TMZ-ing ESPN

Schefter's NFL Insider reports on ESPN can seem
more like gossip than actual sporting news.

What is news?  What nuggets of information can actually be considered newsworthy and worth spreading to the outside world?  The definition of news has changed, and this shift has even infiltrated the world of sports journalism, as even some prominent sportscasters are getting confused.

Take, for example, ESPN’s hiring of former Denver Post sportswriter Adam Schefter in 2009.  His title: NFL Insider.  What does that really mean?  In short, it means that Schefter’s job is to dig up dirt on athletes, teams and other sports figures and make speculations about developing stories.  To put it another way, he sensationalizes things.

If someone wants to get really good at sensationalizing things, they should simply check out TMZ, a news source that specializes in celebrity gossip.  For example, the fact that Jon Cryer, Charlie Sheen’s former Two and a Half Men co-star, went to a spa with his wife (!) was headline news earlier this week.

Seeing how media consumers thrive off of the late-breaking news blurbs and all-consuming celebrity dirt, Schefter and the world of sports media has begun to mimic its tabloid counterparts.

So while the National Enquirer speculated on its Web site this week whether Sarah Palin was involved in a nude photo scandal, Schefter speculated on sportsgrid.com reasons why former New York Giants running back (and NBC football analyst) Tiki Barber might be making a comeback to the NFL:

First and foremost I think he had nothing in the world of television, that world is dried up…“[Barber] had nothing in television right now, and he is looking at this, and he’s looking at his brother Ronde, who signed a one-year extension last month with Tampa, and saying to himself, ‘I take good care of myself, I train hard.’  …If he signed some sort of veteran contract, he’s going to make more in football than he could in television right now.

It’s great that Schefter has sound reasoning.  He might even be correct in his assumptions of Barber’s intentions.  But in all honesty, Schefter has no idea why Barber wants to come back to the NFL.  Unless Schefter just got off the phone with Barber’s personal confidant, his agent or Tiki himself, we really shouldn’t care what he thinks.

Schefter’s Twitter account is now considered a legitimate news source, yet he rarely reveals the sources of his reports.  Why? Sometimes, he has no sources to report. 

In December 2009, when the Minnesota Vikings were on their way to the NFC Championship Game, cameras spotted Vikings coach Brad Childress and quarterback Brett Favre having a ‘heated discussion’ on the sideline.  No big deal, right?

ESPN brought Schefter in after the game so he could tell the world exactly what’s going on between Favre and Childress, as you can see here:



Does Schefter have any sources?  Does the story really have any significance?  At times, he does indeed have valuable reports, but all too often he merely comes across as a know-it-all NFL gossip-monger, and not a sports journalist.  ESPN (and Schefter) should start acting less like TMZ…ASAP. 

An Entertainer and an Icon

Eisen is changing the way sports news is presented

Rich Eisen is a funny guy.  Rich Eisen is slow.  And Rich Eisen is a sportscaster. 

How do these qualities fit together?  In the normal mind, they really don’t.  But in Eisen’s creative, unconventional mind, the perfect harmony of these seemingly unrelated things is exactly what has allowed him to be a famous "sports guy."  When this equation is put to action, it demonstrates exactly what a sports journalist in today’s world needs to capture in order to be successful.

An increasing number of sporting media outlets are using entertaining, slapstick tactics to relay sports news. While ridiculous gigs shouldn’t completely replace the conventional way that sporting news is presented, they are a popular and effective supplement to a ho-hum story.

For example, Eisen has embraced his God-given gift of slowness to more creatively cover a routine event: Every year since 2005, during his coverage of the NFL Combine (where rookies gather to showcase their athletic skills to scouts from NFL teams), Eisen participates in the combine’s signature event, the 40 meter dash. 

If you’ve never seen it, you must.  The slow-motion image of semi-unfit man sprinting along the sideline of a football field in dress pants, his necktie flowing in the wind as his belly jiggles makes for good TV in the eyes of a sports fan.

The stint is completely hammed up; in this year's segment, Eisen was rolled onto the field in a BodPod machine with a trumpet fanfare playing in the background.  After he completes his dash, it is replayed over and over and different athletes are super-imposed in the video, as if Eisen is racing them.  Trust me, my description is not enough; check out his dash in 2010 as broadcast on the NFL Network: 

Believe it or not, things like this are now considered legitimate sports journalism...and rightly so.  Who really cares that future NFL star Cam Newton ran his 40 in 4.58 seconds?  What’s actually exciting is that Eisen turned in his personal-best time this year!

Beyond Eisen, ESPN actually invited Usain Bolt, the fastest man on the planet, to its campus in Bristol, Conn. for a day in 2009.  ESPN staff recorded themselves racing Bolt amid hundreds of cheering employees.  That’s not news…but it is fun to watch.           

It’s true; Eisen is a funny, slow sportscaster.  But perhaps Rich’s own definition of himself, as he declared after his record race this past week, is the most accurate: “This proves I’m an entertainer and an icon!”

While his statement was rich with sarcasm, it’s actually something he, and sportscasters everywhere, should fully embrace.  Forget the facts; give me video of the two-hour chuckle-fest with Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson before Sunday’s NFL game, and I’m happy.

If you don’t like it, you can always tune in to C-SPAN.