Media Coverage

[JACKGUYII]

Do people think SDSU is getting an appropriate enough coverage? I know Terry V. provides his coverage of the Jacks via articles in the Argus and blog. How about the hometown newspaper Brookings Register and radio station WNAX? I know it's not easy to compare NDSU with SDSU as they are the hometown team for the states largest city (Fargo). Football has certainly become a much more popular since the move to DI (FCS) and wondered if others feel there could be improvement and how that might come about.

[rabidrabbit]

Re: Media Coverage

Do people think SDSU is getting an appropriate enough coverage? I know Terry V. provides his coverage of the Jacks via articles in the Argus and blog. How about the hometown newspaper Brookings Register and radio station WNAX? I know it's not easy to compare NDSU with SDSU as they are the hometown team for the states largest city (Fargo). Football has certainly become a much more popular since the move to DI (FCS) and wondered if others feel there could be improvement and how that might come about.

WNAX is a FABULOUS flagship station. The primary addition would be to add in West River, especially Black Hills repeater station for the western SD fans.

If the Brookings Register is still the 5 weekdays newspaper of my youth, then it is always going to be hurting vs Argus-Leader.

I'm just happy that the internet has made SDSU sports available to me in my SE USA life.

[boxerboy]

Re: Media Coverage

The register is horrible. They have terrible coverage overall for the Jacks.

[jackrabit1]

Re: Media Coverage

I try to get some stuff on about SDSU, after all it is the ONLY fully-fledged D-I institution in South Dakota!

But I'll be honest, our listeners are more concerned with the area towns like Howard, Salem, Oldham, and DSU. So they get the priority. But I still try to get on 1 or 2 stories a week about the Jacks.

[1stRowFANatic]

Re: Media Coverage

I wish there could be post-game call-in shows

[jackmd]

Re: Media Coverage

Today, there is an article in the Yankton P&D about NDSU's new QB. The Yankton paper has articles about NDSU on a regular basis during the FB and BB season. Just lately (thanks to some e-mails) I have seen a little more coverage of SDSU but nothing compared to NDSU. I haven't had the opportunity to inquire as to why but I assume NDSU sends the info to the P&D.

[State_fan]

Re: Media Coverage

Today, there is an article in the Yankton P&D about NDSU's new QB. The Yankton paper has articles about NDSU on a regular basis during the FB and BB season. Just lately (thanks to some e-mails) I have seen a little more coverage of SDSU but nothing compared to NDSU. I haven't had the opportunity to inquire as to why but I assume NDSU sends the info to the P&D.

Thats strange. Just out of curiousity, how does the amount of NDSU coverage rate against USD in the P&D?

[Nidaros]

Re: Media Coverage

Do people think SDSU is getting an appropriate enough coverage? I know Terry V. provides his coverage of the Jacks via articles in the Argus and blog. How about the hometown newspaper Brookings Register and radio station WNAX? I know it's not easy to compare NDSU with SDSU as they are the hometown team for the states largest city (Fargo). Football has certainly become a much more popular since the move to DI (FCS) and wondered if others feel there could be improvement and how that might come about.

I fear as with so many wants at SDSU, the budget dictates what is spend in promotion. I dont think we can expect the media especially in South Dakota, which probably also has budget constraints, from coming to SDSU and asking how can we promote SDSU athletics? I suspect the dialogue is more about how can the media source benefit from SDSU coverage? USD now going D1 probably add to the media reluctance as now they have a choice between two schools to promote, and now we have a dollar race.

The Brookings Register could be more involved but again what probably holds them back is their circulation of subscribers. Its not a state wide paper in terms of circulation, more or less limited to a half dozen counties at the most. Possibly the thinking at the Register is that if the coverage satisfies the average Brookings area fan, we are doing our job.

WNAX coverage is as good as the multi year contract signed with SDSU. I listen to WNAX a great deal for other reasons, and the spot ads suggest that the coverage is included in the contract that SDSU is paying to WNAX.

From my point of view, the media and SDSU is pretty much dollar driven.

[JackFan96]

Re: Media Coverage

Good points. I think the Register is six days a week now. I'm sure the staff is small. The afternoon format is probably a challenge. And with no Sunday paper, the football game story on Monday afternoon is old by then. Maybe taking a look at how to differently do things/offer coverage.

We (SDSU) are in an odd spot. We're not established as a Division I school like Montana is, for example. And we're not a big school like Minnesota. And we don't have a university system like Wyoming where there's only one big school. So I think we're still making a name for ourselves. I don't how we change it. We do need to up marketing, I think. The Argus does a good job. Terry is very, very good. Aberdeen is fair. The scores and plenty of tidbits are in the sports section. Plus, any info about players and coaches with local ties. I don't know what Watertown does. By rights, it should offer soild coverage...maybe even cover some games. But, I would guess, the staff is small there, too. How to garner the Rapid City market is the key. There's a real east vs. west divide in the state, which makes perfect sense. But it would be nice if SDSU could find some appeal in the west and see what could be done about Journal coverage. That sounds odd, I guess..."see what could be done about Journal coverage." Maybe what I mean is a coach or two or an administrator or two just stop by the office out there...offer to be accomodating...make sure they get our releases and box scores and all of that. I'm just thinking out loud here.

[JimmyJack]

Re: Media Coverage

The Brookings Register could be more involved but again what probably holds them back is their circulation of subscribers.

The Register is stuck between a rock and a hard place. They're like most newspapers: Corporate ownership means shareholders expect 25-30 percent profits. Meanwhile, the newspaper industry is on the ropes with advertising drying up and readership shrinking. To get the desired results, local managers of corporate papers must cut staff and shrink the paper.

The people at the Register do the best they can with what they have. But with a few exceptions (good local papers like the Madison Daily Leader and Watertown Public Opinion, for example, are locally owned) it is the corporate profit chase that is shrinking news staffs and leading to less local coverage.

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: Media Coverage

The Register struggles with the sports coverage. They've had trouble with turnover for years. When they have a stable crew the coverage seems to improve but it really struggles when they don't. I new a few of the people that worked in sports for them and they were just worked to death and didn't get paid much at all. They do a decent job of covering the news and local events but they haven't seemed to find that level in sports.

When you compare it to what TV has done it really looks poor. TV has just done an excellent job covering SDSU atheltics.

GB, GB, GJ!

SUPERBUNNY

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Media Coverage

I've certainly complained about the sports coverage from the Register in the past (complained to them, not to the public), but in all fairness you have to look at their problems as well. A lot of them have been mentioned by other posters.

But they suffer in the shadow of the Argus, which has a large staff and a reporter who basically works full-time just covering SDSU. They are in the shadow, because the Argus is a morning paper, so game coverage always beats the Register to the streets and to a lot of Register readers. Look at it this way, Terry covers the sporting events, writes a story, has somebody else to take pictures, copy edit and make up the sports section. The Register sports editor has to get two pages a day out, covering all sports for both SDSU and BHS, and area towns. Having done that myself for several years (not in Brookings), I know how much work it is. As a result the editor relies on news releases from SDSU. My major criticism has been that as they come and go, most of the Register sports reporters spend very little time talking to SDSU coaches and trying to come up with enterprise stories.

And JJ is right when it comes to chain-owned newspapers, the local publisher has few tools available. A local group just bought the Yankton paper, Madison is privately owned, and Watertown is owned by a group, but it is very small and regional in nature and seems to be a good fit for that community. Newspapers are struggling, and the bigger they are, the more their future is threatened by the change in news and information brought by the internet. But, I digress, that's a whole different story.

[jackmd]

Re: Media Coverage

Thats strange. Just out of curiousity, how does the amount of NDSU coverage rate against USD in the P&D?

USD gets the headlines written by the local reporters but there is usually an article about NDSU's upcoming game as well as a game summary for football. Articles are AP written by the NDSU reporter and republished in the P&D. As for men's BB, usually an article and summary only about major games.

Nothing close to what USD gets but more than SDSU does.

[West-River_Jack]

Re: Media Coverage

The Rapid City Journal does a fairly decent job of covering SDSU, both athletics and non-athletics, by printing a lot of press releases. Obviously, there are neither home nor away SDSU athletic events in the RC coverage area so it would be silly to expect them to send a reporter. Since I read this board, most of what I see in the Rapid City Journal is old news to me by the time it is printed. Quite frankly, I have had people on the SDSU campus wonder how I have known about stuff that I read on this board.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Media Coverage

USD gets the headlines written by the local reporters but there is usually an article about NDSU's upcoming game as well as a game summary for football. Articles are AP written by the NDSU reporter and republished in the P&D. As for men's BB, usually an article and summary only about major games.

Nothing close to what USD gets but more than SDSU does.

Do you think the fact NDSU has captured some notable Yankton area athletes ie. Gerry Ebel has a lot to do with the P&D coverage? I think there should be more expected of the Register. How difficult is to send over a reporter and photographer to cover the hometown team. Can't be because of the travel costs.