but wanted to give @shawneetiger an answer
You referenced that you didn't really like the comments and approach the Rivals writer from Illinois has taken...and also, that Rivals has had you sign some sort of an agreement stating that essentially you won't recruit for the site you represent (paraphrasing). My question is more about Rivals and journalistic expectation. Personally, I don't hold Rivals and each school's site to traditional "journalistic standards". I hold traditional media (tv and print) to those standards....but hold Rivals more as a fanboy boy site with oped standards....meaning, you don't blatantly lie, but you can show your favoritism. I'd like you to be positive about Mizzou when you do interviews with kids....emphasize the positives about the University, coaching staff, fanbase, etc....I think that can be done without "recruiting" or violating the intent of the Rivals agreement. I'm not even sure how the ownership of Powermizzou works....you've stated you are your own boss. Can you expand a little bit on the Rivals network, who owns each site and your thoughts on the journalistic requirements for each site as well as the overall network? And, is your opinion shared by each site and the overall network? Thanks.
We all sign a code of ethics that we're not going to advocate for or recruit for a school. When I do interviews with kids, I ask questions. Period. That's it. It's not my job to do anymore than that.
As far as Rivals, think of it like McDonald's. Yahoo/Rivals is the parent company. I operate the Columbia franchise. I get X amount of the revenue. What I do with it is up to me. That goes for staff, travel, equipment, advertising, etc. I get my check and then every expense for the site comes out of that cut that I get. No one tells me what to do or where to go or who to hire or what to cover. Now if I just sat back and collected a check and wasn't posting stories, etc, I'm sure we'd reach a point where someone above me would reach out and say "What the hell are you doing for those millions we send you every month?" But we've never had that be an issue. They leave me alone.
As far as journalistic requirements, depends on who runs the site. To me, you can't be a fan and do this job well. That doesn't mean you can't want the team you cover to win. I grew up a Mizzou fan. I'd prefer they win to lose. But you can't let it impact the way you do the job. If they lose, you still have to cover it. In fact, it's probably more important to do so because that's when people want answers. I am not lying when I tell you I absolutely don't care where any recruit goes. Now, was it good for biz when Mizzou landed DGB and MPJ? Uhhhh, yeah. So that part's great. But I don't get emotionally invested in the results. It's my opinion you can't. I mean, can you get emotionally invested and still make money? Sure. I've seen some juvenile, emotional reactions from some people at Rivals to wins and losses (recruiting and on the field). And I'm sure there are some fans that like that. Some fans would love me to be a cheerleader for MU. That's not my DNA. I figure as long as half think I'm too hard on them and half think I'm too easy on them, I'm probably somewhere in the right neighborhood of balance.
You referenced that you didn't really like the comments and approach the Rivals writer from Illinois has taken...and also, that Rivals has had you sign some sort of an agreement stating that essentially you won't recruit for the site you represent (paraphrasing). My question is more about Rivals and journalistic expectation. Personally, I don't hold Rivals and each school's site to traditional "journalistic standards". I hold traditional media (tv and print) to those standards....but hold Rivals more as a fanboy boy site with oped standards....meaning, you don't blatantly lie, but you can show your favoritism. I'd like you to be positive about Mizzou when you do interviews with kids....emphasize the positives about the University, coaching staff, fanbase, etc....I think that can be done without "recruiting" or violating the intent of the Rivals agreement. I'm not even sure how the ownership of Powermizzou works....you've stated you are your own boss. Can you expand a little bit on the Rivals network, who owns each site and your thoughts on the journalistic requirements for each site as well as the overall network? And, is your opinion shared by each site and the overall network? Thanks.
We all sign a code of ethics that we're not going to advocate for or recruit for a school. When I do interviews with kids, I ask questions. Period. That's it. It's not my job to do anymore than that.
As far as Rivals, think of it like McDonald's. Yahoo/Rivals is the parent company. I operate the Columbia franchise. I get X amount of the revenue. What I do with it is up to me. That goes for staff, travel, equipment, advertising, etc. I get my check and then every expense for the site comes out of that cut that I get. No one tells me what to do or where to go or who to hire or what to cover. Now if I just sat back and collected a check and wasn't posting stories, etc, I'm sure we'd reach a point where someone above me would reach out and say "What the hell are you doing for those millions we send you every month?" But we've never had that be an issue. They leave me alone.
As far as journalistic requirements, depends on who runs the site. To me, you can't be a fan and do this job well. That doesn't mean you can't want the team you cover to win. I grew up a Mizzou fan. I'd prefer they win to lose. But you can't let it impact the way you do the job. If they lose, you still have to cover it. In fact, it's probably more important to do so because that's when people want answers. I am not lying when I tell you I absolutely don't care where any recruit goes. Now, was it good for biz when Mizzou landed DGB and MPJ? Uhhhh, yeah. So that part's great. But I don't get emotionally invested in the results. It's my opinion you can't. I mean, can you get emotionally invested and still make money? Sure. I've seen some juvenile, emotional reactions from some people at Rivals to wins and losses (recruiting and on the field). And I'm sure there are some fans that like that. Some fans would love me to be a cheerleader for MU. That's not my DNA. I figure as long as half think I'm too hard on them and half think I'm too easy on them, I'm probably somewhere in the right neighborhood of balance.
