didn't even tweet about DW's post-deadline conference call while some national reporters were.
Trade deadline day was a great example of how disconnected they are. I realize DW is tighter lipped than most but you couldn't hear a pin drop from any of those guys until after the deadline had even passed. No confirmation of whether the Sharks were done or anything. Some of them didn't even tweet about DW's post-deadline conference call while some national reporters were.
Used As A Shield
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- Aug 10, 2011
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boylerroom
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slocal
Dude...what?
Wedontneedroads
Registered User
Nice write up. Lots of good detail; can tell you put a lot of work into it.
My guess is this is really all about the money. Hockey just doesn't bring in the money that NFL, NBA, and MLB does.
Curious how you think these factor into that equation:
1. Hockey is the least popular and most difficult major sport to learn and follow live (following the puck). Lack of a large diverse national audience means less air time, and less ad revenue. More difficult to follow means it is tougher to pull in the casual fan and build net new fan numbers.
2. Lack of youth interest in hockey - hockey fans are aging rapidly. Average age has gone from 33 in 2000 to 49 in 2016. The prospect pool is not being replenished. Kids seem to be more into Esports than the 4 major sports. MSG sells out league of legends tournaments, and universities are building esports stadiums and handing out scholarships. This is a serious long term threat to all major sports, that hasn't received serious consideration until recently.
3. Bay Area Demographics - Hockey is predominately a white sport. 2014-2017 studies saw that anywhere from 75-90% of NHL viewers are white. Santa Clara county breaks down to 33% white, 35% asian, 25% hispanic. Dig a bit further and you find that 39% of Santa Clara County residents are foreign born (61% Asian, 23% Hispanic, 13% non-white). Nothing against the diversity of the Bay Area, but you certainly cannot ignore demographics when examining entertainment preferences.
My guess is this is really all about the money. Hockey just doesn't bring in the money that NFL, NBA, and MLB does.
Curious how you think these factor into that equation:
1. Hockey is the least popular and most difficult major sport to learn and follow live (following the puck). Lack of a large diverse national audience means less air time, and less ad revenue. More difficult to follow means it is tougher to pull in the casual fan and build net new fan numbers.
2. Lack of youth interest in hockey - hockey fans are aging rapidly. Average age has gone from 33 in 2000 to 49 in 2016. The prospect pool is not being replenished. Kids seem to be more into Esports than the 4 major sports. MSG sells out league of legends tournaments, and universities are building esports stadiums and handing out scholarships. This is a serious long term threat to all major sports, that hasn't received serious consideration until recently.
3. Bay Area Demographics - Hockey is predominately a white sport. 2014-2017 studies saw that anywhere from 75-90% of NHL viewers are white. Santa Clara county breaks down to 33% white, 35% asian, 25% hispanic. Dig a bit further and you find that 39% of Santa Clara County residents are foreign born (61% Asian, 23% Hispanic, 13% non-white). Nothing against the diversity of the Bay Area, but you certainly cannot ignore demographics when examining entertainment preferences.
FeedingFrenzy
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- Oct 26, 2009
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Grew up in san jose in the 80-90s..
Purdy did good work. Knowledgeable and quirky, off-beat but not PC. Always enjoyed his column and his satire. Didnt always agree with his stuff but he took a position.
TealTown22
Registered User
As stated in the article, it's understood that the Sharks are at the bottom of the coverage pile. Even when they were the only team doing well, that was the case. The focus of the article was more about their media channels. None of the networks or radio stations need to waste time talking about the Sharks any more than they already do. However, it's sad when people go to their website and find the latest Sharks article is from last playoffs. And the article is pulled from AP or ESPN, not authored internally. It's like why even have a sports page on your site? The other problem being their twitter/facebook accounts. It doesn't cut into ratings for their respective digital media people to post Sharks info... whether it's a final score, a significant moment (like clinching a playoff spot), or a RT about the All Star Game.
Lack of on-air coverage is the norm and sadly expected. But to provide next to nothing on your web presences is unacceptable.
Wedontneedroads
Registered User
I feel ya. I doubt they even have writers on staff that can competently write about hockey.
Nice write up.
WSS11
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- Oct 7, 2009
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Ehh I don’t think he’s celebrating his injury. He’s pointing out the truth that we all know to be true...the sharks need points and not having to face MAF would be a huge break after two straight losses.
Sure, and we can say that on a messaging board, but I don't think it's very professional for the Sharks' beat writer to be saying that. I also brought it up because it's Gackle, who has a history of being unprofessional.
DeadGhost
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I don't see it as celebrating. He's stating theres a possibility Fleury doesn't dress and if that were to occur it'd be advantageous to the Sharks. Pretty common beat writer Tweet, imo.
DeadGhost
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ChompChomp
Can't wait for Sharks hockey to return someday
It's crazy I just watched the sports segment on KGO 7 the local ABC affiliate. First time I've seen Bay Area news in years.
Anyways, the segment never once mentioned the Sharks were hosting the Red Wings tonight in a game important to the Sharks who are still mathematically trying to keep hope for a division title alive.
Instead, in addition to Cal v Baylor women's ncaa tourney highlights and getting ready for Bay Bridge series, there were clips from Durants post game press conference... From last night. And a mini segment on what Jason Kidd might do. And a mini segment about the Raiders being approved to play at Coliseum for 2019. And of course, some random thing about a bird on a golf course.
It's rather astonishing. There is no good argument for not even mentioning the Sharks game tonight during the sports segment of a local news broadcast. None.
Anyways, the segment never once mentioned the Sharks were hosting the Red Wings tonight in a game important to the Sharks who are still mathematically trying to keep hope for a division title alive.
Instead, in addition to Cal v Baylor women's ncaa tourney highlights and getting ready for Bay Bridge series, there were clips from Durants post game press conference... From last night. And a mini segment on what Jason Kidd might do. And a mini segment about the Raiders being approved to play at Coliseum for 2019. And of course, some random thing about a bird on a golf course.
It's rather astonishing. There is no good argument for not even mentioning the Sharks game tonight during the sports segment of a local news broadcast. None.
I agree it's pretty unprofessional but it's not the worst thing Gackle has done and it's not unexpected either. He's a hack but this is pretty far down the list of the reasons why.
SpaceCoastShark
Look what the cat dragged in
Channel 7 is too busy trying to convince us that what's happening on The Bachelor is news.
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