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PJStar-BU squabble

hate to resurrect this ridiculous old thread but.... did you see this?? What incredible hypocrisy!!!

There is an unproven claim that the Chicago Cubs threatened to limit access for a media member because of how he was reporting on the team.
In other words - allegedly, he apparently was not helping their brand...he was too negative...so the Cubs, according to the unproven claim of one of the media members cut him off.



And yet, I can't find anywhere that the PJ Star even reported on this incident!!
What? Are they protecting the Cubs? Do they just NOT CARE if it is one of their competitors whose reporters may have gotten their access cut off,
.............when they cried like holy hell that it happened to them??
The Pantagraph has coverage as does just about every other newspaper in the midwest
https://www.pantagraph.com/sports/ba...b668c2264.html
https://herald-review.com/sports/bas...6bcdbebeb.html
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...502-story.html
https://www.cubsinsider.com/2019/05/...edom-of-press/

but in the end - that very last link details a lot of things that kind of throw doubt on the whole narrative - that just maybe this is just
another example of media people whining like babies because they aren't getting the special treatment that they demand...
In other words - this whole thing may never have happened at all - just more media people bullying people to make themselves into the story.
 
tornado said:
hate to resurrect this ridiculous old thread but.... did you see this?? What incredible hypocrisy!!!

There is an unproven claim that the Chicago Cubs threatened to limit access for a media member because of how he was reporting on the team.
In other words - allegedly, he apparently was not helping their brand...he was too negative...so the Cubs, according to the unproven claim of one of the media members cut him off.



And yet, I can't find anywhere that the PJ Star even reported on this incident!!
What? Are they protecting the Cubs? Do they just NOT CARE if it is one of their competitors whose reporters may have gotten their access cut off,
.............when they cried like holy hell that it happened to them??
The Pantagraph has coverage as does just about every other newspaper in the midwest
https://www.pantagraph.com/sports/ba...b668c2264.html
https://herald-review.com/sports/bas...6bcdbebeb.html
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...502-story.html
https://www.cubsinsider.com/2019/05/...edom-of-press/

but in the end - that very last link details a lot of things that kind of throw doubt on the whole narrative - that just maybe this is just
another example of media people whining like babies because they aren't getting the special treatment that they demand...
In other words - this whole thing may never have happened at all - just more media people bullying people to make themselves into the story.
Click to expand...

I wanted to bring up this very point last week, but I opted not to because I didn't want to resurrect this very post lol.
 
I didn't want to resurrect this thread either but did anyone else catch Dave Eminian's (the guy who wrote the original column claiming it's "not (DR's) job to promote Bradley") column last week? Because that was just pure naked advocacy for the Rivermen. I ask you, any DR defenders, would you ever see any naked advocacy like this in a million years for Bradley? And if not, explain to me the double standard. Why do other media outlets (like Jim Mattson) have positive spin on Bradley, and other Journal Star reporters have clear positive spin on other Peoria teams, but PJStar Bradley coverage is somehow different? Everyone else gets kid's gloves at the PJStar. And it makes no sense; Bradley doing well and selling tickets is good for Peoria; good to sell more papers; good for drawing more people to PCC and downtown restaurants and bars before and after games. Its just so self defeating and stupid. Alright, now I'm done lol.

https://www.pjstar.com/sports/201904...ally-good-team

WHEREAS, the Peoria Rivermen, under the guidance of head coach Jean-Guy Trudel, claimed their fourth Southern Professional Hockey League William B. Coffey Trophy in five seasons and,

WHEREAS, the Rivermen, overcoming tremendous obstacles in a 2018-19 season in which they played the majority of their games with half of their players on promotion to the ECHL and,

WHEREAS, five members of the Peoria Rivermen earned SPHL league honors, including centerman Benjamin Blasko, who was Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie Team, All-SPHL first team, and brought the Peoria franchise its first league scoring champion in 30 years and,

WHEREAS, Rivermen defenseman Nick Neville, centerman Justin Greenberg and captain Alec Hagaman were named to the All-SPHL team and,

WHEREAS, Rivermen goaltender Steve Klein was named to the SPHL All-Rookie Team and posted a 1.86 goals-against average, hailed as the No. 1 ranking in the league and best in the 37-year history of Peoria’s professional hockey franchise, and

WHEREAS, the Rivermen set 15 league and franchise records in the 2018-19 season -- including league records for most wins, highest win percentage (.795), most points (89) -- during which they posted a 40-7-9 overall record and 23-1-4 record at Carver Arena and never lost more than three straight games, and

WHEREAS, the Peoria Rivermen became just the eighth team in 85 years in professional minor-league hockey to go through a season of 50 or more games with single-digit regulation losses and,

WHEREAS, the Peoria Rivermen winning percentage in 2018-19 was the 16th highest points-making percentage recorded by a team in the minors over the last 85 years and,

WHEREAS, the Peoria Rivermen players and staff, under the direction of the team’s ownership, maintains a strong presence in the community, visiting schools and participating in charitable projects;

NOW, THEREFORE, Cleve in the Eve recognizes the Peoria Rivermen with great pride and gratitude for their achievements on the ice and in the community.

PROCLAIMED this 24th day of April, 2019.
 
good points - guys like Jim Mattson have really positive coverage of everyone he reports on from high school sports to the pros...
I can't recall ever seeing any coverage by Jim that was harshly critical, truly negative or name calling (like "renegade program" or "taking the expedient route instead of the principled route")

and you are right - they are literally the free PR firm for the Rivermen, promoting their brand - and Dave Reynolds does the same for the Chiefs, and I have seen them do so with local bowling and Kirk pushed local track & cross country like it was his own kids running. But nothing compares to how they became nothing more than mouthpieces for Joanne Glasser for those 7 years that she had them wrapped around her little finger. As I have noted elsewhere, she was even seen wining & dining and schmoozing with members of the PJ Star staff - playing them for favorable coverage. Now if that's not promoting their brand...
 
A story not covered by the PJ Star...
the parent company Gatehouse Media is in talks with media giant Gannett - to sell out to them
That would likely hurt local coverage even more as Gannett is committed to USAToday - and NATIONAL coverage
https://newsandtech.com/dateline/wsj...191df7480.html

Other recent stories are also not appearing in the PJS...

Gatehouse has been vigorously trimming the fat recently --
-hundreds being laid off in latest round of downsizing- https://www.subscriptioninsider.com/...ng-6519-1.html

-centuries-old papers closing and going belly-up after being bought up and managed by Gatehouse- https://newsandtech.com/news/another...bfb9cbd84.html

-this follows numerous other layoffs- https://www.businessinsider.com/gate...ew-media2019-2

-and maybe even more on the way- https://www.apnews.com/65eb090a16a54af8a6ea933ba68fb1b6

-Gatehouse shuttering dozens of newspapers- https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/0...s-into-18.html

-Phil Luciano's latest column hints that he may be done soon (would anyone miss that?) and other sources say more consolidation and shrinking coming - https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/05/ne...consolidation/

-the local PJS newsroom & sports room has been cleaned out and Dave Reynolds is covering high school sports and weather, barely mentions Bradley- https://week.com/news/2018/09/07/peo...l-journalists/

-the people who still work at PJS express "DISGUST", "PAIN" and "SADNESS" - https://www.centralillinoisproud.com...tar/2022790803

Remember the topic was BU-PJS squabble? Well BU is coming out on top, they are on the rise while the PJS is sinking fast.
They are making all the wrong decisions then blame readers and everyone else.
 
Just my opinion... Luciano's column is really a hoot. He tries to make the case that failing local newspapers (especially his columns) are the most important thing in everyone's lives, and they provide news that nobody can get anywhere else. Later in the column he adds this quote: "The greatest crisis in American journalism is the death of local news".
Really? What a joke. Newspapers have made their own bed, and now must lie in it. Instead of providing real "News" to people (as in "Newspaper"), they hold themselves above the public, and have bastardized "News into "Fake News" to push their own agendas, and to force their own corrupt political views down our throats as if their readers are too stupid to notice, and are sheep-like and will believe and follow what they want them to. Plus, instead of joining the digital revolution early on, they stood pat and constantly criticized and demeaned online news, blogs, etc. out of nothing more than jealousy.

Why does he think local papers are failing in massive numbers? It is exactly because they don't provide the news coverage people want, and because the public can get better news coverage elsewhere, and get it when it happens, not when it's convenient for people like Luciano to get it to us. And in addition, it doesn't cost the reader an arm and a leg.

Then he takes shots at readers for the "Urinal Jar" jokes and for for "stomp(ing) and moan(ing) at the mere notion of paying for news" provided by "professional reporters" at newspapers, because, "newspapers are the backbone of journalism, offering a breadth and depth unavailable anywhere else." Yeah, right.
And he says, "Only newspapers have the ability and guts to ferret out truth and hold feet to the fire." What a laugh! When was the last time anyone at the PJ Star did real investigative journalism? They had one of the biggest stories in Peoria in decades (the whole "Joanne Glasser destroying Bradley University and Bradley basketball" story) dropped in their laps a few years ago and never bothered to lift a finger to "investigate" or report a single word of the real story. Then incredibly, they heaped praise on Glasser and Cross as the were finally fired and dragged their sorry butts out of town.
 
private bloggers and just ordinary people on their own spare time, on their own dime, and using their own cell phones and cameras
have done a better job and Luciano knows it - and that's what fuels their rage
Perfect example - as soon as a Cubs game, a Bulls game or a Bradley Basketball game is over - the most interested fans used to have to wait
til the next morning and read what the PJS told us. Now they can log online, find the box score, read the summaries, and learn FAR MORE
analysis and what other fans saw and thought -- all this and more right here on BradleyFans or other similar sources.
And they can see opinions from all spectrums and sort out which have bias - instead of waiting to the next day & reading
the PJS which is more bitter & biased than anything you'd see on the message boards anyway.
That's why they slam us and other bloggers & message boards at every opportunity.

But would BradleyFans even exist if the PJS simply did their job well - nope.....only when the PJS folks
"SOURED" on Bradley and Jim Les and started "dropping the critical hammer to get rid of him"
(and those are Kirk Wessler's own words describing what they did) - did decent fans decide to do something about it.
And thank God they did or we'd still have Geno Ford as a coach, Mike Cross as an AD and Joanne Glasser at the top
driving Bradley into oblivion, steering us down to DIII, and shifting basketball games to the girls gym and then publicly
blaming the fans for all the failures and not being patient enough - all with the help of the PJS calling us uneducated
and trying to convince us even in 2019 that all the problems and failures need to be blamed on Les & Kavanagh.
 
Da Coach said:
Then he takes shots at readers for the "Urinal Jar" jokes and for for "stomp(ing) and moan(ing) at the mere notion of paying for news" provided by "professional reporters" at newspapers, because, "newspapers are the backbone of journalism, offering a breadth and depth unavailable anywhere else."
And he says, "Only newspapers have the ability and guts to ferret out truth and hold feet to the fire."
Click to expand...

That quote says it all, and has pretentious hubris dripping freely from the words and rings of someone who feels like they are royalty and not someone serving the public interest or good.

Like you've already said in so many words, they've made their bed and now they have to lie in it.
 
This is a great example of the problem. In my opinion,The PJS has lost touch with it's customer base. In a great sports town like Peoria, you would think that the PJS would want a good relationship with the university. Sure, Bradley had struggled because of a previous administration that, in my opinion, was trying to eliminate Bradley as a D1 school. We all believed that Bradley would do something about it and they did! Bradley is recovering nicely under the leadership of Dr Reynolds and Coach Wardle. With a tradition as rich as Bradley has in the NCCA, you would think Bradley would receive more respect from a newspaper that has benefited from Bradley basketball over the years. Look at our turn around! To post an article with the headline "Bradley Disgraces Itself...." , is not a way to endear the fan base to the newspaper. This is why I say that the PJS has lost touch. Furthermore, I feel there is some animosity towards Bradley, if you reflect on the articles, or lack of articles, by former reporters in the past 8 years. We are not interested in positive coverage, we are interested in any coverage. Something has gone sour. I used to subscribe to the PJS by mail to follow Bradley. I do not remember such negativity in coverage as there has been in the last 8 years. Coach Wardle knows how to handle himself and is a great representative of Bradley. If he indeed said these things, he had a good reason, in my opinion.

I have found Dave Reynolds to be pleasant with no axe to grind against us. I have met him a few times at games and at the ITOO suppers. I am not in the know as to what all has happened, but I think this article (not written by Dave) is an attempt to gain readership. It is, in a way, sensational and is the kind of journalism that raises the question of motive. The PJS may be dying a slow death, like a lot of other newspapers in similar markets. It seems to me that the way to prolong it's existence would be to first cover Bradley basketball, then cover it fairly. Your spitting in the face of your customer base with an article like this one. What the heck is going on at the PJS?
 
brace for even more ridiculous garbage that the media will spew our way....

I have been reading more and more that people in the media & journalists claim the GOVERNMENT should step in
and use TAXPAYER MONEY to help save the dying newspapers. Seriously - they want the ability to claim they are a
FREE and INDEPENDENT PRESS - completely free and unfettered to offer news & criticism on the government - and yet they
want to be fully on the take from the government and pad their bank accounts with money taken from taxpayers!!!
Heck- when things are government funded you always get the $600 hammers, $1200 toilet seats and other enormous
waste, overspending and corruption....

Interesting that the people calling the LOUDEST for government support & subsidies paid to newspapers...are all from newspapers like the NY Times, Washington Post, Phila Inquirer, Bloomberg, etc....
https://archives.cjr.org/feature/the...m_solution.php

Heck, it's already happening in Canada and other nations - an of course...once the government starts paying $$ to the
newspapers, then you can count on the government expecting to tell the newspapers what to print and what not to. That
is always the first step towards the formation of a totalitarian or Nazi-like rule over people.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jou...lout-1.5147761
https://business.financialpost.com/o...has-just-begun
 
Well said, pfcmsh..... that is the sentiment of many people I have talked to in recent years, and you describe one of the main reasons so many have dropped their newspaper and online subscriptions.

By the way, WMBD has a very positive article about Bradley--> https://www.1470wmbd.com/bradley-uni...king-for-jobs/
I posted about it here--> https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...nks-high-again

Correct me if I am wrong, I cannot find that the PJ Star has anything about this. And that is a symptom of the bigger problem.
We have often posted articles by beat writers of other MVC teams that post regular informative articles between games, and regularly in the offseason. And years ago, we used to get those from the PJ Star. But in recent years, about all we get are the brief reports on game nights, and the regular negative hit pieces. It is obviously by choice that they have decided now to ignore and take shots at Bradley, almost as if Joanne Glasser was still editing their material.
 
almost every other MVC team has had good summer coverage - every day or two...
we have had nothing....

SIU - 3 articles in the past 3 days -
https://thesouthern.com/sports/colle...4282873f2.html
https://thesouthern.com/sports/colle...798857ae8.html
https://thesouthern.com/sports/college/salukimania/grad-transfer-suggs-signs-with-siu-men-s-basketball-team/article_7a6f7bb2-cce7-5086-9928-b267031b355b.html

Indiana State - three long, well-researched columns in the past week
https://www.tribstar.com/sports/local_college_sports/isu_sports/new-look-isu-frontcourt-hopes-to-make-its-presence-felt/article_304b0f0d-5b88-58f5-9219-17ba032bc216.html
https://www.tribstar.com/sports/loca...c3a84d77b.html
https://www.tribstar.com/sports/loc...cle_03bfb115-1326-58ec-98d9-b44645ffa674.html


I'm not even sure we have a beat guy assigned to Bradley any more - Dave R. appears to be doing other sports
 
they have been - but they don't have the help from team managers and others who are not there for summer school...they've also been a man short on their coaching staff for the past month.

they have posted these videos & photos...in case you missed...
https://twitter.com/bradleyumbb/stat...05458853797889
https://twitter.com/bradleyumbb/stat...08892767068160
https://twitter.com/bradleyumbb/stat...43350097317888
https://twitter.com/BUBrianWardle/st...41081084080128
https://twitter.com/BradleyBraves/st...82929416073216


I have often said I think the folks at Bradley are missing a lot of opportunity by NOT HAVING
more events, open practices and fan-related things during the summer.
The fans are out, looking for things to do, weather's nice, and this is the middle of the SEASON TICKET SALES PUSH!!
So why not open the gym and let the fans get a little involved and see what's going on? It doesn't have to be a big, scripted
event - just an open practice - or an opportunity for the players to sign autographs for kids - or a cookout or bouncy-house event on the quad...It's been my experience that the summer events have been very well attended and generated a lot of interest..

when they have held open practices, they draw hundreds and generate interest & enthusiasm. LINK

Indiana State just announced this summer event - sounds like a lot of fun for Sycamore fans
...they're even offering discounted SEASON and game ticket prices just for those who attend
https://twitter.com/IndStMBB/status/1140977022757482497



D9WPjOAX4AAE_9H.png:small
 
tornado said:
they have been - but they don't have the help from team managers and others who are not there for summer school...they've also been a man short on their coaching staff for the past month.

they have posted these videos & photos...in case you missed...
https://twitter.com/bradleyumbb/stat...05458853797889
https://twitter.com/bradleyumbb/stat...08892767068160
https://twitter.com/bradleyumbb/stat...43350097317888
https://twitter.com/BUBrianWardle/st...41081084080128
https://twitter.com/BradleyBraves/st...82929416073216
Click to expand...

None of those players are new. It feels like the 80s again where you had to wait to develop film or find someone that had a camcorder if you wanted to take a video.
 
The Bradley SID's and basketball publicity people surely must realize that the PJ Star isn't going to help them get publicity (remember, "it isn't their job to promote the Bradley brand") and they should do a better job of providing news and information through other sources. In fact, it is now obvious that the PJ Star is trying harder than ever to ignore Bradley and avoid reporting anything more than what is necessary. They used to do nice articles about all the incoming new players, and give frequent updates over the summer, and news about recruiting. But that never happens any more. Maybe it's due to budget cuts, but IMO, it is more than that. If they can dedicate enormous time and space day after day to cover high school track and field events like they do, they surely have the resources for an occasional article about the things Bradley fans want to see.

But that's OK, since a growing portion of the fan base no longer bothers to get their news about Bradley basketball from the PJ Star anyway. They get it directly from the Bradley website, the Bradley social media pages, and from dedicated fan-input on the message boards. And the fans aren't drawing paychecks to do so.
So I hope the Bradley people can start putting out more info to the public through these sources like every other MVC team does. Stop waiting for the PJ Star to show interest.
The lack of information is hurting the fan interest and fan following. And with the massive decline in attendance and revenue in the past few years, that is the last thing they should want to continue.
 
I think the relationship is complicated. I don't think Dave Reynolds hates Bradley or anything but I do think he tempers enthusiasm and comes across as a sourpuss. I also don't think he's the hardest worker. Some enthusiastic young guy like Aaron Ferguson on the beat would do wonders, but they're not looking to hire with the way things are, and we're probably stuck with Dave for the foreseeable future.

It's a dying medium and if you want to help it along either cancel your subscription or do what I do and get an electronic subscription for only like $8/mo. I do think there are some hard working people at the paper like Andy Kravetz who do a good job keeping up with the police and courts so I can justify that expense. Steve Tarter did a good job on the business side (he ran the whole section by himself, and did a podcast), but alas he was let go too. Luciano now seems to just look through police reports for weird occurrences. Yesterday there was an article about some lady having calimari dumped on her car. Ok, so she washed it off and went on with her life. Not what I’d call newsworthy. Even the $8 is getting harder to justify.

As for where to get your news, our local TV and radio do a great job. Jim Mattson is the hardest working guy around and he gave the Braves and Wardle their due on his ESPN radio show and on WEEK. WMBD radio is of course on board. Pegler is an ISU guy of course but does a decent job and Matt McClain who is the weekend sports guy went to BU. Show them love, tune in and let the PJStar wither on the vine if they so choose.
 
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