Prologue: I work in accounting/finance. I've had a lot of jobs over the years, and one of the worst was working as an auditor. As bad as my experience was, working in accounting... I've talk to other people who have worked in auditing, for a Big Five (or Four, or whatever it is now) firm. We'll tie that in later.
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John Koblin wrote an article for The NY Observer about the horrible working conditions of Knick beat writers. It's gotten a lot of attention, and is a fascinating look at the life of the guys who, more than almost anything else, shape the public opinion.
It's worth noting that Alan Hahn of Newsday, who is mentioned in this article, has also written about the what being a Knick beat writer is like. He's still the new kid on the beat, so to speak... this is his second year following the Knicks.
John Koblin, like Alan Hahn has hinted at before on his blog, draws a connection between the unhappiness of those who cover the Knicks with James Dolan's notoriously strict media access policies ("the most demoralizing reporting gig
in the city") and the ensuing negative coverage that the beat writers give on the Knicks (this website has often noted that the difference in coverage between the Knicks and other teams, and, in fact, the name "Stopmikelupica" reflects our point of view on this topic).
What really separates the complaints of Knicks writers
from those of every other browbeaten city reporter—and reporters are definitely
a whiny lot—are their unironic, and apparently accurate, tales of systematic
repression.
“We all know what it’s like to cover a normal team,” said Mr. Beck, who previously reported on the Lakers for the L.A. Daily News. “Covering the Knicks is so much worse.”
Specific complaints?"There’s zero access to players."
"...layers of institutional paranoia; public relations
officials who openly eavesdrop on private conversations with executives and
players; the threat—and implementation—of cutting off reporters who are
perceived to be critical of the team."
And there are other detailed examples of the "hell" that being a Knick beat writer is. Suffice to say, they aren't a happy bunch.
They see how well (relatively speaking) their coworkers on the Nets beat are treated daily. They go to other cities, and talk to beat writers for other teams, and know that they are on the short end of the stick.
And so, for that, I feel a bit of empathy. It's not fair, and James Dolan is being a dick here. I am curious to know if Ranger beat writers share these feelings.
But let's get to real story here. The Knicks' beat writers are undeniable overcritical of their team; no other team in a major American city, no matter how bad, gets as poor coverage from its local scribes as the Knicks. That's a fact. And if that's because James Dolan treats the writers like the enemy, well... they respond by being the enemy.
One problem I had with this article is that it is hard to take all the complaints seriously, when lines like this are thrown in:
"For working reporters
at the Garden, typical meal options include a small plastic cup of coke and a
sandwich with ham, processed turkey, swiss cheese and hard white bread, all for
$8. When they’re at their floor seats watching the game, they’re given small
fuzzy-picture TV’s to watch replays."
It doesn’t help that the Knicks are such
a lousy team: Their 2-9 start, before a recent two-game winning streak, was
tied for the worst in franchise history; they haven’t had a winning season in
six years; their star player, Stephon Marbury, feuded openly with Mr. Thomas;
the team’s off-season was occupied by a sexual harassment lawsuit that led to,
among other embarrassing episodes, Mr. Thomas offering his opinion on the
difference between a white person and a black person using the word “bitch.”
On the Knicks beat, the stories practically write themselves! Complaining about it seems... ungrateful. And manipulative.
Put it another way... I personally love the Jets as much as I love the Knicks. You might not know it from reading this blog, which focuses a lot more on the Knicks, but... I've always been a hardcore Jets fan. I've missed three of the past four games this year; that's the first time in 20+ years of watching the Jets that I've missed three games in a season. Even in the Rich Kotite era, I would watch every freaking game. I watched Browning Nagle, when he was the future. I watched Tony Eason, and Boomer, and so on.
The point? That I write more about the Knicks because, quite honestly, they are much easier to write about. There are stories lines all the time. There are lots of stories the media doesn't even focus on. Like, for example... the actually games, and how the Knicks could improve. What they need to work on to get better. Etc.
Of course, that's because the local media doesn't want the Knicks to get better.
In a column on Sunday, Mr. Vaccaro
wrote: “Take the Jets, who now sit at a relentlessly unremarkable 2-9 after
Thursday’s brutalization in Dallas. They do not inspire much of anything within
the souls of their fans. They’re just bad. … The Knicks? They inspire something
else. They inspire anger. They inspire hatred. … There is an unmitigated
loathing for this team, for the men who run the operation. … Knicks fans hate
these Knicks. HATE them.”
Sorry, but the fans aren't angered by the Knicks play. They might be angered by the sexual harassment case, and by James Dolan, Isiah Thomas... but that doesn't translate to how the fans feel towards the players. And that's what matters the most to the fans... what's happening on the court.
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Let's put it all together now. Working as an auditor is pretty sh*tty. You get sent to companies for long stints... let's say three to four months.
You show up to this company you are auditing, and they treat you (at a lot of places) like the enemy. You're a nuisance, a necessary evil, but an evil all the less.
In some companies, they are especially awful in their treatment of auditors (who charge huge sums by the hour). They'll send the auditors into the basement offices, with no light and pipes overhead. They sometimes are so petty, they won't let the auditors drink from the water cooler, or use their coffee. Or printers. Or copiers. It's fine, actually. Because that's all for employees, not for outside auditors. As an auditor, you know where you stand... they don't like you, they don't want you around, and they don't want to help you beyond what they are required to do.
That's the reality of being an auditor. And, if you hate the place you are auditing, you sometimes wish you could give them a poor or failing audit report. You wish you could.
But you can't. You have to be objective in your evaluation of the company. It's what being a CPA is about. Objective evaluations.
Apparently beat reporters for local newspaper
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Editor's Note: One, I hate calling myself "editor". Two, Alan Hahn (heavily quoted in this Observer article) has a new post up on his blog about this story.
It think it's fair to read his take on it (and read some of the comments, because they are good, too). Personally my opinion stands. I think it's crappy that Dolan treats the beat writers like this... I really do. But I also think it's crappy that they "take it out" on the Knicks, and in essence, the fans. Even when the Knicks win I feel disgusted reading the coverage the next day. It's so negative. And when they lose... you know the pitch forks are coming. It's makes it harder to be a Knicks fan than a Jets fan (a similarly bad local team).
And it's worth noting that Alan Hahn isn't one of those jaded Knicks beat writers, yet. He's gives the fans more of the real than the Daily News writers (Lupica, Lawrence, Isola) or Post writers. That's why he's become a bit of the Knicks blogs favorite....
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I think there was a great point in that article that wasn't covered here. It said something like the Knicks get 16 inches, or whatever, of coverage in a certain newspaper every day and the Knicks can pretty much use that space to advertise their team. You want to hear about Starbury and his shoes, boom..let him do a one on one. Want the public to hear about how hard Jared Jeffries worked to rehab, let him be interviewed. But, the Knicks don't seem to be doing that right now so these guys really aren't getting much to write about other than their own personal feelings.
It would be like if I was having an argument with my girlfriend. I might think I was being logical and understanding but until I hear her side of the story..I'm probably not.
I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. Both sides could be doing a lot to help each other out.
Jack: I think Allen's comment sums up my view, and I don't think it's too far from your point.
I certainly agree that the Knicks policy, and James Dolan, aren't doing themselves any favors. And therefore I am not looking for for "favorable" coverage, so to speak.
Like I totally understand that the beat writers aren't going to write about Jared Jeffries improving on his game, or other good stuff, because they don't have access to that info. That's understood.
But the negative coverage isn't an appropriate response, either.
There's a guy who wrote a comment after Modi did a post on the Knicks victory over the Bulls, who harped on the difference in coverage between a struggling Knicks team beating the Bulls ("the Bulls sucked, couldn't hit a shot, and the Knicks still barely won") vs. a struggling Nets team getting a big win. Here's a link to his comments.
My point here being I understand the Knicks beat writers are in a sh*tty situation. Alan Hahn hinted at that in his blog, and this article brings it all the way home. But being in a bad situation, being that you personally hate the Knicks and their organization... that doesn't justify trying to make everyone else hate the Knicks. You have to maintain your objectiveness if you are reporting the news, no?
But it just seems like they can't even see the light at the end of the tunnel to allow them to be objective. It's kind of human nature. I mean, it would be nice if they were objective all the time, or even some of the time, but it's tough to be that way.
Here's another bad analogy. It would be like beating your kid up four times a week and then expecting him to go out and graduate college with a 4.0 gpa and become a doctor.
I don't know, sometimes I like to just make stuff up because I'm bored.
I wrote a similar comment to yours on SLAM's website. A lot of bitching that just goes to prove that the coverage of the team is far from objective. Last time I checked, writers don't get to be unobjective just because people are mean to them. They can decide not to do those people any favors, but to be biased because they treated you meanly flies in the face of every rule of journalism.