Tidbits: Wild Press Club - Media talk

[GuerinUp]

Ya he used to be good when he worked at strib. Now however hes just Eklund with a better title. Almost feels like he makes news just to make it at times to help sales at the athletic when theres nothing to report and often i feel like he just recycles old articles with new words.

 

[nstarjim]

He still wont report the stories fans want to hear out of fear of losing access to wild PR.

 

[Bazeek]

Ya he used to be good when he worked at strib. Now however hes just Eklund with a better title. Almost feels like he makes news just to make it at times to help sales at the athletic when theres nothing to report and often i feel like he just recycles old articles with new words.

Being spread across Athletic articles, 2 podcasts, KFAN and Twitter has lead to some recycling of content, but I think that's to be expected. Ginning up content even when there isn't anything to report is kind of the nature of the business, especially these days.

And he's definitely got access to the team on top of whatever relationships with players and agents. At this point, as others have pointed out, one of the things to keep in mind with what he reports is that he does protect that access, doesn't necessarily report everything he's heard, and will probably float things that management wants him to float. I don't have links, but if you go back and listen to some of the podcasts from Fenton's first year the contrast between then and now is stark. He clearly didn't have the access he'd had with Fletcher and there were several cases where he straight up said he was trying to teach or demonstrate to Fenton that it was advantageous to have him in the loop and on his side. His attitude toward Guerin has been the polar opposite and there's a safe guess as to why.

So there are definitely layers to his coverage, but he's far from Eklund.

 

[Wild11MN]

He still wont report the stories fans want to hear out of fear of losing access to wild PR.

So if reported on a single story that was "forbidden" (i.e. Josh Harding) and lost trust/access to players/staff going forward would you be happy?

Relationships matter. It's different than reporting generic news.

There's certainly some middle ground. In no way should he be beholden to everything the Wild PR wants him to write. I'm just saying it's a fine line.

 

[57special]

Being spread across Athletic articles, 2 podcasts, KFAN and Twitter has lead to some recycling of content, but I think that's to be expected. Ginning up content even when there isn't anything to report is kind of the nature of the business, especially these days.

And he's definitely got access to the team on top of whatever relationships with players and agents. At this point, as others have pointed out, one of the things to keep in mind with what he reports is that he does protect that access, doesn't necessarily report everything he's heard, and will probably float things that management wants him to float. I don't have links, but if you go back and listen to some of the podcasts from Fenton's first year the contrast between then and now is stark. He clearly didn't have the access he'd had with Fletcher and there were several cases where he straight up said he was trying to teach or demonstrate to Fenton that it was advantageous to have him in the loop and on his side. His attitude toward Guerin has been the polar opposite and there's a safe guess as to why.

So there are definitely layers to his coverage, but he's far from Eklund.

So true about Fenton! His final story one his firing and what led up to it was his "revenge is a dish best eaten cold" moment. It was savage.

I like Russo. Doesn't mean he is above reproach, or completely unbiased...but then, neither am I. I also am ok with LaPanta and Carter, so maybe I am easy to please.

 

[TaLoN]

I also am ok with LaPanta and Carter, so maybe I am easy to please.

Understatement

 

[57special]

Understatement

I like your posts, too.

 

[Bazeek]

I like your posts, too.

I'm going to miss seeing you around here, 57.

 

[nstarjim]

So if reported on a single story that was "forbidden" (i.e. Josh Harding) and lost trust/access to players/staff going forward would you be happy?

Relationships matter. It's different than reporting generic news.

There's certainly some middle ground. In no way should he be beholden to everything the Wild PR wants him to write. I'm just saying it's a fine line.

All he does is everything the wild PR tell him to.

 

[Ban Hammered]

All he does is everything the wild PR tell him to.

Reporting sources is part of the job. If he isn't told things...he has nothing to report.
It isn't the dig you think it is to say he reports what PR tells him to. (Not that you'd have any way of knowing one way or the other.)

 

[BagHead]

I like your posts, too.

Line of the Year.

 

[nstarjim]

Reporting sources is part of the job. If he isn't told things...he has nothing to report.
It isn't the dig you think it is to say he reports what PR tells him to. (Not that you'd have any way of knowing one way or the other.)

The point is he's told things he doesn't report because the wild don't want him to. And I do know because I've spoken to players on occasion. He also eludes to this in some of his old podcasts.

 

[Ban Hammered]

The point is he's told things he doesn't report because the wild don't want him to. And I do know because I've spoken to players on occasion. He also eludes to this in some of his old podcasts.

Again...that's part of the job. That's how trust is built. Every reporter worth anything will do that.

 

[Uberdachen]

There are some pretty intense expectations of sports beat writing up in here.

 

[Bazeek]

There are some pretty intense expectations of sports beat writing up in here.

Less Starbucks, more hiding in the bushes at regional airports!

 

[Circulartheory]

Ya he used to be good when he worked at strib. Now however hes just Eklund with a better title. Almost feels like he makes news just to make it at times to help sales at the athletic when theres nothing to report and often i feel like he just recycles old articles with new words.

In no way is he close to Eklund.

Am I alone in this and going crazy?

I guess this is why I get so frustrated about this topic the disconnect I have with other posters here. I can't recall Russo finding anything that's outright false or a blatant lie. You could argue that he may not have that insider killer instinct like he used to but he's generally accurate with the wild and current events.

 

[BagHead]

In no way is he close to Eklund.

Am I alone in this and going crazy?

I guess this is why I get so frustrated about this topic the disconnect I have with other posters here. I can't recall Russo finding anything that's outright false or a blatant lie. You could argue that he may not have that insider killer instinct like he used to but he's generally accurate with the wild and current events.

You're not alone. People are going overboard. And I say this as someone that thinks Russo doesn't have the same stuff he once did.

 

[57special]

"The Wild want to sign the soon-to-be rookie of the year to a seven- or eight-year contract that would assuredly make him the highest-paid player in franchise history. "

Suter and Parise had 98M dollar contracts. What is Russo talking about? Once you throw in inflation, Kaprizov's contract will likely be much less. His tabloid type, hysterical pronouncements are beginning to bug me.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

"The Wild want to sign the soon-to-be rookie of the year to a seven- or eight-year contract that would assuredly make him the highest-paid player in franchise history. "

Suter and Parise had 98M dollar contracts. What is Russo talking about? Once you throw in inflation, Kaprizov's contract will likely be much less. His tabloid type, hysterical pronouncements are beginning to bug me.

Pretty sure he just means > $7.539M cap hit, or $7.575M now with Spurgeon’s deal.

 

[nickschultzfan]

Being spread across Athletic articles, 2 podcasts, KFAN and Twitter has lead to some recycling of content, but I think that's to be expected. Ginning up content even when there isn't anything to report is kind of the nature of the business, especially these days.

And he's definitely got access to the team on top of whatever relationships with players and agents. At this point, as others have pointed out, one of the things to keep in mind with what he reports is that he does protect that access, doesn't necessarily report everything he's heard, and will probably float things that management wants him to float. I don't have links, but if you go back and listen to some of the podcasts from Fenton's first year the contrast between then and now is stark. He clearly didn't have the access he'd had with Fletcher and there were several cases where he straight up said he was trying to teach or demonstrate to Fenton that it was advantageous to have him in the loop and on his side. His attitude toward Guerin has been the polar opposite and there's a safe guess as to why.

So there are definitely layers to his coverage, but he's far from Eklund.

Guerin knows how the media game is played.

 

[Ban Hammered]

"The Wild want to sign the soon-to-be rookie of the year to a seven- or eight-year contract that would assuredly make him the highest-paid player in franchise history. "

Suter and Parise had 98M dollar contracts. What is Russo talking about? Once you throw in inflation, Kaprizov's contract will likely be much less. His tabloid type, hysterical pronouncements are beginning to bug me.

He means cap hit. So it's not at all a hysterical pronouncement.

 

[Bazeek]

He means cap hit. So it's not at all a hysterical pronouncement.

Exactly the mix of technically true but largely meaningless that makes for great headline-ery.

 

[Circulartheory]

Exactly the mix of technically true but largely meaningless that makes for great headline-ery.

Why are we so hung up on that? For one, it isn't actually the articles headline. Second, it's true. Third you may not find it interesting but I do. It's meaningful to me because I didn't know.

 

[Bazeek]

Why are we so hung up on that? For one, it isn't actually the articles headline. Second, it's true. Third you may not find it interesting but I do. It's meaningful to me because I didn't know.

I'm not hung up on it. I do think it's good headline-ery, but headlines (and most Twitter posts) are more about grabbing attention than communicating useful information. "Paid more than any player in Wild history" is dramatic, but when you realize that the primary competition in that category signed 10 years ago when the cap was $64m it loses most of its impact.

"Kaprizov poised to sign a market-rate RFA contract, which is on par with marquee UFA contracts from a decade ago" is more accurate but a bad headline.

 

[Bazeek]

Actually, I'll elaborate on this because I do think this Kaprizov thing provides a good example of why keeping a critical eye toward this stuff is important.

Last night Kevin Weekes posted a tweet with the following pieces of information:
- Talks on Kaprizov's new contract have "gone cold"
- Kaprizov is currently in Moscow
- CSKA is interested in signing him

I don't think Weekes is a liar so I'm willing to accept all of that as perfectly true, but individually none of those things really means much. All you need to do is present those facts together in a tweet, which is too short to elaborate and provide any further context, and you're able to heavily imply some sort of contract drama without actually saying that. 2.4k likes, 1.8k retweets, 414 replies. Congrats Kevin, Grade A headline-ery.

And what's the reaction on here? Within minutes you have a thread on the trade forum titled "Kaprizov to the KHL" and a night's worth of discussion of something that didn't actually happen. Wild fans are ready to trade him. All because Weekes hit that sweet spot between "technically true but largely meaningless."