Have I mentioned how much I miss Mark Viviano’s radio show?
Not today? Ok good.
One of my favorite Baltimore media personalities hit one out of park in his latest blogpost on separating the media’s perspective of the Ravens from the fan’s.
It all stemmed from Mike Preston’s controversial article in which he published that the Ravens coaching staff needs to ask Ray Lewis and Ed Reed to step aside as their skills have declined as a result of age and injury. “Outrage over a columnist’s opinion is commonplace- in fact, it’s hoped for,” Viv writes.
He went on to say that in listening to sports talk radio, specifically Brett Hollander’s show on WBAL, he heard callers asking: “When the Baltimore Sun is going to get on board with the Ravens.”
“We’ve got a great thing going here. Why aren’t they (the Sun) pulling for the home team,” Viv heard the caller ask Hollander.
Here’s how he responded.
Know your role. If you’re a fan, you root for your team. As a reporter, I can’t root for the Ravens. That would compromise my role as a credible reporter. I can’t root for the Orioles or the Terps either. You do that if you’re a fan- reporters don’t (or shouldn’t) do that. That being said, I’m a proud Baltimore resident and have been for 15 years. I’ve made Baltimore my home. I recognize that it’s beneficial to the city and surrounding areas that the local teams do well. It’s good for the economy and good for the general demeanor of the population. People feel good when the Ravens do well. So, I’m glad to see the results of the local teams having success- I just can’t “root” for it, not in the professional role that I have and take seriously.
While I personally agree with his thoughts, this is an interesting perspective as some members of the local media do not adhere to those opinions. At WNST, fan coverage is encouraged. Owner/operator Nestor Aparacio is seen weekly at M&T Bank Stadium donning his purple and black. I’m sure he considers himself just as much a member of the media as Viviano does.
It all depends on the type of coverage you want. You can get your news from MSNBC to hear one side or FOX to hear the other. Walter Cronkites are few and far between these days.
Would you rather return to the days of old, where the reporters keep their opinions out of their coverage? Or embrace the internet era and get the story from guys wearing the home team’s jersey?
I think there is a place for both; I hope that we don’t lose the objective reporter side of it.
The problem with an uber-fan being a reporter is that if they are obviously biased, then the assumption is that it colors their reporting in a way that it would not for a more objective reporter. Some would assume that the “homer reporter” might gloss over some things that the objective one would elaborate on, either because they don’t want to hurt the team (burying a problem) or are very upset at the team (exaggerating a problem).
It’s the same way that people assume that news stories done by Fox or MSNBC are biased one way or the other because of their leanings – people assume they gloss over some things and exaggerate others.
There’s a place for both types of sports reporters. But if I could only have one, I’d take the more objective reporter.
Interesting that the article is accompanied by a picture of the least objective “reporter” in town. Ravens “fanboy”, aka The Little Guy, Nasty Nestor Aparicio.