New Anthony Parker Article, and some JL comments

[tornado]

Another great article in the Gatehouse Media newspapers about Anthony Parker and some comments by Jim Les about his coaching staff, but it's not in the local PJ Star where you'd think this article should be. Hmmm....I think I am going to change my subscription and start getting the Springfield Journal Register.

http://www.sj-r.com/sections/sports/stories/117017.asp

Jim Les on Chuck Buescher:
"You're going to miss his experience. He was a guy . . . you can't replicate 38 years or 40 years of coaching and all the things that he's witnessed and gone through and experienced.

He just had a great level of wisdom about him because he had been through so much as a coach, as a mentor of young men. A lot of times, he was just a very calming voice on our staff.

The one thing I know I won't get back is I got to go to work every day with a friend. That's what made it special. Besides the contributions he gave to our staff and to our team, it was great to go to work every day with somebody who I enjoyed his company and enjoyed his friendship for many years prior to coaching. To be able to go to work with somebody like that I think was a unique experience."

[Bravesguy]

Anyone know why we don't see this stuff in the Journal Star?

[Braves4Life]

Anyone know why we don't see this stuff in the Journal Star?

When there's only one game in town (PJS) and no competition to hold you accountable you can pretty well do as you please

I imagine when most of your employees got their degree elsewhere and get paid a paltry sum to report on a more prestigious university where the average recent grad will out-earn them in the first year, you will tend to get:

1) One-sided, negative articles, or
2) Little coverage at all (avoidance/spite)

[BradleyBrave]

I'm sure there are conspiracy theories abound, but my first thought would be that JL has been in Springfield at the FCA camp which is why the Springfield paper is running with this. There is NOTHING going on in Springfield sports-wise, so this is a story down there. Right now in Peoria, there's Chiefs baseball, and other local sporting events that quite frankly are probably more important at this time of the year. I think BU deserves all the good press it deserves, but I don't necessarily think that the Star needs to have a weekly puff piece on the Braves. While I know that there are some at the Star that don't care for BU, there are some pretty big BU backers there as well.

[Average Joe]

I just spoke today with an employee of the PJ Star.
He said that the company will be dealing with four different unions,
but expect significant changes/layoffs to be announced by this fall, as cost-cutting measures get implemented.

Note this--
Gatehouse has already put the Pekin Times building up for sale

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/061507/TRI_BDGNK5IU.006.php

And others know the cost cutting is coming.

http://peoriapundit.com/blogpeoria/2007/02/22/bad-news-gatehouse-media-may-buy-the-journal-star/

[MacabreMob]

I think BU deserves all the good press it deserves, but I don't necessarily think that the Star needs to have a weekly puff piece on the Braves.

IMO, I think there SHOULD be a weekly puff piece in the offseason and a DAILY puff piece during the season.

If people think changing the mascot to a squirrel will help sell more t-shirts... instead, why not just some more positive pub pieces (oopps, puff pieces).

Sorry - don't want to turn it into a squirrelly discussion. Marketing versus advertising when the bottom line is the quality of product.

I am just in favor of positive puff pieces... keep hammering home about the great University and team located in their back yard.

[Scouter]

I'm sure there are conspiracy theories abound, but my first thought would be that JL has been in Springfield at the FCA camp which is why the Springfield paper is running with this. There is NOTHING going on in Springfield sports-wise, so this is a story down there. Right now in Peoria, there's Chiefs baseball, and other local sporting events that quite frankly are probably more important at this time of the year. I think BU deserves all the good press it deserves, but I don't necessarily think that the Star needs to have a weekly puff piece on the Braves. While I know that there are some at the Star that don't care for BU, there are some pretty big BU backers there as well.

Thank you, BradleyBrave! I thought I was the only one smart enough to realize JL and AP were appearing in the SPRINGFIELD newspaper because they were in SPRINGFIELD!

Also, tornado, what made this a "great article?" Just because it mentioned JL and AP? Is that all it takes to please you these days?

[tornado]

Still-- I thrive on coverage of my favorite team, and it looks like I need to change my subscription to the SJR.

[Average Joe]

I was the only one smart enough to realize JL and AP were appearing in the SPRINGFIELD newspaper because they were in SPRINGFIELD!

So the Journal Star isn't expected to cover anything in Springfield?
I think you just hammered home the whole point here very nicely!

Oh and PS- thanks for keeping threads about poker off the board

[Biff]

Not to argue, but Bradley basketball is the biggest sports item in Peoria. It is followed by more people and generates more interest than any other local sport. If there was a Dave Reynolds article today, for example, covering the new players who have arrived on campus for the summer session, I'd bet more people would read it than read any other article in today's sports section. People are starved for information about Bradley and the new players, which is why a site like this is so popular, even in the off season (how many millions of hits per month?).
Last summer, Dave did a series of articles covering summer basketball topics, and I enjoyed them a lot. Why none this summer? Are the reporters too busy? The coaches can finally talk freely about their recruits now that they have enrolled, so why hasn't the PJS gotten an interview with the coach about them or with the players themselves.
There are 2 new coaches on the staff, yet if there has been anyone from the PJ Star that has bothered to take a few minutes to interview Alvin Brooks, or Steve Merfeld, I must have missed it.
Does anyone care about some long-drive contest that the PJS devotes half their front sports page to today? And yesterday, the headline article in the sports section was about an old, washed up Riverman player, Jean-Guy Trudel who was signed by St. Louis and shipped to Peoria...big deal, is it hockey season?
My point is that if they can waste the time and resources on rather insignificant sports topics like these, why not report on Bradley basketball, which is bigger than any of these things. The PJS has access to things that the rest of us will never have, like the summer workouts and the new incoming recruits. And we are dying to hear some news about them. Does it take a press release from Bobby Parker (like it did with the schedule, when it was known for days prior to that) for the PJS to get off their butts and write something? Is there any wonder that newspapers like the PJ Star are losing readership? They are completely out of touch with their readership. They would rather write articles insulting the readers, than give them the news they want.
They would be smart to hire some of the people who run this site to produce regular reports. Just my opinion.

[tornado]

They are too busy covering soccer tournaments with 10-12 year olds up in Mossville

[ACBL]

i dont chime in often mostly just read stuff
99% of all braves news is right here and right here only and there is no charge
thanks guys keep it up

[squeaky]

Not to argue, but Bradley basketball is the biggest sports item in Peoria. It is followed by more people and generates more interest than any other local sport. If there was a Dave Reynolds article today, for example, covering the new players who have arrived on campus for the summer session, I'd bet more people would read it than read any other article in today's sports section. People are starved for information about Bradley and the new players, which is why a site like this is so popular, even in the off season (how many millions of hits per month?).
Last summer, Dave did a series of articles covering summer basketball topics, and I enjoyed them a lot. Why none this summer? Are the reporters too busy? The coaches can finally talk freely about their recruits now that they have enrolled, so why hasn't the PJS gotten an interview with the coach about them or with the players themselves.
There are 2 new coaches on the staff, yet if there has been anyone from the PJ Star that has bothered to take a few minutes to interview Alvin Brooks, or Steve Merfeld, I must have missed it.
Does anyone care about some long-drive contest that the PJS devotes half their front sports page to today? And yesterday, the headline article in the sports section was about an old, washed up Riverman player, Jean-Guy Trudel who was signed by St. Louis and shipped to Peoria...big deal, is it hockey season?
My point is that if they can waste the time and resources on rather insignificant sports topics like these, why not report on Bradley basketball, which is bigger than any of these things. The PJS has access to things that the rest of us will never have, like the summer workouts and the new incoming recruits. And we are dying to hear some news about them. Does it take a press release from Bobby Parker (like it did with the schedule, when it was known for days prior to that) for the PJS to get off their butts and write something? Is there any wonder that newspapers like the PJ Star are losing readership? They are completely out of touch with their readership. They would rather write articles insulting the readers, than give them the news they want.
They would be smart to hire some of the people who run this site to produce regular reports. Just my opinion.

My nomination for Post of the Week! Well said, biff.
This has been the most eventful off-season I can ever remember at Bradley with all the player and coach turnover, yet the only news the paper has reported are just regurgitations of the Athletic Dept's press releases.
If it wasn't for this site and the inside-information we get here, just how little would we even know about? Thank you Bradleyfans!

[Da Coach]

Thanks for the nice comments.
I am amazed at the level of interest that Bradley basketball generates, even in the off-season.

The stats from the server have continued to show averages of over 3 million page-hits per month for May and it will exceed that in June as well, which is more than double the traffic of the same time last year. And it's not just a few obsessed Bradley fans like me. We log thousands of unique visitors to the BradleyFans site each day. I barely have time trying to answer all the PMs from fans desperate for more information about the team and recruiting.

It would be nice to have the staff and resources of a major daily newspaper to track down news, instead of reporting it only when a press release shows up in the email box. I actually think the PJS does a nice job with their Bradley coverage, but the interest is there for more coverage than we have been getting. Maybe discussions like this will convince them.

[tornado]

Maybe discussions like this will convince them.

I don't think so.

If I recall, one of the PJS writers said that comments left by readers were like "turds in a punch bowl".

http://www.bradleyfans.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=6961

ps...watch your e mails for more on BU hoops soon