News Article: TBN: Another beauty from Harrington

[Chainshot]

not clicking or reading his crap

Agreed. Granted, my father is reading it in the next room and he eats up print pap. *grumble*

 

[kp2575]

It's a natural response. How many times do you need to get bit before you stop putting your finger in the dog's mouth?

Informational control is a win-win for the Sabres. Less getting their words twisted and more making fans (consumers) think what they want. Every time players or coaches talk to the media, they are taking a huge risk something will get spun. They are walking into a snake pit every time. Bill Belichick and Greg Popovich say almost nothing to the media. They do it not because they are A-holes like many people think, but because they are minimizing risk. It's no coincidence that they're also two of the greatest coaches of all time.

Of course this is a lose-lose for the fans. Less access and only one side of the story. TBN (and a million other media outlets) have put all their chips into sensationalism because thorough split testing has shown that's what gets the most clicks, thus ad revenue from impressions. Now they need to face the consequences of organizations limiting their access. Why let the troublemaker into the club every night?

What I hope happens on a macro scale is that organizations shut the door on media and have full informational control. This should make the public irate and call upon journalists to do their damn job with professionalism. There is an imbalance towards the media. We need the imbalance to go towards the information keepers, and then a push in the other direction to balance it out. I hope my kids don't read crap like this article when they're my age.

All good points. And I agree with what you want for the desired end result. How are we going to get that end result when the split testing shows that people want sensationalistic crap, celebrity gossip, and reactionary stories versus well reported and investigated articles? Isn't the media we are getting the media we have been asking for as our behavior and choices as a society at large?

 

[RiotAct]

Make Mike H call in with the uneducated masses to get his question answered

"Hi, my name is Mike, I work for the Buffalo News, and I have a journalism degree. I have a question for Tim"

As long as he can sound like a drunken blowhard similar to 90% of the people who call into WGR, that'll work.

 

[OkimLom]

If it's a requirement by the league for them to have end of the year pressers, then sure I can see TBN and others a little ticked off, but it's not iirc.

Even still, why does Buffalo need to do the presser when TBN wants it. For all we know, they could be stalling until the end of the playoffs so they can get a better idea of where they are going. Having a head coach will help in that matter and Murray and Co need to do work.Their(Murray and Co.) priority is to the Buffalo Sabres, not the media. If they are doing scouting work, going through who they want for coaches for interviews, pretty much doing their job, then let them. The media can wait.

For questions that need to be answered right now, I'm not sure what those are. The questions Harrington proposed don't need to be answered right away. I'd rather have my sports team get all info on their end before they provide us with their info. Considering TBN's track record, I would want all my ducks in a row before I ever get in front of them.

I think they want Pegula and Black to answer for the on-ice product, when they have said before Murray handles that side. I don't know what they are expecting to get out of them, since this plan was in a place long before Murray came on.

Sounds to me they are looking for soundbites and need something to write about since the season is over.

 

[vcv]

Does anyone have a clip of the presser from a few years ago where they actually got Ted Black pissed off? I can't seem to find it.

 

[OkimLom]

Does anyone have a clip of the presser from a few years ago where they actually got Ted Black pissed off? I can't seem to find it.

Found a page with the clip

http://bustedcoverage.com/2013/04/2...-the-media-at-mondays-press-conference-audio/

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

Does anyone have a clip of the presser from a few years ago where they actually got Ted Black pissed off? I can't seem to find it.

I can't find it, but i do remember it. That was when relations really soured between the organization and TBN. I don't think it's recovered since then and has been this "us versus them" mentality for a while. Before that, the two sides didn't get along great, but it was mostly the players calling out the news. At least, that's what my memory says

 

[Woodhouse]

Does anyone have a clip of the presser from a few years ago where they actually got Ted Black pissed off? I can't seem to find it.

http://downloads.sabres.nhl.com/audio/20130429-Regier-Black.mp3

 

[flashsabre]

Ah yes, the classic Ted Black line, "I'd like to talk to your boss too."

 

[vcv]

Found a page with the clip

http://bustedcoverage.com/2013/04/2...-the-media-at-mondays-press-conference-audio/

http://downloads.sabres.nhl.com/audio/20130429-Regier-Black.mp3

Thanks. That was satisfying.

Starts around 8 minutes in.

Some of my favorites:

Mike harrington asking why ticket prices needed to be raised after Ted Black already gave an indepth answer to Jerry Sullivan on the same ****ing question.

Harrington: "Do you regret that Terry said he would just drill an oil well [if he needed money]?"
Black: "No I think it was funny"

 

[Jim Bob]

https://twitter.com/billhoppenhl

Hoppe retweeted Harrington's link to the article.

Personally, I do think that there are legit questions that Harrington posted in the article. Who knows how many of those would actually get asked in a press conference setting and how much confrontational garbage would occur, too.

I feel bad for Hoppe and Wawrow. They are losing access because TBN guys are acting the fool.

 

[Butt Ox]

Not even remotely interested in clicking.

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

http://downloads.sabres.nhl.com/audio/20130429-Regier-Black.mp3

I forgot how absolutely cringeworthy this entire press conference was. I have the worst case of secondhand embarrassment for TBN crew...

 

[HiddenInLight]

I can't find it, but i do remember it. That was when relations really soured between the organization and TBN. I don't think it's recovered since then and has been this "us versus them" mentality for a while. Before that, the two sides didn't get along great, but it was mostly the players calling out the news. At least, that's what my memory says

Was that PC before or after Terry coming out and saying that the Sabres will no longer hold PCs at TBN's request, and that if they want to interview that person they can go through the same channels as any other media person by calling that person and asking permission to speak with them, because he refuses to subject his employees to their ********?


That being said, I don't mind the lack of PC, and I think they should continue this course until either TBN fires those scrubs or forces them to act professionally. This article is just another instance of TBN's "sports department" throwing a temper tantrum because they weren't given their way right now when they want it. I can just picture the tears streaming down Harrington's cheeks as he writes the article and mumbles "It's just not fair" to himself through the inevitable hyperventilation that comes with the temper tantrum he is clearly having.

 

[Bps21*]

It's been like a week since the topic was that Murray talks too much.

Seriously there is no shortage of Murray comments. This is 100% just about the news continuing their hit parade on the organization...which is precisely why they get frozen out in the first place. But like petulant children they are unable to comprehend cause and effect.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Yeah he will get upset over the "Basement Brigade"

WHERE IS YOUR JOURNALISM DEGREE

I have one.

Went to school with Amy and Brian Moritz. Great folks.

Chose not to use my degree, and got my master's in another field. Only the best journalist make enough money to support the hours required to be really good.

I also see the weakness in the degree, a discussion I had with my professors. It's a split among the profession on how to train journalists.

Old way: get life experience, a degree in something that isn't journalism, and learn journalism OJT.

New way: train communicators in school.

The downside is journalists are becoming opinionated early on but without a great deal of experience. And it continues from there. Eventually, getting one's own opinion communicated to the masses, relatively unchallenged, leads to guys like Harrington. Harrington wont be bothered even considering other views. Social media exacerbates everything.

The only thing that Harrington has over anyone on this board is access. I wonder if he realizes that. He's blowing his only advantage.

 

[Bps21*]

The dumbest part is murray will have another conference when they hire a coach, another one predraft, another one mid draft, another one post draft, another one when they sign Eichel...

 

[Correct]

All good points. And I agree with what you want for the desired end result. How are we going to get that end result when the split testing shows that people want sensationalistic crap, celebrity gossip, and reactionary stories versus well reported and investigated articles? Isn't the media we are getting the media we have been asking for as our behavior and choices as a society at large?

Good question. I think there will always be a market for gossip rags and reactionary stories simply because it appeals to a certain part of human psychology. I literally need to will myself to not click on certain headlines sometimes.

What I think has happened since Adsense, Adwords, and Google Analytics have come on board is advanced tracking analysis. Journalists and editors are now required to be part-time marketers to get the highest click-through rate, and they get an instant response to what works or what doesn't. That's why the negative writers are the top performing act at the TBN, they know they get the most clicks. The data is right in front of them in real time. There is no more guessing involved like in print. This is not a problem in itself since newspapers are businesses and a business's job is to maximize profit.

I think the main problem is that they have slowly been throwing away their integrity. Their main value is profit, meaning clicks, meaning anything possible to get an emotional reaction out of an attention-fickle mass audience. We've always been led to believe in a journalistic integrity, but that has been slowly shedding. Where they are going wrong is they are alienating public figures that they desperately need (as much as public figures need the media). With platforms like Twitter available, celebrities and teams are less reliant on media to reach their fans/consumers. Players like Marshawn Lynch are actually ahead of the curve in recognizing the risk involved with the media and shutting the door and taking the heat, since after weighing the options, they feel getting their words spun is far worse. There is even a new term called "Shame Police" that is being used now. You can see ESPN testing the temperature of the water with articles like "Players put anti-Spain sign up in locker room". They get a minor backlash, but ESPN also knows from their Analytics that those same users who scold them for Shame Policing continue to go on their website and give them impressions to sell to advertisers. The most valuable thing to the media in this day and age is clicks and impressions, and only if we withhold them and only use them for quality journalism, we can train the media like Pavlov's dogs.

Most things in life move in cycles. Yellow journalism was a major problem at the turn of the century before there was a backlash. I think what we need is another backlash, and since the public isn't giving it since they are happy with their short-term dopamine spike, the information keepers and organizations must give it in order to create a ripple effect.

My hope is that the limited access will create lower and lower quality stories to the point the audience gets fed up and demands better quality. By then our vitriol will be aimed at information keepers rather than the media. Afterwards we would probably have another golden age of quality Journalism combined with internet marketing tactics that I believe are here to stay.

 

[Takeo]

http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/many-questions-but-sabres-wont-answer-20150427

"This is organizational arrogance to the highest degree, from an organization that has no business being so full of itself. Lest we forget, there have been no playoff series wins since 2007 and no playoff games at all since 2011. And the good bet is that won’t change until 2017 at the earliest."

Good article. Valid questions raised. Thanks for posting.

 

[ZZamboni]

Valid questions ... In the land of make believe

 

[Ness]

Takeo is Harrington.

Yeah, not reading the article.

 

[SamuraiArt]

Good article. Valid questions raised. Thanks for posting.

The questions are somewhat valid (the commentary a lot less so) but most if not all of those questions can't be truthfully / accurately answered at this point by the Sabres front office. All anyone can do is guess... Here's what I think Murray's answers would be (If he were a little less direct with his words)

-How much input will Terry have? Probably similar to the last time. An interview but final say will rest with the GM

-Eichel at the WC? I'll be watching his every move, looking for him to show he can play against top talent and assessing his NHL readiness. He's a talented player but he has some weaknesses. I'll be looking to see how he improves in those areas as he plays against tougher competition.

-Second 1st rounder? We could trade up, we could trade for a young established NHLer, we could stay put and see who drops. All are equal possibilities but what occurs will depend on the circumstances.

-Why Rodrigues but not O'Connor? (Maybe) We have other plans for the goalie position, (maybe) O'Connor wanted an NHL spot, (maybe) we decided he wasn't the best option for the organization. (I doubt Murray will come out and say EXACTLY why O'Connor didn't work out)

-Buyout Hodgson? I have every confidence that Cody can be a better player than he was last season. Whether his future lies with the Sabres or he needs a new start with another franchise is something that the organization will continue to examine during the off-season, training camp, and possibly beyond.

-Kane better with Eichel or Reinhart? Both are very talented players. It depends on who makes the team. No one will be "gifted" a roster spot. I'm confident that Kane will do well with either. At the end of the day, lines are a coaching decision.

-Organizational step back for Reinhart/Zadorov to spend time in Rochester? Buffalo/Rochester assignments for all players is topic that we'll examine during prospect and training camp. If we feel that any player would be best served learning the game in Rochester, that is where we will send him. The smartest thing we can do, from an organizational perspective, is to make sure our prospects are given every opportunity to fully develop before we send them out against adult NHL competitors.

-Goaltending? Johnson? Lindback? FA/trades? Lindback played very well for our team during his time in net last season. I'm sure any franchise would be lucky to have him on their team. Potential trades and FA signings for next year's goalies is an ongoing question that has not been answered yet. All options are open to us. As for Johnson, his future with the organization might depend on what other moves we choose to make over the summer but I'll be interested to see what he brings at training camp.

-Current center to wing? Larsson? Most of our centers have spent some time on the wing, and current wingers like Ennis and Hodgson have spent time at center. Who will move there more permanently is dependent on our off-season moves and future line cohesion but at the end of the day line combinations are a coach's decision. Larsson played very well for us at the end of the season. Where he fits in the line up next fall depends on how he and other players perform as well as whatever moves we make to supplement next year's team. I'm confident that Johan will have a long career in the NHL.

-Pysyk collapse? Concern level? Mark's collapse is something we take very seriously. Any time we have a potentially dangerous situation like that, there is a high level of concern for the player. He's a talented player and we want him playing for the Sabres but we will always put a player's health before the needs of the organization. Currently, the doctors have ruled it due to dehydration and allowed him back on the ice - we're glad to have him back with us but we will continue to monitor him and always defer to the judgement of our team doctors.

-Talented RFAs available - possible offer sheets? All options are open at this point. Obviously, the salary cap will play a major role in the availability of FAs and what offer sheets can be realistically made. I'm speaking with other GMs on a daily basis. I will do everything I can to continue to add talent to this roster during the off season.

-What about Sabres FAs like Kaleta? I have the highest regard for Pat, both for his love of his community and his dedication to his role on the ice. I think all of the FAs that played with the Sabres last season did an excellent job, particularly under the circumstances they faced. Free Agency is a question that we will address in the coming weeks and months as the front office team continues to address our organizational needs.

-Status of Cassidy? Vets for the Amerks next season? Chad has done well teaching our young prospects. Obviously, I was disappointed that the Amerks didn't finish better in the standings. In the off season, we'll examine how we can improve the team - whether it's adding veterans through trade or free agency, adding prospects like Fasching, Baptiste and Bailey, or whether we need to make a coaching change. We have not made any decisions yet.

-Will Fasching leaving Minnesota for a professional career? I haven't yet had a talk with Hudson about his career plans. Obviously, I think he'd be a great addition to the Amerks and he will have every opportunity to prove he belongs with the Sabres in prospect/training camp. In the end, the decision to turn pro is his and his alone. I respect whatever decision he makes.

-With the McEichel season over, do you plan to attend more NHL games rather than junior/college games? I'm a scout at heart. I'll always be on the lookout for players to add to our team, both in the NHL and the junior/NCAA/USHL/AHL leagues. As the team matures, I'll want to add players with NHL experience who can get us closer to the Cup. At the same time, it is important to keep restocking our prospect cupboard - to do that well, I need to keep attending those junior league games.

Murray ooout. drops mic

 

[BakedBuffalo]

Yer a moron Harri

 

[Zman5778]

The questions are somewhat valid (the commentary a lot less so) but most if not all of those questions can't be truthfully / accurately answered at this point by the Sabres front office. All anyone can do is guess... Here's what I think Murray's answers would be (If he were a little less direct with his words)

-How much input will Terry have? Probably similar to the last time. An interview but final say will rest with the GM

-Eichel at the WC? I'll be watching his every move, looking for him to show he can play against top talent and assessing his NHL readiness. He's a talented player but he has some weaknesses. I'll be looking to see how he improves in those areas as he plays against tougher competition.

-Second 1st rounder? We could trade up, we could trade for a young established NHLer, we could stay put and see who drops. All are equal possibilities but what occurs will depend on the circumstances.

-Why Rodrigues but not O'Connor? (Maybe) We have other plans for the goalie position, (maybe) O'Connor wanted an NHL spot, (maybe) we decided he wasn't the best option for the organization. (I doubt Murray will come out and say EXACTLY why O'Connor didn't work out)

-Buyout Hodgson? I have every confidence that Cody can be a better player than he was last season. Whether his future lies with the Sabres or he needs a new start with another franchise is something that the organization will continue to examine during the off-season, training camp, and possibly beyond.

-Kane better with Eichel or Reinhart? Both are very talented players. It depends on who makes the team. No one will be "gifted" a roster spot. I'm confident that Kane will do well with either. At the end of the day, lines are a coaching decision.

-Organizational step back for Reinhart/Zadorov to spend time in Rochester? Buffalo/Rochester assignments for all players is topic that we'll examine during prospect and training camp. If we feel that any player would be best served learning the game in Rochester, that is where we will send him. The smartest thing we can do, from an organizational perspective, is to make sure our prospects are given every opportunity to fully develop before we send them out against adult NHL competitors.

-Goaltending? Johnson? Lindback? FA/trades? Lindback played very well for our team during his time in net last season. I'm sure any franchise would be lucky to have him on their team. Potential trades and FA signings for next year's goalies is an ongoing question that has not been answered yet. All options are open to us. As for Johnson, his future with the organization might depend on what other moves we choose to make over the summer but I'll be interested to see what he brings at training camp.

-Current center to wing? Larsson? Most of our centers have spent some time on the wing, and current wingers like Ennis and Hodgson have spent time at center. Who will move there more permanently is dependent on our off-season moves and future line cohesion but at the end of the day line combinations are a coach's decision. Larsson played very well for us at the end of the season. Where he fits in the line up next fall depends on how he and other players perform as well as whatever moves we make to supplement next year's team. I'm confident that Johan will have a long career in the NHL.

-Pysyk collapse? Concern level? Mark's collapse is something we take very seriously. Any time we have a potentially dangerous situation like that, there is a high level of concern for the player. He's a talented player and we want him playing for the Sabres but we will always put a player's health before the needs of the organization. Currently, the doctors have ruled it due to dehydration and allowed him back on the ice - we're glad to have him back with us but we will continue to monitor him and always defer to the judgement of our team doctors.

-Talented RFAs available - possible offer sheets? All options are open at this point. Obviously, the salary cap will play a major role in the availability of FAs and what offer sheets can be realistically made. I'm speaking with other GMs on a daily basis. I will do everything I can to continue to add talent to this roster during the off season.

-What about Sabres FAs like Kaleta? I have the highest regard for Pat, both for his love of his community and his dedication to his role on the ice. I think all of the FAs that played with the Sabres last season did an excellent job, particularly under the circumstances they faced. Free Agency is a question that we will address in the coming weeks and months as the front office team figures out our organizational needs.

-Status of Cassidy? Vets for the Amerks next season? Chad has done well teaching our young prospects. Obviously, I was disappointed that the Amerks didn't finish better in the standings. In the off season, we'll examine how we can improve the team - whether it's adding veterans through trade or free agency, adding prospects like Fasching, Baptiste and Bailey, or whether we need to make a coaching change. We have not made any decisions yet.

-Will Fasching leaving Minnesota for a professional career? I haven't yet had a talk with Hudson about his career plans. Obviously, I think he'd be a great addition to the Amerks and he will have every opportunity to prove he belongs with the Sabres in prospect/training camp. In the end, the decision to turn pro is his and his alone. I respect whatever decision he makes.

-With the McEichel season over, do you plan to attend more NHL games rather than junior/college games? I'm a scout at heart. I'll always be on the lookout for players to add to our team, both in the NHL and the junior/NCAA/USHL/AHL leagues. As the team matures, I'll want to add players with NHL experience who can get us closer to the Cup. At the same time, it is important to keep restocking our prospect cupboard - to do that well, I need to keep attending those junior league games.

Perfect.

 

[stokes84]

The lack of a year end presser bothers me. The "the sabres can do no wrong" crowd also bothers me. There are a lot of legitimate points to be made.