As others have noted, the irreverent run of the MZone has come to an end. At times it seemed as if the MZone's only mission was to pile on Ohio State, and us, its fans (exhibit a, exhibit b and exhibit c).
Their team was getting pummeled in the series yet they served up bomb after bomb with glee. And you know what? We loved it. Yost was as funny as they come and this space will be less for his absence, but we can understand the grind and wanting to have, you know, a life.
Here's wishing him the best and hoping he finally gets to don that 'stache he's been wanting.
And we promise, this is the only time you'll ever be subjected to that image around these parts.
The Dispatch's Bob Hunter recently wrote about the way information flows in this digital age specifically relating to the Henton transfer and how the paper has a hard time keeping up with the various newfangled forms of content distribution:
If a blog reports such-and-such, is that newspaper-worthy? Are we sure that the blogger didn't make it up? Is it being reported or talked about anywhere else?
The truth is that they're going to have an extremely difficult time competing in this realm going forward. Tressel has done a scary job of locking down the flow of information out of the program and when it comes to rumors, there's that whole sourcing thing that blogs and message boards don't have to worry about.
Would it not be wise to devote more of the paper's efforts to write historical or analytical articles? Maybe take a look at the past or break down some statistics? Perhaps an interview with a Buckeye that's removed from the program? I have no idea what the paper's summer budget for OSU football looks like, but if they write it, we will come.
Purdue blog Off the Tracks had me over for an interview and being asked to name a weakness on this team was no easy task. Is weakness contextual?
Looks like Poe has been called-up. Congrats on the move -- his wit and insight will only strengthen Buckeye Commentary.
Comments
In addition, to not being able to report on rumors and thus not providing on any real information, they kind of suck on at every other aspect of journalism as well. The dispatch just is not a good paper and does not have good writers. And when I can get funny, informative, and good analytic pieces from blogs it removes the purpose of the dispatch. Newspapers and blogs can live together, but not shitty newspapers.
The historical option is interesting, but eventually they would run out of things to write about.
As far as analytical pieces, if I were the dispatch I would be throwing money at Keith, formerly from Buckeye Commentary. That guy had the best post-game analysis, I have ever read and he is no longer writing for BC.
I don't dislike the writers at the Dispatch. They're not rockstars, but they aren't terrible, either. The Dispatch probably is the worst-run website of any major newspaper in America, though. There's no doubting that.
Remember when the Dispatch and the Wall Street Journal were the only two papers on earth still charging to read content about 18 months ago?
I like the writers of the Dispatch. I think their job has become extremely difficult, but they feed my need for Buckeye information. As Jason pointed out, the flow of information coming from the football and basketball programs has been decreasing over the last few years, JT and Thad have limited the access to beat writers.
I like the idea of historical or analytical stories and I don't think they would run out of things to write about at Ohio State, too much history and tradition.
The Dispatch sports guys have a tough job. This town is OSU football crazy, and their is a real thirst for news and updates. I love blogs, particularly the OSU blogs, but traditional newspapers are held to higher journalistic standard. Thus they are more hesitant to run with some kind of breaking news vs a blog. The Dispatch has done a good job of doing email updates on OSU athletics in a more timely manner. I really enjoy their game-week previews of key matchups and the opposing team as well as the Sunday breakdown of the game. Both blogs and traditional news outlets have a place in today's world.
I like the writers as well. Like Kyle, I think there's room enough for both of us and fans will gobble up the information.
Funny point about Dispatch Digital. They need some help, but they're getting there.
Oh, and Rob Oller has discovered Facebook:
http://blog.dispatch.com/bucke...
I think Baptist does all he can with hoops considering how buttoned down the program is under Matta...Even if the offseason, Baptist updates his blog regularly keeping everyone up to date on Matta's pursuit of jucos and potential transfers from other schools...Plus, he's a very gracious guy who tries to do it the right way while also being open to feedback and questions from Joe Fan...