Radio-TV Observer

A special USA-365 supplement by Mark Smith

08-02-2006

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.

CROWN POINT (8-2-2006) When your team wins, everybody wants to put their games on the radio. So, Lowell and Crown Point will hardly find a time this year when their football action will not be sailing into the darkness over local radio frequencies.

The big new addition is radio station WTMK, which is licensed to Lowell. The station does not have studios in Lowell and does not carry any other local programming. But it is a place where local listeners can hear Lowell football almost every week. Not just big games against Griffith and Andrean, but even matchups with Highland and Calumet. This is something that is not uncommon in most of Indiana. The small town team gets every game on the radio in a lot of places like Plymouth and Columbia City. But in an area where there are three dozen other teams, it speaks well of the program that the Regional Radio Sports people want to air six of the nine Red Devils' games.

The Crown Point Bulldogs have had most games on radio for the last two or three seasons and this year will be no different. They should. Despite a lack of winning tradition in football, Crown Point isn't that small a town and they play in a big school league. With the addition of WTMK, CP will have eight of the nine games on the air, although the CP games will hop scotch to three different stations, WEFM (95.9), WHLP (89.9) and WTMK (88.5) FM.

Let's not lie. Your games are on the radio if the community buys ad time on local radio stations, not just because your team won the league or state title. You can lose every game 50-0 and if local businesses buy ad time on the pre-game show, your games will be on. The difference from past years is that WTMK can be heard in Lowell and Crown Point very well, whereas WEFM and WHLP sometimes were distant or fuzzy. All Crown Point football will again be on the Internet at www.USA-365.com, but truthfully, that's largely for folks who are distant from CP or for those who'd like to download the broadcast and listen to the replay on Tuesday or Wednesday night. Lots of people are in their cars on Friday nights and the AM or FM broadcasts will still be king for a little while longer.

The bad news is that with just two weeks left, there are no plans for Comcast cable or WYIN (56) TV to tape delay any games for broadcast Friday, Saturday or Monday night. If no games are carried all season, which appears likely, this will be the first time in almost three decades that no prep football will be tape delayed for Northwest Indiana television airing.

The answer is for a local production company to tape Friday football, package it, buy a time slot on Comcast (56 cant take programs done for profit) and air the games on Monday nights. You'd have to have sponsors to do that and no one has tried to climb that hill yet. The long term answer is for Internet video broadcasts of home prep events and that's maybe a decade away.

There is talk that there will be sports cutbacks at WJOB (1230) AM. Jerry Siska, Kirk Smith and Brian Jennings, all of whom called games for WJOB in 2005, are now lined up to do the same for Chris Ramirez, Chris Lannin and the Region Sports Network (RSN) this fall. That does not necessarily mean that WJOB will not air football for the first time in about half a century. No one listens every minute, but during last month's copycat sniper outbreak, WJOB didn't appear to break out of its music format to give any type of update. Some are worried about the station's future. WJOB cut all their talk shows in January, moving to a cheaper (and very pleasant to listen to) oldies music format. But you can't be a local AM radio station of any note and not carry local news or air the basketball and football games on Friday nights.

WLTH (1480) AM in Gary dropped local news, football and basketball about 10 years ago and these days nobody knows there still is an AM radio station in Gary. WJOB, the former 'Voice of the Region' simply cannot make that same mistake. And despite some apparent money troubles, WJOB co-owner Jim Dedelow is quoted as saying that there will be high school sports on WJOB every week. No schedule has been released. No announcers have been named. Dedelow has consistently expressed a total commitment to local news and sports. Long time listeners to WJOB are counting on him to come through.

Part of the fun of following sports has now come to getting on certain Internet message boards and post your thoughts. With the football season approaching, I recommend the Region Sports Network's message board for Northwest Indiana sports and the Indiana Football Digest (IFD) football forum for state wide football. If you get on board (I have not found a way to sign on to the IFD Forum) it is a lot of fun to agree or battle it out with other posters. You most definitely can't be too sensitive and you have to listen to a lot of people say a lot of things that you may know aren't true.

But that's just like going to the barbershop. You hear a lot of crazy things and it's all good if you don't worry about spelling and take the cheap shots too seriously. Many coaches and stiff suits don't like message boards because message board cowboys do have a tendency to 'cheer-lead' more than the GOP. Lots of media people look down on message boards, too, because there are a lot of inaccuracies and misinformation.

But you can learn some things. You can ask questions and get them answered. You can get an unscientific consensus on issues. Plus, for entertainment value, you simply can't beat it far into the night after the games are over.

Odd newspaper coverage of the White Sox continues. Not the Ozzie-watch. But the trade deadline coverage. While the New York Yankees were stocking up on quality players, the Sox did little. Had the Cubs been in this situation, certainly the Chicago Sun-Times would have roasted them for letting the contender get a jump on them. But the White Sox were actually praised for standing still and GM Kenny Williams was praised as a genius and a guru who skillfully constructed the 2005 World champs who had three closers and picked up their best starter (Jose Contreras), because no one else wanted him and because he had failed in NY.

The Chicago Sun-Times, except for Jay Mariotti (who is a little different) have a vested interest in backing the White Sox and downing the Cubs. Because the Cubs are under the same corporate umbrella as the rival Chicago Tribune. It is transparent in their coverage which gives the Sox the benefit of every doubt and plays up the dark side of everything that occurs on the north side. The Sun-Times positions themselves as the White Sox paper and the teller of truth about the 'other' team.

You don't have to be critical, but when two teams are tied and one picks up an all-pro outfielder, plus two other quality contributors while the other gets a backup catcher, it just doesn't add up. If you say that the home team, which has lost 10 games in the standings in the last four weeks was right to do nothing, you aren't facing reality. Your reasons are your own.

Speaking of the White Sox, the radio broadcast crew is not getting the job done. Ed Farmer is extremely knowledgeable, but he is out of position as a play by play man. He talks in a rapid monotone that is hard to follow. Plus, Farmer uses code words like 'inner half' (of home plate), and upper tank (upper deck) without explaining them. It is not okay to speak in code when you do play-by-play. You must always explain. Rookie partner Chris Singleton simply has no broadcast experience and it shows. He has trouble completing his thoughts and he really makes no pointed comments about anything. It's not his fault. Singleton needed to do 400 or 500 games at least before he was given one of the top broadcast jobs in the major leagues. They will get better only because they have to.

The one thing you are still not allowed to say when you are covering prep football is that each and every player and coach is wrong to be on the field for a two-hour workout when the temperatures are 102 degrees and the heat index is near 125. You can pour water over the boys' heads until they sprout gills and it's still not safe. But because football and sports writing are macho professions, players and coaches aren't allowed to say they are risking their lives and sportswriters pretend it's safe.

Don't listen to me. Listen to the National Weather Service. A severe heat warning means don't work out for hours outside when it's 100 degrees. If you do it, you aren't very smart. There's no way to sugar coat it. But the next person who says that football teams should not be working out in July in 100 degree heat (something that is as obvious as daylight) will be the first. The fact that sports teams do this anyway confirms a theory of mine. That you have to be obsessed to play organized sports. That obsession has to be strong enough to make you ignore the other aspects of your life, and in fact, put your own health in danger. Anybody playing football in 100 degree heat is risking their life. Local media should say that.

MEDIA NOTES: The 14th annual Indiana high school football guide, produced by High School Sports Publications (HSSP) is out with a page of details on all of the state's 313 teams. The price is $10. There are two football books being distributed this year. Broadcaster Paul Condry is no longer connected with HSSP and is publishing a book called the Indiana Football Digest which will be getting into Northwest Indiana early in the fall. Both books will be sold through high schools with part of the purchase price going to the athletic programs of the schools that sell them. I know I'm not the normal consumer, but there can't be enough of these books. This is another way to enjoy high school sports from a distance. The average fan may not find them useful during the regular season, but they become invaluable when the state tournament begins.

There was no local radio of the Little League 12-and-under state finals from Merrillville, which was a shame since the controversy factor was over the top at the 2006 Finals. The 2007 Little League state finals are in Highland and a lot will be made of that in this area, especially if the Gary Youth Baseball (GYB) all-stars can return. The Times newspaper was dominating the Post-Tribune's coverage until the Dyer controversy, which the Post-Tribune discovered a full day before the Times did.