Red Wings & the Media

[Dabura 12,232]

Worth a read.

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

I don't really like the fact that the majority of his thesis is based upon the statements of "anonymous" sources.

Kinda comes off as a little bitter...

Not that I don't agree with a lot of what he says....

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

One thing that's clear is that bloggers still aren't given access -- though that's not the aim of this article. We'll touch on that more in a few minutes.

I think it's ironic that he criticizes how the Wings treat bloggers differently yet in this very piece he shows why they should be.

It's full out slander on John Hahn with absolutely zero actual evidence but "anonymous" quotes backing his own opinion of him.

A lot of this piece just rubs me the wrong way....

[ShanahanMan 473]

I think it's ironic that he criticizes how the Wings treat bloggers differently yet in this very piece he shows why they should be.

It's full out slander on John Hahn with absolutely zero actual evidence but "anonymous" quotes backing his own opinion of him.

A lot of this piece just rubs me the wrong way....

They're anonymous because many currently work within the Wings org and obviously don't want to jeopardize their jobs.

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

They're anonymous because many currently work within the Wings org and obviously don't want to jeopardize their jobs.

I understand the concept of anonymous sources. They should never be the foundation of your thesis....

[LeftWinger 5,129]

so, bottom line, to everyone involved in the NHL around the league, from other GM's to players to media, the Red Wings are pricks who you don't deserve to approach...

Pretty much sums up why other GM's want to rape us, UFA's now avoid us and we can't get any love in other media markets. All while the Detroit Lemmings paint a beautiful sunny day, everyone else knows better.

I guess if we are "real fans" of the Red Wings, we are not allowed to ask the tough questions or criticize the team operations or just plain old not like something about them... Well hell, I guess I aint a real fan then, because I NEVER get in line and accept, I question everything and even ***** enough about some stuff to piss a lot of you guys off! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thanks for the post! It opened my eyes even more... Changes are needed...NOW.

[ShanahanMan 473]

I understand the concept of anonymous sources. They should never be the foundation of your thesis....

I don't doubt the guy seems a bit jaded (calling the Wings the North Korea of hockey is a bit much), but when quoting sources from outside the org, he does name many.

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

I don't doubt the guy seems a bit jaded (calling the Wings the North Korea of hockey is a bit much), but when quoting sources from outside the org, he does name many.

He names Bruce McLeod and and Ansar Khan who's quotes actually did not support his position or back his opinion of John Hahn in any way.

[uk_redwing 495]

He has a valid point about the damp rags that are the local media. MLive is the worst offender for being suck ups and not giving a critical word to anything.

He's right that the only local press that rightly tore apart the Cleary signing were the bloggers. The rest just posted PR bulls*** about how Cleary is better and how he can rebound.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

HSJ is the absolute worst. Ken Holland might as well be writing her articles for her.

I do believe the Wings mainstream media is very reluctant to criticize the organization. Everyone, and I mean everyone elsewhere, blasted both the Quincey and Cleary deals. All we got from the Wings media was more excuse making and typical unwillingness to ever question Holland's decision making.

Edited July 15, 2014 by GoWings1905

[Wingzman91 134]

I make about one post a year and I have to waste it on this garbage....

BOOO, these reporters are reporting on the news and not on whatever their opinion might be, BOOO.

This is being played like politics and a perceived lack of interest in bashing management is being equated to condoning said moves.

These are not the same things, everyone is taking mental shortcuts to the conclusion and bypassing the idea that media SHOULD report ONLY the facts.

People are so quick to forget that because it is sports, it is journalism too, adding opinion taints that.

Let bloggers speculate, speculation is what you people seem to desire, but is also the reason these speculators don't have credentials, because they only want those credentials to make their asinine opinions seem more valid when they are arguing in their own comments section.

Nobody knows what a good signing is until the season is over and we all have 20/20 hindsight, your intuition is not proof of any fact and your anger is not a catalyst for change. All I read when I see this garbage is a lot of spoiled fans who even after making the playoffs for 23 years in a row and winning more Stanley Cups than any team in a quarter century, think they could do better and sit around bitterly whining about a few depth moves being made.

Grow up Hockeytown!

29 other teams lose the cup or on said free agent, I can't wait for the article to come out saying player X didn't want to come to Detroit because of the entitled fans, well I guess I could buy a website, call myself a blogger, write the opinion myself, use anonymous sources and then ***** because no one takes me serious.

[Echolalia 2,961]

I make about one post a year and I have to waste it on this garbage....

BOOO, these reporters are reporting on the news and not on whatever their opinion might be, BOOO.

This is being played like politics and a perceived lack of interest in bashing management is being equated to condoning said moves.

These are not the same things, everyone is taking mental shortcuts to the conclusion and bypassing the idea that media SHOULD report ONLY the facts.

People are so quick to forget that because it is sports, it is journalism too, adding opinion taints that.

Let bloggers speculate, speculation is what you people seem to desire, but is also the reason these speculators don't have credentials, because they only want those credentials to make their asinine opinions seem more valid when they are arguing in their own comments section.

Nobody knows what a good signing is until the season is over and we all have 20/20 hindsight, your intuition is not proof of any fact and your anger is not a catalyst for change. All I read when I see this garbage is a lot of spoiled fans who even after making the playoffs for 23 years in a row and winning more Stanley Cups than any team in a quarter century, think they could do better and sit around bitterly whining about a few depth moves being made.

Grow up Hockeytown!

29 other teams lose the cup or on said free agent, I can't wait for the article to come out saying player X didn't want to come to Detroit because of the entitled fans, well I guess I could buy a website, call myself a blogger, write the opinion myself, use anonymous sources and then ***** because no one takes me serious.

More or less what I came to say.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Hindsight? We have last season and beyond as proof that Quincey and Cleary are poor decisions.

But yeah, since the Wings have had success over five years ago now, that makes them completely off-limits to criticism and questioning management.

Nothing worse than when people try to tell others how to be a fan.

Edited July 15, 2014 by GoWings1905

[frankgrimes 1,836]

I consider myself a big fan of the Red Wings but knowledgable - like this blogger is pushing it - would put it way too far. Anyway, after reading news how the Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Boston are handling their players I can understand why organisations don't want to give too much out.

The only point I somewhat agree is that the team and especially management aren't taking critics very well, as proven by an Email from a poster here a few days ago.

But the media has to understand one thing: The job of a hockey organisation is to ice the best possible roster, players are paid to perform on the ice not to be media-monkeys. Putting myself into Kessel's shoes I would have declined every interview with a Torontosun reporter till they are accepting that I'm shy and don#t want to talk to them, till then no comments no interviews.

Sometimes the media thinks they are way more important when in reality they aren't even important.

btw. for the 24/7 stuff the media considered it "boring" boohoo down to earth hockey players acting like always, so no forced stories or Bryzgalovs quotes for you ? Cry me a river, I thought the insight about Babcocks decisions and how he reacts to pressure have been outstanding.

Edited July 16, 2014 by frankgrimes

[plopster 136]

I consider myself a big fan of the Red Wings but knowledgable - like this blogger is pushing it - would put it way too far. Anyway, after reading news how the Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Boston are handling their players I can understand why organisations don't want to give too much out.

The only point I somewhat agree is that the team and especially management aren't taking critics very well, as proven by an Email from a poster here a few days ago.

But the media has to understand one thing: The job of a hockey organisation is to ice the best possible roster, players are paid to perform on the ice not to be media-monkeys. Putting myself into Kessel's shoes I would have declined every interview with a Torontosun reporter till they are accepting that I'm shy and don#t want to talk to them, till then no comments no interviews.

Sometimes the media thinks they are way more important when in reality they aren't even important.

btw. for the 24/7 stuff the media considered it "boring" boohoo down to earth hockey players acting like always, so no forced stories or Bryzgalovs quotes for you ? Cry me a river, I thought the insight about Babcocks decisions and how he reacts to pressure have been outstanding.

What email from a poster are you referring to?

[55fan 5,133]

Everyone has a job to do. If you're in PR, you have a responsibility to the team to make the team look good. That's what they hire you to do. The team is the one who's paying the PR guy, not the newspapers.

As for reporters/bloggers, they can write whatever they want within the laws of libel and the standards of their paper (in the case of reporters).

If the PR guy for the Wings doesn't work well with some reporters/bloggers who don't report the team in a good light, he's just doing his job. It doesn't silence the reporters/bloggers. It just means that they don't have a red carpet that leads straight to their information.

There's news and there's opinion. If a reporter is reporting news (i.e. Wings sign Player X) then what will be reported is the facts. If the reporter is posting opinion (i.e. Player X is the next big thing) then that is what will be published.

The PR people have a responsibility to provide the news reporters with their facts. Any opinion reporters can take those facts and comment at will, but it's the PR guy's job to see that the news reporters get accurate data.

As a hyper-fan, I'd love to get more inside information, but these guys are people with lives and it's also the PR guy's job to protect that whilst still giving fans access to the players. If you work for the team, you're not going to work with a reporter/blogger who wants access so he can rip a player apart or throw him under the bus. That's not taking care of your team, which is part of your job. There has to be a level of trust there if we expect the players to open up to the media for us.

I'm checking the news daily in hopes of seeing "Danny DeKeyser re-signed" and when I do, I will first seek out the facts, and then come here to get all of the opinion I can handle on the subject. Sure, I will probably read some opinion articles and some blogs if I run into them, but at the end of the day, any one of us here who is reasonably literate could be a blogger if we really wanted to.

Edited July 16, 2014 by 55fan

[Guest DeGraa55]

What email from a poster are you referring to?

I believe he is talking about the guy who cancelled his ticket plan and explain why he didn't agree with the things they were doing.

They told him to go support another team or somethig along those lines.

I can't remember the exact thread it was in.

[plopster 136]

I believe he is talking about the guy who cancelled his ticket plan and explain why he didn't agree with the things they were doing.

They told him to go support another team or somethig along those lines.

I can't remember the exact thread it was in.

If that is true they better hope that doesn't get widely published. I'm sure plenty of people would be happy to oblige them if that's how they really feel. The franchise has certainly taken an ugly turn since 1 July, at least publicly. I can't say I'm a very proud fan at this point. That Quincey signing has me more pissed than the cleary signing. We all know cleary won't make the team. My only hope is Babcock doesn't get extended and a change is made as is obviously needed. It will be interesting to hear Mickey Redmonds comments during the season. He doesn't exactly pull punches when giving his opinions.

[FlashyG 1,799]

I believe he is talking about the guy who cancelled his ticket plan and explain why he didn't agree with the things they were doing.

They told him to go support another team or somethig along those lines.

I can't remember the exact thread it was in.

I've read that in a couple places but its just a claim made by a fan with no screenshot or any sort of proof that it's a legitimate email from anyone within the organization.

For all we know it was made up by the person that originally made the claim in the first place.

[plopster 136]

I've read that in a couple places but its just a claim made by a fan with no screenshot or any sort of proof that it's a legitimate email from anyone within the organization.

For all we know it was made up by the person that originally made the claim in the first place.

That would make more sense. I can't see someone responding to something like that, much less a response like that. I can only hope that's the case. Things are looking pretty dim right now from a fan perspective. Let's hope the "kids" figured out how to play Stanley cup caliber hockey over the offseason.

[Nev 1,085]

I consider myself a big fan of the Red Wings but knowledgable - like this blogger is pushing it - would put it way too far. Anyway, after reading news how the Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Boston are handling their players I can understand why organisations don't want to give too much out.

The only point I somewhat agree is that the team and especially management aren't taking critics very well, as proven by an Email from a poster here a few days ago.

But the media has to understand one thing: The job of a hockey organisation is to ice the best possible roster, players are paid to perform on the ice not to be media-monkeys. Putting myself into Kessel's shoes I would have declined every interview with a Torontosun reporter till they are accepting that I'm shy and don#t want to talk to them, till then no comments no interviews.

Sometimes the media thinks they are way more important when in reality they aren't even important.

btw. for the 24/7 stuff the media considered it "boring" boohoo down to earth hockey players acting like always, so no forced stories or Bryzgalovs quotes for you ? Cry me a river, I thought the insight about Babcocks decisions and how he reacts to pressure have been outstanding.

I agree with most of this. Journalists are, generally speaking, all lying areseholes. They drive the story, even as they pretend to report it. The media for Toronto, Philly, NYR, its like having half a dozen Drew Sharpe's as your beat reporters, and he is the lowest of the low (thank goodness he has the Lions to focus his childish trolling on).

Having said that, the Wings beat reporters are a bunch on patsies. HSJ is the worst, she is virtually a unpaid mouthpiece for Ken Holland. I understand that being in and around the team every day makes it hard to be too critical of them, but the silence on the teams succession of poor roster decisions the last 5 years has been deafening.

[Guest DeGraa55]

I've read that in a couple places but its just a claim made by a fan with no screenshot or any sort of proof that it's a legitimate email from anyone within the organization.

For all we know it was made up by the person that originally made the claim in the first place.

I agree with what you're saying just answering his question.

Also if it was said. Is it from someone important or just some random jerk off from the tickets office?

[number9 3,297]

I agree with what you're saying just answering his question.

Also if it was said. Is it from someone important or just some random jerk off from the tickets office?

It's almost certainly the later

[Guest Playmaker]

I don't know why anyone would give a blogger the time of day. It's like hey, I've got a computer and an opinion, take me seriously. It's like the bozos that try and diagnose themselves with a medical condition on the internet.

[Jesusberg 1,256]

I'm torn on this one. On the one hand, a few of the bloggers I follow provide some pretty good insight - but you take that at face value. On the other hand, some of those bloggers exhibit unpopular opinions, or personal information, etc. that cleary illustrate just why they're not "real" journalists. I think HSJ is there extreme version of "towing the line" - other legitimate journalists like Khan and Duff (Windsor Star) definitely disagree with certain moves, or at the very least call them into question. The difference is that they don't disparage an entire organization for two ugly signings.

Instant access to the can both hurt and help journalists - once you post a knee-jerk reaction to a move you don't approve of, it's out there. These journalists are held to a higher standard, and they should be. Report the facts. If you disagree with a move, question it - don't go on these all-out rants about how Detroit's lost is luster, etc. under a name that you wish to be associated with your profession.

If you're going to appeal to popular fan opinion, you'll have a difficult time getting your foot in the door with management. Towing the line with Detroit management/PR, you're not going to appease the fans. It's basically one or the other, IMO.