Posted by: Rocket
AllHabs.blogspot.com
Bloggers are often criticized by the mainstream media for rumors, sensationalizing stories and agenda-driven articles. At All Habs, we don’t have to follow suit because we have the Montreal media excelling at all three.
Unfortunately there is little or no accountability for what is said or what is written about the Canadiens. Many stories are manufactured and driven by an agenda. The Montreal media are pampered and have a sense of entitlement. Some seem to feel that they have a role in managing the team.
Here’s a small sample from Tuesday’s ‘news’:
First there was Francois Gagnon who said that Bob Gainey recklessly jeopardized Francois Bouillon’s career and his ability to secure a new contract by rushing him back into the lineup before he was ready. As we know, Bouillon only lasted 1:46 in Game 2 before aggravating his injury. But why speculate that Gainey had sinister motives when there is not a shred of proof.
The theme was then picked up by the excitable, but rarely rational, Jacques Demers. Demers insinuated that Mathieu Schneider and Alex Tanguay kept themselves out of the lineup to improve their chances of getting a new contract. Demers in his warped logic ‘reasoned’ that the two players wanted to protect themselves from further injury which would affect their ability to sign as a free agent in the off season. That is outrageous!
Demers said that they probably learned from watching Bouillon get re-injured & decided not to play in Game 3. Demers said: “I think it was just a snowball effect. They (Schneider & Tanguay) said, ‘Whoa, what happened to Bouillon here? I don’t want to be put in that situation. I’m a free agent. I wanna sign’.”
Gaston Therrien wrote that one of the reasons that the Canadiens lost Game 3 was due to Patrice Brisebois not being in the lineup. Apparently Therrien didn’t see game 1, where Brisebois played one of the worst playoff games ever by a Canadiens’ defenseman.
After Game 3, Saku Koivu talked about not losing hope and taking one game at a time. Unfortunately Andie Bennett thought Koivu’s comments were too bland and cliche. She was looking for something far more emotional and controversial for her story. In her short media career, it seems that Andie is already tainted by the self-serving Montreal media who care more about getting a juicy sound byte for their report than the truth.
Lastly, the whining and the indignation by all media about Bob Gainey choosing not to ‘tell all’ about his line-up decisions was both pathetic and humorous.
I’m glad someone feels the same way. I’ve been ripping the media (mostly in my own mind) for years now. I’ve even been known to email the team990 (of which I’m an ardent supporter and listener) and let them know exactly what I think about their stances.
Without mentioning names (but it was not Andie), and going back to last season, there was a host of a certain show who was angry that Carbo was not fully answering questions being asked of him (i.e. giving good sound bytes). My response was that the questions had very little to do with the on-ice affairs of the team, and that the members of the media were rallying around each other crying foul. It was evident and obvious, as it still is today, that many many members of the media believe they ought to know each and every little detail, and that they deserve to be treated like royalty.
I wanted to burst their bubble, at least temporarily…but of course, my email was not read on the air. ;)
Hey rockstar. Big bro here. Let me apologize for my absence. I’ll fill you in later but I’ll write again as soon as I can.
And I don’t even have time for a full reply but let me say one thing: for as much as we can disagree, violently sometimes, this is one place where we absolutely agree. It’s sick there is less bullshit here than in the media
I don’t know why you guys get so worked up about what the media does. It’s not like anyone takes them seriously. Certainly not the players.
Sports, generally, suffer from overexamination. Since we don’t have to hunt, gather, run and fight in order to survive any longer (most of us at least), we can sit around and pay excessive attention and money to some gladiators to do it for us.
Everyone has their own opinion and everyone wants to be heard. So now we have all these layers of information gathering and dispersal. The athletes and coaches who have contempt for the reporters, generally talk in cliched terms as specified by the P.R. hacks. The reporters then interpret comments and actions to an excessive degree to squeeze some morsel of interest and originality out of them.
Blogsites further interpret (or misinterpret) what the reporters say, adding their own slant. Any resemblance between the product that finally filters down to the public and the original situation is strictly coincidental.
At any rate, it has little or no impact on the players. What the media says, or what the fans express is part of the job for them. Ask any of them if they would rather work in a less public, less demanding, and (perhaps) less stressful career for correspondingly less money and fame. You won’t find one to take you up on that.
I saw this image ages ago (can’t remember where): http://tinyurl.com/c2tvh8
I can say it bugs me because its like I’m drowning in it. Everywhere I turn someone has something to say and maybe 10% of it is about the hockey. It’s not fun waking up in the morning to some two-bit disc jockey who thinks he knows everything about goaltending or voice his opinion on who he wants run out of town. A lot of it isn’t good journalistic fact, but made up speculations bordering on the level of the Enquirer. A lot of it is pure hate, and does it make sense for the local media to outright bash the local (pretty much only) team? TV, radio, newspapers, and then it spreads to fans turning on players because some reporter said so-and-so had a beer last night in some supposed scandal. Then there’s also the “chez nous/les autres” mentality you get on the french canadian side, which bugs me to no end because it’s the same borderline discriminatory mentality of the nationalists looking to push their own agenda.
Bottom line, they’re like vultures just waiting for something, anything, no matter how small. And when they get something, they cut it up to fit their story to a point where the quote isn’t what the guy said anymore.
(Similarily I stopped watching Entertainment Tonight when it stopped talking about the movies and turned completely into who’s wearing what and other gossips.)
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