Javelina Posted November 17, 2009 Report Posted November 17, 2009 I have been talking to Travis Stewart from DCTF over the last week via e-mail about the lack of coverage the Golden Triangle has been getting and he sent this response. If anyone could help him out with this the area coverage might improve or this has already came up and nothing happened, not sure but wanted to get it out just in case."Sorry – I mistook your area. Your argument is well-founded, as that’s a bit of a “Bermuda Triangle†for us. We don’t have any contributing photogs from there and there’s not one super-reliable stat database for us to get good numbers out of (unless I’m missing one – I’d love to have one if you know of it!) We have to rely on the Chronicle mostly, and their numbers can get kind of shaky, especially down into the 4A Golden Triangle area. This season was especially tricky in those ranks, as 20-4A was a quagmire of closely-matched teams. Very difficult to predict. But that’s why we went out and added a blogger named Kevin Springfield, who’s in his first season with the site – you can get to his stuff via the Statewide Blogs center. I’ll admit we’re behind on coverage of that region, but that’s why we went out and got Kevin, a local – we want him to help us learn and follow the going-ons out there. Any help you can provide would also be quite welcome. We want to make sure we keep everyone in the fold as much as possible. Every region is unique, and we want to treat it as such. thanks much, and best wishes – Travis Stewart | Managing Editor, New MediaIMG | Dave Campbell's Texas Football | Texas Football.comO: 972-428-5721 • C: 713-449-8451 • F: 972-392-5880 2828 E. Trinity Mills, Rd. Ste 106 | Carrollton, TX 75006[email protected]
mikehoncho Posted November 17, 2009 Report Posted November 17, 2009 [quote name="Javelina" post="710819" timestamp="1258484860"]I have been talking to Travis Stewart from DCTF over the last week via email about the lack of coverage the Golden Triangle has been getting and he sent this response. If anyone could help him out with this the area coverage might improve or this has already came up and nothing happened, not sure but wanted to get it out just in case."Sorry – I mistook your area. Your argument is well-founded, as that’s a bit of a “Bermuda Triangle†for us. We don’t have any contributing photogs from there and there’s not one super-reliable stat database for us to get good numbers out of (unless I’m missing one – I’d love to have one if you know of it!) We have to rely on the Chronicle mostly, and their numbers can get kind of shaky, especially down into the 4A Golden Triangle area. This season was especially tricky in those ranks, as 20-4A was a quagmire of closely-matched teams. Very difficult to predict. But that’s why we went out and added a blogger named Kevin Springfield, who’s in his first season with the site – you can get to his stuff via the Statewide Blogs center. I’ll admit we’re behind on coverage of that region, but that’s why we went out and got Kevin, a local – we want him to help us learn and follow the going's out there. Any help you can provide would also be quite welcome. We want to make sure we keep everyone in the fold as much as possible. Every region is unique, and we want to treat it as such. thanks much, and best wishes – Travis Stewart | Managing Editor, New MediaIMG | Dave Campbell's Texas Football | Texas Football.comO: 972-428-5721 • C: 713-449-8451 • F: 972-392-5880 2828 E. Trinity Mills, Rd. Ste 106 | Carrollton, TX 75006[email protected][/quote]this has been a problem for years...between this and the old "High School Xtra", they never give any love to the Golden Triangle/SeTX region and very little to the Houston area...besides North Shore and Katy...and LaMarque when they were killing everyone...They, instead, give copious amounts of coverage to horrible areas like west Texas (El Paso, etc) and the "Super Centex" region...I totally agree with you and am surprised that he wrote back, at all...much less with an admission of guilt...good email by you, kudos
AggiesAreWe Posted November 17, 2009 Report Posted November 17, 2009 Kevin Springfield is a member on this site.
NorthoftheBorder Posted November 17, 2009 Report Posted November 17, 2009 [quote name="AggiesAreWe" post="710865" timestamp="1258488160"]Kevin Springfield is a member on this site.[/quote]Having read what the DCTF guy said and judging by the coverage the area got, not sure what contribution Springfield made.
Guest rykerx144 Posted November 18, 2009 Report Posted November 18, 2009 Im not so sure the problem is lack of information available to them as it is lack of effort to receive the information.
liltex Posted November 18, 2009 Report Posted November 18, 2009 Marketing fellas,sell advertizing spots-get sponsors-sell magazines-Get hired help in low coverage areas like ours.C'mon ya'll our own papers don't tell all the great stories in sports coverage.Nobody outside this SETX site promotes atheletics better for this area PERIOD.
WOSgrad Posted November 18, 2009 Report Posted November 18, 2009 I think that Chris, Ryan, Johnnie, Bob, Tom, Van, Gabe and Chad do a great job of juggling the countless teams in the Triangle. There is no way that given the limited space that all of them now deal with that they can tell the stories.Dave Campbell's bunch has more time and more resources. I believe liltex's words on the reason for the lack of coverage a bit more than Mr. Stewart's.
Guest LR1969 Posted November 18, 2009 Report Posted November 18, 2009 Alright folks...Cats out of the bag now. I have been a member of SETXSPORTS.COM for several years now and I, for one, believe this to be the best forum around when it comes to high school football. I enjoy the debate (even the trash talking) and I don't think you will find a more educated group of high school football fans anywhere in the State of Texas. We may argue over petty issues and even say things that we ourselves don't believe just to get a response at times (who me...?..never...ha) but, when it comes down to it, we know and love high school football and we support our teams (even those we despise during the district race...was that some Lumberton fans I saw wearing purple over the weekend?...yeah...I thought so).That's why I (Kevin Springfield) took on the role of covering the Golden Triangle for DCTF this season. No more anonymity for me (ha). Unfortunately, it was mid-season before I got going and it hasn't been easy to keep track of all that's going on while juggling a "real" job and keeping food on the table during these rough times. I wish I could be at every game and write a full-length profile on every kid who dons a uniform but time just won't allow it. All I can do is highlight the accomplishments as best I can while relying on info from several sources (my own attendance at games, local media, Houston Chronicle and, more than any other outlet, SETXSPORTS.COM). I spend a great deal of time on this forum and I draw from every thread I read to help me write a weekly column that will serve us well. I think, when you compare my blog to many other regional blogs, you'll find that I go to great lengths to cover the entire area and I tend to be far more long-winded than most other regional bloggers. However, I still cringe at all that I miss out on and the stupid mistakes I sometimes make (crediting a win to Sabine Pass that didn't happen or getting Vidor's record wrong in the standings a few weeks back). For example, I would love to cover more from 19-4A and 22-3A but I have to draw the line somewhere. After all, I cover the Golden Triangle and I would have to place Dayton/Cleveland, etc. in more of the Greater Houston area than the Golden Triangle. I did do some work for Texas High School All Sports magazine this season (out of Dayton) but it became too much for me to juggle with DCTF and my "real" job (ha) so I had to give that up. If you get a chance to check out TXHSAS, do so. I think it provides great coverage of the Dayton/Cleveland area. I have also taken to covering 22-2A recently due to the fact that Kirbyville/Newton dont' seem to get the coverage they deserve. For Kville/Newton fans, it's really not a conspiracy on the part of local media as much as a simple case of geographical presence. East Texas newspapers/sports websites (smoaky.com, etc.) generally revolve around the Lufkin to Tyler region of the State and, therefore, tend to short-change Kville and Newton to the far south. At the same time, the Golden Triangle media (despite the fact that they consider Kville/Newton/Jasper, etc. to be a part of us) also have to draw the line somewhere. That puts these programs in an odd position. It's a given that any local reporter will probably be attacked by fans to the north of the Triangle for not covering their schools but there are a great number of high profile schools in the Triangle (West Brook/PAM/PN-G/Nederland/Central, etc.) that also expect coverage and with dwindling advertising revenue and over-worked reporters, it's just impossible to do the job that we would like to do. I was at the Kville/Newton game by the way. Wouldn't have missed it for the world and I told Travis that as well. In fact, he said if he could be there, he would definitely make the trip. He knows a thing or two about our neck of the woods despite his proximity to Dallas.I also have to somewhat defend DCTF for what they do. Travis Stewart is a walking encyclopedia of Texas High School football. Don't think for a minute that he doesn't try to keep up with all of Texas each week. He does. But, it's a daunting task. This isn't Rhode Island and it is just not possible to please an entire state as large as Texas (especially one with fans as rabid as Texas). I grew up with DCTF and I was flattered when Travis asked me to take on this role. As someone who has read DCTF since I was about 8 years old, I consider it an honor to be a part of something as big as DCTF. But, when it comes down to it, I do it for the fun of it. I wish I could tell you that I am getting rich doing it but I'm not. In fact, if you knew what most sports writers earn for all of their late night travel, grouchy coaches, ticked off fans, etc., you would probably go hug the next one you see (ha). It's not a glamorous, get rich quick business. If it was, I would return to it on a full-time basis. But, it just doesn't pay the bills for me so I keep it as a hobby because I love high school football and I genuinely care about our youth and the positive things they accomplish each time they step onto the football field.I also try to be unbiased. I live in Lumberton and I support the Raiders but, as a writer, I have to call 'em like I see 'em, even if it ticks off my fellow Raider fans when I go against the "boys in blue".If you haven't read my blog, please do so. And, if you disagree with me or have a comment to make, feel free to email me at [email protected]. I consider this to be a team effort. My goal is to spotlight the Golden Triangle and, hopefully, follow one of our local schools on to the State Championship. Your comments/contributions to my blog are welcome and appreciated. I also look forward to, hopefully, getting more involved in the years to come with DCTF's coverage of our area. If I have my way, we will see better coverage of our area schools in future pages of DCTF as well as www.texasfootball.com.Anyway, now that I can't hide behind my screen name (LR1969), I guess I'll have to be more candid in my comments..haha..not really. By the way, I am completing my blog right now. Will probably be complete by about 1:00 am and then I can get up at 5 am and go to work in the "real" world. Like I said, not a glamorous, get rich job. I usually have it in by Monday but life got in the way this week (ha). It will be up tomorrow. Thanks!
Guest LR1969 Posted November 18, 2009 Report Posted November 18, 2009 [quote name="rykerx144" post="711051" timestamp="1258507595"]Im not so sure the problem is lack of information available to them as it is lack of effort to receive the information.[/quote]one last comment...ryker...I understand where you're coming from with this comment but I do have to agree with Travis on this one. It really is a case of not being privy to all of the info. I can tell you from my own experience, that it is a time-consuming job to just gather the info that I try to get each week (game stats/individual stats/standings/scores, etc.). I just don't have the time to call 40 coaches every week so I have to rely on what I can get from other media outlets. If a team chooses not to submit stats, etc. to one of the media outlets then I have nothing but a score to go on. It then becomes a full-blown investigation just to get something to write about (ha). For DCTF, the only outlet they have is to rely on some regional blogger like myself to cover my area. They then take my info (all of it...no cutting for space, etc.) and use it. They truly are open to what coverage they can get. Unfortunately, for some reason, they do not have a blogger for the Houston area. I considered doing all of Southeast Texas but it's just too much for one person to do without being criticized every week by someone who gets short-changed (ha). Besides, my wife would kill me. Forty or so schools is one thing, a couple of hundred would send me to divorce court. RAPAYNE, if you're reading this, get in touch with Travis and see about covering your neck of the woods. Someone needs to do it.Also, in regards to not being open to info. If you get info on a game, it is usally the direct result of a reporter nagging the heck out of someone. There are exceptions to the rule but I can tell you that after 15 years or so of doing this that to find a coach who is genuinely interested in getting info to a reporter is a rare thing. I can't tell you the number of unreturned emails/phone calls, etc. that I have racked up over the years. Occasionally, you run across a coach like Carpenter at Tarkington who, despite a losing season, is proud as heck to share what his players are doing and will answer all of your "stupid" questions, etc. just to get a kids name in the paper/magazine/website, etc. but, like I said, these folks are rare indeed. Coaches are busy people and they don't always have the time to handle a million media calls and those people they elect to handle the reporters don't always want the job nor do they always put forth the effort to do it. So, if you feel your school is not getting the coverage it deserves, it may not be the reporter at fault but a lack of response from the school itself. Just my two cents.
Guest rykerx144 Posted November 18, 2009 Report Posted November 18, 2009 Man!! I completely understand. I'll admit I guess I just was under the impression that there was really no effort put on gathering the local information. If I had any clue that it was just one person (you) in the area that was taking that all on yourself me along with several others I know would have been glad to help in any way we could. I was under the impression that it was more of an "get what we can off the ap wire and forget the rest" kinda of effort. I apolgize for the comment. Maybe now the cats out of the bag you will receive more local help with the information. I know I will be glad to assist on anything you need from the Kirbyville and Newton area. I'd love to help. Just ask AggiesAreWE im just dying for someone to listen to me about Ford. LOL JK MIKE!
Guest LR1969 Posted November 18, 2009 Report Posted November 18, 2009 Ryker...I didn't take the comment in a negative way... Just wanted to comment on it. As for Ford, I have been following him as best I can and trying to get him all of the exposure I can. Loved seeing him against Newton. I did send a group of pictures from the Kville/Newton game to DCTF but I guess they chose not to use them last week. A photographer in Kirbyville (Esther Fuller) provided me with the photos. Hopefully, should the Wildcats continue their run in the playoffs (no offense Anahuac fans), we will eventually see a shot or two of Ford on the front page of www.texasfootball.com. If I have my way, we will...Same goes for several other local players (Harmon at PN-G for one) Now, if I can just get both of them to Aggieland somehow (ha).
Guest rykerx144 Posted November 18, 2009 Report Posted November 18, 2009 Yea the Ford comment was one of them had to be there Jokes. But Seriously Ill get with you because Id like to visit with ya about a few things and offer any help I can be.
Guest LR1969 Posted November 18, 2009 Report Posted November 18, 2009 Sure thing. Email me anytime and we'll hook up. Should Kirbyville meet up with Arp (again...sorry Anahuac fans (ha)), I will probably be at that game..even if it's played on Mars. Maybe I'll see you there.
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