Patriots Have Reporters All a Twitter

Rather than whine about it, why don't these reporters embrace it and figure out a way to use it to their advantage? The technology is not going to be outlawed or go away; these guys need to adapt or they will become extinct. It's like the guy who delivered blocks of ice complaining about electric refrigerators. Some saw the change and got out of the ice business and in to the appliance business; others were left behind griping about the 'bad luck' that caused their unemployment.

Personally, I enjoyed finding out who the Pats were picking up to several minutes before it was announced on TV. News media in general is just pissed about Twitter because it's one more step in making them obsolete.

What's one thing that technology can't make obsolete, though? Quality reporting on interesting subjects. If these guys start doing that again, they might still have a job in a few years. If they don't, they won't. No sympathy from me either way.

I also wonder if this is one more way that the Pats are getting the last laugh at the idiots in the press that tried to make life difficult for them over the years. It's no secret that the organization despises the news media in general, and, with continued acts of disintermediation, the only media types that will have any relevance at all will be the ones who have actual connections and insight to the team

Another reporter lamented: “We are now totally useless.”

lol

what does he mean 'now'....?

For some reason I could not get the NFL.com live feed to work here in Copenhagen, kept getting a "Service is overwhelmed" message on both Saturday and Sunday. Do not know if it was available for international fans. Could other international fans access the NFL Stream?

Twitter was a godsend for me.

Thank you Patriots for being on the cutting edge of technology and allowing me to follow the draft without a hitch or delay. Screw the newspaper reporters.

I really need to look into this twitter thing. It kind of sounds like its part of the female anatomy

They were whining about it on WEEI on Saturday, they talked about the pick for a few seconds then went on a five minute whine fest about them stealing their scoop.

What's really funny is that some reporters are doing the same thing with blogs...it's no different, just a different site.

I'm glad that there are some reporters who have embraced the blogs and still do quality reporting- Thank you Mike Reiss!

If I could, I'd like to open a debate here based on some of the comments I've seen here and elsewhere because of this overblown twitter issue.

I find it interesting that people are openly advocating for others to lose their jobs. Whether or not you believe that what we as sports reporters do is difficult, it is a job. It is the way we provide for our families, and for some of us, it is the realization of a career goal to get to cover the Patriots or NFL. I can only imagine the reaction if I wrote that robots should replace all of the people who work on manufacturing lines, with no concern for the thousands of Americans who would be jobless because of it.

The "we are now useless" quip was a morbid joke between friends that we never believed would be publicized. Regardless, as much as some of us like our jobs, we complain sometimes, just like anyone does.

smy

I'm certainly not hoping that anybody would lose their jobs, and hopefully nobody else is either; that is of no benefit to us, the sports fans. I'm just suggesting that folks need to learn to adapt or they will be left behind. For example, reporters have gone from pads of paper to microphones, from typewriters to wireless laptops, and delivery has changed from tomorrow's paper to today's column on the net. My suggestion is for reporters and the companies they work for to try and figure out a way to exploit this new technology for their own good, to better get their message to their customers.

Well said. For years now, you can find more breaking news here on these forums than any media website aside from Mike Reiss which is a big part of the reason he is revered here.

smyoung said:

If I could, I'd like to open a debate here based on some of the comments I've seen here and elsewhere because of this overblown twitter issue.

I find it interesting that people are openly advocating for others to lose their jobs. Whether or not you believe that what we as sports reporters do is difficult, it is a job. It is the way we provide for our families, and for some of us, it is the realization of a career goal to get to cover the Patriots or NFL. I can only imagine the reaction if I wrote that robots should replace all of the people who work on manufacturing lines, with no concern for the thousands of Americans who would be jobless because of it.

The "we are now useless" quip was a morbid joke between friends that we never believed would be publicized. Regardless, as much as some of us like our jobs, we complain sometimes, just like anyone does.

smy

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I don't see how you are losing your jobs because they are using a new technology that bypasses you. You still have to report the picks and you still have to do follow ups regarding the picks and their impacts on the team for the upcoming year.

It is no different than what some are doing with their blogs especially blogs like Reiss's Pieces that are updated during the games.

Heck, Reiss just took the info from the twitter page and posted it on his blog as soon as it was made public. I didn't need to sign up for twitter and I learned of the picks all of 30 seconds after it was twatted.

jmt57 said:

Rather than whine about it, why don't these reporters embrace it and figure out a way to use it to their advantage? The technology is not going to be outlawed or go away; these guys need to adapt or they will become extinct. It's like the guy who delivered blocks of ice complaining about electric refrigerators. Some saw the change and got out of the ice business and in to the appliance business; others were left behind griping about the 'bad luck' that caused their unemployment.

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Can see why they would be upset. The Internet is already killing the newspaper industry which means there are starting to be less jobs and lower pay for their writers. With the Twitter, they become less and less useful.

In fairness to them, I bet if your company or someone outside your company kept on developing technology or processes that made your job less and less neccessary, you would not be happy either.

efin98 said:

I don't see how you are losing your jobs because they are using a new technology that bypasses you. You still have to report the picks and you still have to do follow ups regarding the picks and their impacts on the team for the upcoming year.

It is no different than what some are doing with their blogs especially blogs like Reiss's Pieces that are updated during the games.

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The problem is the newspapers make less and less money as it is. If people are going to the Patriots Twitter account to see the latest draft updates instead of Boston.com, that will lower the revenues for the Globe which already makes less on online advertising than they do on print advertising.

If I could, I'd like to open a debate here based on some of the comments I've seen here and elsewhere because of this overblown twitter issue.

I find it interesting that people are openly advocating for others to lose their jobs. Whether or not you believe that what we as sports reporters do is difficult, it is a job. It is the way we provide for our families, and for some of us, it is the realization of a career goal to get to cover the Patriots or NFL. I can only imagine the reaction if I wrote that robots should replace all of the people who work on manufacturing lines, with no concern for the thousands of Americans who would be jobless because of it.

The "we are now useless" quip was a morbid joke between friends that we never believed would be publicized. Regardless, as much as some of us like our jobs, we complain sometimes, just like anyone does.

smy

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Lets get something straight here:

America was founded on capitalism; aka survival of the fittest.

To suggest that innovation be stifled or efficiencies undone because people lose jobs is to go against the entire point of the United States. The idea is that in this country, you can get ahead with brains and hard work. No American should deny an entrepreneur the ability to create for "social well being". How many jobs should we keep around because they feed a family? Do you care for the auto factory workers who were replaced by machinery? Do you care for the people who used to calculate interest rates for insurance companies and were marginalized by the computer? Do you care for Blockbuster, who's business is being dominated by Netflix?

Yes, I understand that people love their jobs and are marginalized by Twitter. I do feel for the person who is out-done by a machine or a piece of code.

SMY, to address you specifically, I think there will always be an audience for an insightful opinion. Especially about the Patriots. I do not want you to lose your job, but I also don't think that jobs should be maintained if there's not a need for them.

eom said:

Another reporter lamented: “We are now totally useless.”

lol

what does he mean 'now'....?

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Good one!

Not all, of course, but the Felgers of the world, the knee-jerk jerks, are in trouble.

Rob0729 said:

Can see why they would be upset. The Internet is already killing the newspaper industry which means there are starting to be less jobs and lower pay for their writers. With the Twitter, they become less and less useful.

In fairness to them, I bet if your company or someone outside your company kept on developing technology or processes that made your job less and less neccessary, you would not be happy either.

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Actually, I have been there and done that in real life. Some saw what was happening and adapted, so they remained valuable and useful. Others complained about having a larger workload and earning less. Guess which group is employed and which is not.

The newspaper industry took too narrow of a definition of what they did. They were too focused on the physical delivery of paper to a person's home. But they were really in the business of delivering information to consumers, and selling advertising. The internet came along and the newspaper industry should have embraced it, delivering their information to consumers and delivering those consumers to businesses trying to sell their products. Once again, those who adapt will survive and be employed; those that don't will be out of work (or out of business.)

This is not the first time an industry has made this kind of mistake. For example, the railroad industry did the same thing many years ago. They considered themselves to be in the railroad business, period. But people who used the railroad used it for a purpose: to get themselves or their products from this place to that place. As the trucking industry started to evolve the railroad industry should have looked at that as opportunity; a more effective way of getting people and things from point A to point B. Instead they saw only competition, and the rest is history.

The newspaper industry is not doomed, but they need to re-think what their purpose is, and how they can make their information more valuable than other's. That will draw more readers (consumers), which will attract more businesses (advertisers.) A real challenge for sure, but it is not insurmountable obstacle.

Another reporter lamented: “We are now totally useless.”

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No, no, no. We still need "journalists". Just think, if it weren't for "journalists" who would make up all the stories?

smyoung said:

I find it interesting that people are openly advocating for others to lose their jobs.

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When you report that the Patriots signed this guy or that guy for "competition," you think it makes the team better. I have never heard you complain about competition among football players causing someone to lose his job because he was overtaken by someone faster and stronger.

This is simply competition in news services.

You are O.T.I.S. Dexter Reid and other young DBs were brought in, all faster and stronger than you are. Do like O.T.I.S. did. He didn't complain that BB brought in competition. He made himself valuable by being a smarter player than Reid et al.

Fast is good to recover when you are out of position. If you are in the right place when the ball gets there, you don't have to be fast.

Strong is good to overpower a ball carrier. Techinque will work just as well.

You (SMY) can no longer scoop information. But you can provide insight and analysis. You see stuff every day and can make connections and analysis that others cannot. Make yourself valuable by writing analytical articles, provide info not available, and stop complaining about competition. It will only get you cut.

Personally, I think it would be easy for a quality reporter (how few remain...) to use this to their advantage.

So the Pats twitter their pick several minutes before the press gets it? As a consumer of information, now I know who the Patriots picked, but that's it. A good reporter will take that information, and educate me on the player - how he performed in college, what the Patriots like in him, where he fits on the roster. Analyze the pick, tell me something about the player I don't know. Talk to family/friends, and get me quotes. Stats from his college career, etc.

That's where the value in real reporters lie. They can kill the bloggers with quality reporting if they put the effort into it. Speed of information is only one small part of the equation, quality is just as important, and you don't get that from Twitter, or some random blogger.