Reiss finally snaps (a bit)

[QuantumMechanic]

Mike Reiss Rants on Negativity, Legacies and Anger

Mike (12:31 PM)
The pictures of Gronkowski and Light at the post-Super Bowl party didn’t bother me at all. This is a 22-year-old kid who gave his all to this team this year. People blow off steam in different ways and he’s entitled to do whatever he wants (within the law) as far as I’m concerned. I’m more angered that some low-life would take video of it and distribute it. I find that despicable. …

Mike (12:32 PM)
…As for the legacy talk, my take is simple: Talk to me when their careers are over. We always seem to want to write the ending to stories while they are going on. Why? Why can’t we enjoy the journey and then talk legacy? …

Mike (12:34 PM)
I have been having some internal philosophical debates in my head about what media is these days. What are we trying to accomplish? When I got into this business, I thought we were supposed to tell people what they needed to know. Now I think we’re trending in a dangerous area where we report based on what will get clicks. It bothers me…

Mike (12:36 PM)
… I’m not perfect, but when I see a company soliciting publicity for dropping a boatload of Butterfingers in Boston and thanking Wes Welker for his drop — and then some report on it to give that company exactly what they want (publicity) — it makes me shake my head. What are we doing here?

 

[LetsGoPats36]

Now I think we’re trending in a dangerous area where we report based on what will get clicks. It bothers me…

Watch yourself, Mike. You are employed by the Sports King of what you are disdaining.


(I agree with him 100%)

 

[FalconHeavy]

Watch yourself, Mike. You are employed by the Sports King of what you are disdaining.

(I agree with him 100%)

Well atleast he is honest about it. You tell em Mike.

 

[blackglass3]

While I (and many of us) agree whole heartedly with what Mike says, he is not going to go far at ESPN saying things like that.

 

[Stilla]

ESPN: Jocky gossip, fashion, scandals, and the latest from the world of sports.

Sleaze is the story of the day in a country where the gossip is king. Enquiring minds want to know!

Its all Tom's fault, he went out and married a super model, now ESPN has to compete against US weekly magazine.

 

[MP-Logick]

It's funny, because ESPN does this all the time, but the guys at ESPN Boston are usually pretty good. Reiss, Chris Forsberg, the Bruins guys aren't bad either.

 

[letekro]

Mike Reiss Rants on Negativity, Legacies and Anger

Mike seems like a genuinely good dude with high aspirations for himself in an otherwise bottom-feeding profession. He does a great job.

 

[MassPats38]

While I (and many of us) agree whole heartedly with what Mike says, he is not going to go far at ESPN saying things like that.

It may be me, but it seems like the ESPN Boston articles have been more pro-Patriots and less Patriots hating. The general site still seems to have a tone of disain in many articles (omitting Easterbrook, who has an over-the-top hatred). I wonder if the locals are doing exactly what ESPN requires with their subjects.

 

[NEP4Life]

Mike seems like a genuinely good dude with high aspirations for himself in an otherwise bottom-feeding profession. He does a great job.

I see Reiss as a person who does his best to maintain his integrity and honor... so I have no idea why ever got into the sports media business.

 

[LetsGoPats36]

It may be me, but it seems like the ESPN Boston articles have been more pro-Patriots and less Patriots hating. The general site still seems to have a tone of disain in many articles (omitting Easterbrook, who has an over-the-top hatred). I wonder if the locals are doing exactly what ESPN requires with their subjects.

Yeah, I like ESPN Boston. I was referring to ESPN as a whole.

 

[Lansdowne]

Reiss is one of the few (and I stress few) good, honest people left in the media. He's absolutely right about how everything is about trolling for clicks these days, and it's a shame. More than ever people are whoring themselves for the almighty dollar at the expense of dignity (see: Pawngo).

 

[Deus Irae]

Did Mike never take any sort of "History of journalism" course, or look into it on his own?

 

[Ron Sellers]

The various local BSPN sites obviously are given a very different set of directions from corporate than the site as a whole and the television networks are. For proof just look no further than what was being reported on a daily basis on the BSPN NY site: it was more pom-pom waving, footy-pajama fan-centric than anything you would find even on Bleacher Report.

It is quite obvious that he has more leeway and a different directive than the dozens of talking heads that appear on television, whose sole purpose is to stir the pot and appeal to very casual fans who are just as likely to watch the Kardashians as they are to read something from the world wide leader.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Did Mike never take any sort of "History of journalism" course, or look into it on his own?

Perhaps but seemingly Mike is not a cynical person and appears somewhat idealistic. While I find him not at his best on analysis, I admire the guy, something I can't readily say about his peers. Apologies for any of them I may have in ignorance overlooked.

 

[goheels22002]

Did Mike never take any sort of "History of journalism" course, or look into it on his own?

What is your point?

 

[jnug]

Seems like the whole Boston media crew including ex-athlete media personalities like DeOssie and Harrison and current players like Tim Thomas and even Gronk to some extent have taken their hits this week.

I don't mean to lump them all into the same basket either. Of all of them I am really OK with Gronk. Implying that his attendance at that party that night says something about his effort on the field is just hard for me to swallow.

I do wonder why Tim Thomas continues to go down this road because every time he comments he opens up a new can of worms and drags his teammates along for the ride. Then he somehow expects that the media is not going to question him about it. If he does not want to hear questions about it then he should just keep his political comments off of his Facebook page or at least wait till the end of the season so that it is not a distraction for himself or his teammates. What did he say...."what I post on my Facebook page is private". Have you ever heard anything so laughable?

I like Rodney Harrison but I think all of these ex-athletes in the media end up sounding a little strident as they struggle to become relevant in what is a different environment for them than the one they are used to, the one between the hash marks.

I am just done with DeOssie but there has been enough posted about that topic. I don't think Buckley did him any favors though. Buckley is going a long way to turn perception into reality.

 

[Deus Irae]

What is your point?

When I got into this business, I thought we were supposed to tell people what they needed to know. Now I think we’re trending in a dangerous area where we report based on what will get clicks.

Reporting/journalism has pretty much always been agenda driven, either to advance an ideology or to increase the bottom line.

 

[eom]

Mike's right on target, but he might as well be complaining about the rain.

It's got to be frustrating for a guy like that trying to do an actual job watching side show freaks blow up their page views with nonsense.

There's a reason they don't show the streakers on the field......ok, a couple reasons.....but there's no shortage of butterfinger coverage complete with the company's name.
Although, to be honest, that butterfinger thing is just the kind of thing you need to have thick skin about --- when you lose you take the lumps.

 

[Ron Sellers]

Mike's right on target, but he might as well be complaining about the rain.

It's got to be frustrating for a guy like that trying to do an actual job watching side show freaks blow up their page views with nonsense.

There's a reason they don't show the streakers on the field......ok, a couple reasons.....but there's no shortage of butterfinger coverage complete with the company's name.
Although, to be honest, that butterfinger thing is just the kind of thing you need to have thick skin about --- when you lose you take the lumps.

I agree on both players and fans needing to have thick skin after losing a championship game as immediate reactions from both fans and the media tend to be highly emotional and not thought out at all. However I can't think of any other time that any company has ever pulled a stunt like that one, where they are mocking the losing team, one of its players, and its entire fan base at a point in time where they are already feeling dejected. It was in very poor taste (no pun intended) and totally crossed the line of decency. That is not something that fans or players should ever be expected to be subjected to after losing a title game.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Maye when people start complaining they want to hear good news, people will start getting good news.

It's so much easier to stir up negative emotions and antagonize one group from another than to state the facts and let people make their own decision. Look how many people assume to "know" things because they hear it in the news.

Younger people may get it, but there's still a generation of people who haven't quite figured it out or just prefer the nonsense. I better stop before I get on my high horse .