Radio-TV Observer

A special USA-365 supplement by Mark Smith

02-02-2006

We are all media observers. We all watch, listen and read and we know what we like.

Media is a business designed to make money off the public by entertaining them. It often does not have redeeming value, logic or a moral base. But it isn't required to. I ask you to accept TV, newspapers and radio as the creative, possibility and mistake-laden free form entities that they are.

Don't make too much of what is said, written or aired. It isn't about you, it's about them. That also applies to anyone who dares to be a critic.

Today, we explore the justification, or lack of it, for there being no live local television coverage of the sectional or regional high school basketball tournaments.

CROWN POINT (2-02-2006) Unfortunately, if you want to see high school basketball sectional and regional action you're going to have to go to the gym. There will not be any TV of local teams before the state finals this season. Comcast cable and WYIN (Channel 56) are definitely not going to tape-delay any game, although Comcast will carry any games on the new IHSAA network. That network will carry all the girls and boys state title games and one or two selected games, probably involving state champ Lawrence North.

The IHSAA charges a fee for radio, TV and Internet stations to broadcast the state tournament. Schools own the regular season. The IHSAA has exclusive rights to the playoffs. The fee, which differs for Radio, TV or Internet, makes it difficult for broadcasts which are not heavily sponsored to get on the air.

The Region Sports Network, which airs games on WWCA (1270) AM, the local religious-flavored 'Relevant Radio' outlet, has hinted they would like to tape-delay TV games, but the present state tournament format, which doesn't allow you to know the teams involved in sectional or regional title games until, at best, 24 hours before the tip, makes it difficult to get sponsors. Few sponsors care about sports in general. They care about one specific team and they won't sponsor a game that team is not involved in. When the state tourney reaches the semistate level, you know the matchups a week in advance. There might be a game tape-delayed at that point, but almost

Com Cast has physical problems with their broadcast mobile unit and they won't carry any more games until the fall at least. WYIN has not carried local prep games for two years by management's decision and there is no indication that will change this year. In the long term, the days of two tape delay prep games on local TV every weekend (the 80s and 90s) are over. Present management has not made the games a high priority. To be fair, cable did 20 years of games, many without anyone ever sponsoring them. If Com Cast never does another game, it's hard to complain too much. What's really in it for them?

Channel 56 needs prep sports to build up their audience, but present management doesn't see it that way. It will take a management change to bring prep games back. Remember a basic truth of media. Very few media management ever take advice from anyone. Once you get control, you'd rather sink your way than swim somebody else's strokes. Management must change for things to change. They rarely change their minds.

Ironically, with NW Indiana prep basketball TV disappearing, there are many more prep games on Chicago TV this season. There is a Chicago game of the week on WTTW (Channel 11) TV and there is another game on ME-TV, Chicago's WMME (Channel 23) TV, which is Com Cast Cable Channel 223. Last week, they had Loyola Academy, led by Jeffrey Jordan, Michael Jordan's oldest son. This week, there will be the Chicago Public League championship Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m., probably pitting the Whitney Young Dolphins against John Hope high. Both teams have defeated NW Indiana power East Chicago this season. There will be other CPS boys playoff games on every

In recent years, local radio has tried to make a show out of the basketball state pairings announcement by the IHSAA. Don't get me wrong in an area where you can hear everything from Steve Harvey to Ann Coulter on the radio, I'm sure somebody is listening voluntarily. But the same day pairings show needs to go the way of Jenny Jones and Rikki Lake. Into the trash bin of history.

First of all, the local shows must quickly download pairings from the IHSAA or scribble them down by listening to the IHSAA Network show, which announces the pairings state wide. Then, with what they just fond out minutes ago, local voices come on and stumble through the matchups. Then the local 'pairing shows' bring on local coaches who say exactly the same thing the IHSAA Network said and stumble through the pairings. The concept of talking to coaches minutes after they've received their playoff assignments is to sign up for dozens of meaningless cliches.

What you hear is people fighting desperately not to say anything of note. It's pitiful radio.

Both WJOB and WWCA both have had what they call 'tournament pairing shows' and the result is the same. Nobody says anything. Nobody offered any opinions, bold or otherwise. Everybody was being careful, the death knell of media.

Here's a suggestion: Let the pairings come out on Sunday and analyze them, going on the air Monday with a good, solidly planned show. Predict who will win. Talk about the arenas involved. Regional possibilities. Favorites and underdogs with reasons why. Don't just say,

here we are. And less coaches. They won't tell the truth about how they feel. It's not in their best interest. They are as boring as toast and butter. Leave them out.

It's okay to say that Hammond isn't going to win the state title even if all your sponsors are in Hammond. They'll forgive you. They might even like it when you tell the truth as you see it. And your listeners will keep listening. Bump the entire show to Monday and it immediately becomes a better show and you can promote it in the newspaper Sunday and Monday. Not everybody reads the Sunday paper Sunday morning.

The Crown Point-based Regional Radio Sports Network (RRSN) has a new outlet in WTMK (88.5) FM, which is licensed to Lowell, albeit with a power of only 1,500-watts (see coverage map below). The RRSN is also heard on WEFM (95.9) FM in Michigan City and WHLP (89.9) FM, which is licensed to Hannah, IN. The new Lowell station, as of now, simulcasts whatever sports air on WHLP. In the future, there is hope that that station can cover Lowell, Kankakee Valley, Crown Point and Porter County Conference (PCC) sports.

WHLP does not come in well in South Lake County and WEFM doesn't get there at all. Your dog can't even hear WJOB (1230) AM at night in Lowell.

Only WWCA presently serves the Lowell area with a signal you can hear at night without a satellite dish and the Region Sports Network still concentrates on their sponsor base of Highland, Munster, Griffith Hammond area, although they should get credit for jumping up on the Lowell football bandwagon last fall with both feet.

A new radio station with a clear signal in the South Lake County area carrying local sports would be well-received and would allow for everyone to center attention on certain schools without neglecting places like Hanover Central.

A note: Hanover Central's varsity basketball gym is phased out this week without any over-the-air local radio games ever being broadcast from the facility. Not one in 37 years.

(Internet radio's USA-365.com did broadcast the Crown Point at Hanover Central girls basketball game on December 18, 2004.)

The new 2,500-seat gym opens Saturday, Feb. 4 when Hanover's girls play Morgan Township at 2:00 p.m.

I may have been altered by watching too much gymnastics over the years but I actually like these 'famous folk' competition shows. "Dancing with the Stars" and "Skating with Celebrities" seem like harmless means of having some fun and cheering on people you used to like who now clearly need a paycheck.

Granted, when you're talking about Giselle Fernandez and Todd Bridges, you are stretching the concept of celebrity. But it's fun to watch people you think you know try to perform. I'm amazed how upset some have become that Jillian Barberie had a previous figure skating history or Stacy Kiebler had previous dance training. This isn't the Olympics. Would you rather see them or not? It's television. And

it's a lot less nasty than America Idol, where people seem to enjoy watching poor suckers getting ridiculed.