The Buffalo News and their "agenda"

[The Big Cat]

For the last two decades, the Bills have given local writers nothing but mediocre, uninspiring football to write about and analyze. All around the league, teams go from zero to hero and make runs from championships, while we consistently hover around 7 wins and twice a year get a front row seat to the chasm separating our squad from arguably the most dominant sports dynasty of all time.

 

If I were a writer covering this team, if the bulk of my career now spanned a record-long drought, I imagine I'd be burned out too.

 

But lately it's felt different. It seems that in the last couple years it's taken a turn. For the personal. We've gone beyond if it bleeds it reads. Now it feels like the motto is make it bleed.

 

I don't know how much good it will to rehash the last couple weeks of coverage/conduct, instead I'd like to offer an explanation for why there seems to be a growing sentiment among the fans that the likes of Graham, Carucci, Sully, Skurski and Gleason have really taken to honing in on the negative side/spin/angle of every Bills story.

 

They're fighting for survival. The Bills are no longer a football team. They're a media company. They writers that cover them compete with the team for:

1. Access--WGR, the "official home of the Buffalo Bills" gets weekly exclusives with marquee members of the organization, ditto the Bills web properties, the MSG network, et al.
2. Eyeballs--The Bills web properties, the MSG network, WGR, PSE, these all tie back to the Pegulas. They (and the team by proxy) have final authorship on content that TBN now has to compete with.
3. Relevance--Not only can the team's channels outdo them from a content standpoint, so can the national guys. It's not just ESPN and SI that have their angles on the Bills anymore, now the league has its own 24/7 network to further marginalize the need for the local guys to cover.

What exactly do the Bills need TBN for?

 

Nothing, it turns out.

 

In fact, TBN is a liability for them, hence the move to tighten the reigns on what outside media can and can't cover.

 

More and more I see TBN guys tweeting about this Buffalo Guild mumbo jumbo. It's 2016. The local paper free fall began a decade ago. They're desperate.

 

So is it any surprise--when the chips are down, when the team you cover is doing all that it can to eradicate your purpose--that your response would be to smear them any way possible? Fortunately for them, the Bills don't make it very difficult.

 

All of this seemed to really take flight when the Pegulas took over. And given everything I'm mentioned above, is the conclusion here really that wild?

[BringBackOrton]

Their negative articles probably get the most clicks too. Not saying you're wrong, but I'm sure that plays a factor.

[KD in CA]

Their negative articles probably get the most clicks too. Not saying you're wrong, but I'm sure that plays a factor.

 

Truncated for accuracy. Eyeballs and clicks are what drives all media, all the time.

[BringBackOrton]

 

Truncated for accuracy. Eyeballs and clicks are what drives all media, all the time.

I was trying to let him down easy.

[Rico]

Start winning or slam the hell out of longtime incompetency and failure.

At least someone is giving the people what they want, thanks TBN!

Edited December 22, 2016 by Rico

[KD in CA]

I was trying to let him down easy.

 

LOL

 

There must be some good books out there about the birth of cable TV and the web, and the rise of corporate/for-profit media starting back in the 80s and how that's led us to our modern days journalism standards.

 

In 2016 people are suddenly in hysterics over 'fake news'. To quote John McClane, "Welcome to the party, pal."

[The Big Cat]

 

Truncated for accuracy. Eyeballs and clicks are what drives all media, all the time.

No doubt. But it's impossible to say negative drives MORE for them since we have no positive control.

[BringBackOrton]

Your opinion is unprovable. Now my opinion...

[Al Czervik]

I've been waiting for you to share the media-theory you've been hinting about

 

In past Bills News articles on the main page, you can usually tell who a couple of the author's are based on the negative statement theme of the article's title...so nothing new there, but from the aggressive tones of the past few weeks writing, I doubt there is much room left for professional courtesy let alone working friendships between the two sides of individuals...but like you say that could be the result of continually being squeezed out of the media market. Maybe you're right and TBN is on the outside looking in on the Bills world?

 

Either way one thing I agree with is the Bills franchise (or any team) in today's NFL and media world doesn't need the little guy to tell their stories for free anymore...as kind of sad as that is to say.

 

Interesting take...thanks for sharing

[BillsVet]

It doesn't help when OBD tries to freeze out reporters from doing their jobs. Their media policy introduced during mini-camp was widely panned, mocked, and eventually OBD capitulated on the more notable aspects.

 

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/05/24/buffalo-bills-new-media-policy/

 

Some of those tweets are hilarious, particularly Incognito's.

[reddogblitz]

It's all click bait now. Really not all that new, but maybe on Steroids right now. In Dallas, Skip Bayless was the king of negative nasty articles about the Cowboys in the midst of a 20 straight winning seasons and back to back to back NFC Championship games

[Hot Buffalo Wings]

Sounds like an awful job to have to write about sports. They spread rumors just so they can write an article. It's desperate.

[The Big Cat]

I've been waiting for you to share the media-theory you've been hinting about

 

In past Bills News articles on the main page, you can usually tell who a couple of the author's are based on the negative statement theme of the article's title...so nothing new there, but from the aggressive tones of the past few weeks writing, I doubt there is much room left for professional courtesy let alone working friendships between the two sides of individuals...but like you say that could be the result of continually being squeezed out of the media market. Maybe you're right and TBN is on the outside looking in on the Bills world?

 

Either way one thing I agree with is the Bills franchise (or any team) in today's NFL and media world doesn't need the little guy to tell their stories for free anymore...as kind of sad as that is to say.

 

Interesting take...thanks for sharing

 

Yeah, I reject using clickbait and negativity as the explanation. This feels far more insidious and calculated. And I think it does have much more to do with the symbiotic relationship between professional sports teams and local "journalism" coming apart at the seams. I think it's quite clear who needs who.

[Rubes]

 

Yeah, I reject using clickbait and negativity as the explanation. This feels far more insidious and calculated. And I think it does have much more to do with the symbiotic relationship between professional sports teams and local "journalism" coming apart at the seams. I think it's quite clear who needs who.

 

I think I'm with you on this, but I'm not certain. I mean, from my own experience and standpoint, when the Bills win I'm much more likely to click on all the News articles, to see all the good stuff. When they lose, I'll check out one or two to justify my misery, but other than that, I prefer to stay away.

 

In other words, for me: more wins, more clicks. I'm more interested in the positive than the negative, at least when it comes to my sports teams.

[BringBackOrton]

 

Yeah, I reject using clickbait and negativity as the explanation. This feels far more insidious and calculated. And I think it does have much more to do with the symbiotic relationship between professional sports teams and local "journalism" coming apart at the seams. I think it's quite clear who needs who.

What possibly could be their end game?

[The Big Cat]

 

I think I'm with you on this, but I'm not certain. I mean, from my own experience and standpoint, when the Bills win I'm much more likely to click on all the News articles, to see all the good stuff. When they lose, I'll check out one or two to justify my misery, but other than that, I prefer to stay away.

 

In other words, for me: more wins, more clicks. I'm more interested in the positive than the negative, at least when it comes to my sports teams.

 

Yep, absolutely!

 

We get about 500 downloads to our podcast when the Bills win. About 350 when they lose. I have the heat maps to show the patterns.

What possibly could be their end game?

 

As detailed in the OP: to discredit the brand that's putting forth a product in direct competition with theirs. Reports are of turmoil, disconnect, disorganization, backstabbing, etc.

 

On the flipside: what's the consequence? The Bills won't revoke their credentials. At least not in this decade.

[PromoTheRobot]

Three of Whaley's low level free agent signings are going to the Pro Bowl. I guess all these free agents are just killing the Bills roster, huh Timmah?

[Billznut]

Start winning or slam the hell out of longtime incompetency and failure.

At least someone is giving the people what they want, thanks TBN!

Agreed! This team and franchise has done NOTHING this century to deserve any positive spin or benefit of the doubt. TBN columnists are only reporting just how dysfunctional this franchise is. Some people here just refuse to acknowledge it year after year.

[Rico]

What possibly could be their end game?

Pretty simple. Pegs had a golden opportunity after taking over to clean house and truly begin a new era. That didn't happen, nothing has changed, the same assclowns are still running the team. Each and every one of these 'critical' reporters sees thru all the BS at OBD, and is doing the right thing by calling them out. It may seem to some that it's getting more heated, but that's to be expected, Ralph's trash just gets more and more indefensible with every year of failure and no apparent accountability at all.The end game would be for Pegs to finally completely drain the swamp of all these chumps and losers. No doubt there will be some beautiful, glorious, and positive columns the day that starts to happen.

[The Big Cat]

Pretty simple. Pegs had a golden opportunity after taking over to clean house and truly begin a new era. That didn't happen, nothing has changed, the same assclowns are still running the team. Each and every one of these 'critical' reporters sees thru all the BS at OBD, and is doing the right thing by calling them out. It may seem to some that it's getting more heated, but that's to be expected, Ralph's trash just gets more and more indefensible with every year of failure and no apparent accountability at all.The end game would be for Pegs to finally completely drain the swamp of all these chumps and losers. No doubt there will be some beautiful, glorious, and positive columns the day that starts to happen.

This is an interesting take, to say the least 😬

[BringBackOrton]

 

Yep, absolutely!

 

We get about 500 downloads to our podcast when the Bills win. About 350 when they lose. I have the heat maps to show the patterns.

 

 

As detailed in the OP: to discredit the brand that's putting forth a product in direct competition with theirs. Reports are of turmoil, disconnect, disorganization, backstabbing, etc.

 

On the flipside: what's the consequence? The Bills won't revoke their credentials. At least not in this decade.

Huh? There's been reports of disconnect, disorganization etc far before Pegula and his cronies got here. Unless there was a Ralph Wilson Sports and Entertainment group I missed, I fail to see how they felt in competition with the Bills pre-2014.

 

"Why not" is hardly a sufficient motive.

 

There's also a matter of what they accomplish. They discredit the team, sure. What happens after that? Pegula sells the team and runs away crying? Buys TBN and fires them all? Pays off Graham and Skurski to write propaganda?

Edited December 23, 2016 by jmc12290

[The Big Cat]

Huh? There's been reports of disconnect, disorganization etc far before Pegula and his cronies got here. Unless there was a Ralph Wilson Sports and Entertainment group I missed, I fail to see how they felt in competition with the Bills pre-2014.

 

"Why not" is hardly a sufficient motive.

 

There's also a matter of what they accomplish. They discredit the team, sure. What happens after that? Pegula sells the team and runs away crying? Buys TBN and fires them all? Pays off Graham and Skurski to write propaganda?

Thanks

[Punching Bag]

 

Yeah, I reject using clickbait and negativity as the explanation. This feels far more insidious and calculated. And I think it does have much more to do with the symbiotic relationship between professional sports teams and local "journalism" coming apart at the seams. I think it's quite clear who doesn't need who.

 

Corrected. In fact they should treat them that way.

[Ohiostyle]

I think with official mouthpieces, the only alternatives for TBN are to take the stories that you won't here from them (WGR, BB.com). Even if things were to become wildly successful, I'd expect TBN's content to remain the same. It's their only nitch at this point. They are creating far more content than any of the others.

[NewEra]

For the last two decades, the Bills have given local writers nothing but mediocre, uninspiring football to write about and analyze. All around the league, teams go from zero to hero and make runs from championships, while we consistently hover around 7 wins and twice a year get a front row seat to the chasm separating our squad from arguably the most dominant sports dynasty of all time.

 

If I were a writer covering this team, if the bulk of my career now spanned a record-long drought, I imagine I'd be burned out too.

 

But lately it's felt different. It seems that in the last couple years it's taken a turn. For the personal. We've gone beyond if it bleeds it reads. Now it feels like the motto is make it bleed.

 

I don't know how much good it will to rehash the last couple weeks of coverage/conduct, instead I'd like to offer an explanation for why there seems to be a growing sentiment among the fans that the likes of Graham, Carucci, Sully, Skurski and Gleason have really taken to honing in on the negative side/spin/angle of every Bills story.

 

They're fighting for survival. The Bills are no longer a football team. They're a media company. They writers that cover them compete with the team for:

 

• Access--WGR, the "official home of the Buffalo Bills" gets weekly exclusives with marquee members of the organization, ditto the Bills web properties, the MSG network, et al.
• Eyeballs--The Bills web properties, the MSG network, WGR, PSE, these all tie back to the Pegulas. They (and the team by proxy) have final authorship on content that TBN now has to compete with.
• Relevance--Not only can the team's channels outdo them from a content standpoint, so can the national guys. It's not just ESPN and SI that have their angles on the Bills anymore, now the league has its own 24/7 network to further marginalize the need for the local guys to cover.

What exactly do the Bills need TBN for?

 

Nothing, it turns out.

 

In fact, TBN is a liability for them, hence the move to tighten the reigns on what outside media can and can't cover.

 

More and more I see TBN guys tweeting about this Buffalo Guild mumbo jumbo. It's 2016. The local paper free fall began a decade ago. They're desperate.

 

So is it any surprise--when the chips are down, when the team you cover is doing all that it can to eradicate your purpose--that your response would be to smear them any way possible? Fortunately for them, the Bills don't make it very difficult.

 

All of this seemed to really take flight when the Pegulas took over. And given everything I'm mentioned above, is the conclusion here really that wild?

Word. It's TBN is at all all time low. I haven't read an article in months. I see the headlines on TBD and just cringe. I refuse to give those "writers" any clicks. They should be ashamed.

[hondo in seattle]

Their negative articles probably get the most clicks too. Not saying you're wrong, but I'm sure that plays a factor.

 

TBN's only agenda is revenue. To generate revenue, they need readers. So the safe guess is that the sports editor has decided that negativity generates clicks.

 

And maybe he or she is right. But I hate any reporting that isn't balanced. Negativity is dreary and depressing. Pollyanna positivity is goofy and unrealistic. Can't we get a little bit of both?