No football preview from the Athens Messenger

[93Bulldog]

Those who may be looking for it next week - don't.

They are not doing one this year ... first time - that I can remember - not having one ... its going to be a real bummer, I know lots of folks relied on it throughout the season ... schedules, rosters, etc... etc...

I'm sure they have their reasons (money/advertising being the most likely one) - but still - for one reason or another, the people running the local newspapers seriously under value sports in this region!

Its not the writers or sports editors fault - they love doing previews and as many sports articles as possible - its the people higher up.

:122247

[Orange and Brown]

It is sad, but I am not surprised. The Messenger has been giing down hill at a steady pace for the last 10 years. By not doing the football preview they are doing the kids of SEO a diservice. I bet there are a few people in or around Athens county who may be able to step up next year and take the messengers place...

[noreply66]

and they are the sister to the Logan paper

[Bighitsinc]

Maybe the A-News could do it..
Kinda takes the local out of the local newspaper.
Maybe a boycott of the following Sunday edition would send them a message.....

[C-Bolt]

Thank Goodness for Gridiron Glory! They are doing their preview next Friday

[jottings]

Things have really changed since I retired from the newspaper business in 1998.

[indianabuck]

I have a feeling they will not be covering much of anything that is not Ohio University Football. Everything I have read this summer in the paper was about OU and a college signing here or there buried on the inside. I will be very surprised to see coverage of any high school game on the front page of the sports. They may have a little say about one on the inside after 2-3 articles about the bobcats. Yes the bobcats may be pretty good this year, but there are 5 schools in the county that play football, and 3-4 of them have legit playoff and conference title opportunities. It is sad that these young men will not get the exposure they need.

[93Bulldog]

indianabuck ... I wouldn't worry about that, Kevin Wiseman will make sure high school games are covered well - and will be on the front page ... he's a huge high school sports fan and does everything he can to make sure the kids get covered - sometimes its a 'space' issue on wheather or not ALL teams get total coverage.

JOTTINGS ... Tom says the same thing all the time ... while posting old photos and articles on facebook over the summer, I had to dig thorugh old Messenger Sports pages - it was jaw-dropping to see the difference ... some were 5 and 6 pages of nothing but sports - even our area little league teams were covered.

[NYBuckeye96]

while posting old photos and articles on facebook over the summer, I had to dig thorugh old Messenger Sports pages - it was jaw-dropping to see the difference ... some were 5 and 6 pages of nothing but sports - even our area little league teams were covered.

When I researched NY's football history on microfilm at Alden Library several years ago, I was ***SHOCKED*** about how much of a higher quality the Athens Messenger used to be compared to today. Not just sports, but everything!!!!

The Messenger doesn't even have a Monday paper anymore. And instead of news stories, you get those stupid "Can you spot the differences between these pictures" contests. I want a NEWSpaper not a puzzle book!!!!

No wonder no one subscribes to the Messenger anymore.

The Athens News, a free newspaper no less, covers local news better than the Messenger. If the ANews would cover local sports teams and city and village council meetings outside of Athens City, I think it could put the final nail in the coffin for the Messenger.

[Pol pot]

Unfortunately Print media across the country has rapidly declined due to many factors from cost of print, distribution, and change in how society gets its news with electronic media. Things will never be what they once were with the daily fish wraps. It is sad but true.

[noreply66]

I'm thinking years ago when you bought the Logan paper on Saturday it had something on every league game.
This was when we just had type-writers.
All this new junk has led to less----so the better we get the less we get.

Now where have I heard that before.

[LHS 72]

They need to combine Logan Athens and Jackson papers and call that paper the "Hocking Valley Rag"

[noreply66]

They need to combine Logan Athens and Jackson papers and call that paper the "Hocking Valley Rag"

How about Tri-Cty Rag

[93Bulldog]

I'm still a big "NEWSPAPER GUY" ... love my coffee and my morning paper ... they can combine them - and call it anything they want - as long as they put out a descent sports page.

[madpolecat]

A newspaper is a business, not a community service project. Newspapers live and die by advertising revenues. Then come subscriptions. Then comes rack sales.

Check out page eight on the linked document.

http://www.readership.org/impact/power_to_grow.pdf

Real research has shown that sports is the least effective way to increase readership. When I was covering sports, I strongly disagreed with this idea; after all, I heard nothing but people complaining about sports. Then I got away from the sports desk, and I learned that "sports people" -- especially those interested in local (ie living vicariously through teenagers) sports -- were just a loud minority. I am a big-enough boy to admit that I was wrong.

Trying to fix the circulation problems at a small newspaper by adding coverage of high school sports ranks with moving water between buckets using a fork. I don't see why The MESSENGER should care what we think of their high school sports coverage. The advertising dollars from Ohio University or Holzer is much more likely to save the ship than pandering to high school sports groupies.

And as for GRIDIRON GLORY, isn't that on OU Public Television? Does that mean it is funded by tax dollars?

[madpolecat]

pol pot --

and that is to say nothing about the loss of advertising revenue to electronic media.

[noreply66]

Logan hasn't been the same since they were stopped from doing it themselves.

No one over there will speak up on this because they would be out the door.

[Bighitsinc]

I suppose trying to sell advertising for the preview would be a little too labor intensive.

[Orange and Brown]

A newspaper is a business, not a community service project. Newspapers live and die by advertising revenues. Then come subscriptions. Then comes rack sales.

Check out page eight on the linked document.

http://www.readership.org/impact/power_to_grow.pdf

Real research has shown that sports is the least effective way to increase readership. When I was covering sports, I strongly disagreed with this idea; after all, I heard nothing but people complaining about sports. Then I got away from the sports desk, and I learned that "sports people" -- especially those interested in local (ie living vicariously through teenagers) sports -- were just a loud minority. I am a big-enough boy to admit that I was wrong.

Trying to fix the circulation problems at a small newspaper by adding coverage of high school sports ranks with moving water between buckets using a fork. I don't see why The MESSENGER should care what we think of their high school sports coverage. The advertising dollars from Ohio University or Holzer is much more likely to save the ship than pandering to high school sports groupies.

And as for GRIDIRON GLORY, isn't that on OU Public Television? Does that mean it is funded by tax dollars?

The larger issue is that the Messenger SUCKS! They put out very few decent stories. They don't get a lot of advertising dollars because they aren't a quality Newspaper....I believe they are owned by an Ausie company now so they could give a Rats Turd about SEO or the people in it.......

[Steely Dan]

I'm still a big "NEWSPAPER GUY" ... love my coffee and my morning paper ... they can combine them - and call it anything they want - as long as they put out a descent sports page.

I'm still a newspaper reader as well, however, I find it increasingly difficult to spend money on a publication that contains so little relevant local news, that I now purchase a Messenger only a couple of times a week. I always buy a Sunday edition, but I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to do that, as the content continues to shrink and what is published is already in the Dispatch, which I read on average five to six times a week.

Karl is absolutely correct, it isn't the local sports that sells papers and funds the news operation, it is the advertising, first and foremost. I think we all know that the operating model for the daily print media is changing at a fast clip, and if you don't get ahead of the curve, you won't survive.

Will newspapers go the way of Polaroid cameras, Kodak film, and Blockbuster video? I hope not, but with the evolution of how people now get news, the days of "The Daily Planet" are over......