Understanding the Media Agenda

[Milk Man]

I'm dialed in, from twitter to newspapers, from blogs to finheaven.com, I've got my Dolphins news covered. Local media, national media...all covered.

Now I also understand that when a team does not win and especially does not win in the playoffs the news and speculation surrounding the team will not be positive or upbeat. That being said, I've been trying to understand the harsh, cynical tone that the media takes with all things Dolphins. I think I've got them figured out.

The fact is it's so much easier to be correct by betting against ANYTHING or any move that the Dolphins make because in reality only one team wins the Super Bowl and the odds are great that that team won't be Miami (at least not next year). It's like short sellers in the stock market - it's easier to make money selling short than trying to pick a stock that will genuinely appreciate due to value creation. So the media "smartly" and quite intentionally put their negative spin because that can always chime in later on that they were in-fact quite correct in their commentary.

Recently we've heard from the media that the management structure is bad and won't allow Phins to attract a top level GM. Never-mind that more than half of the teams in the league use the same or similar structure (Super Bowl winning teams). We've heard from them that the process to hire a new GM is taking too long. Never-mind that this is a pretty important decision and the owner should be commended for taking time to identify the right person going forward (and of course only time will tell if it was the correct hire). God knows if they hired a candidate already (especially Farmer) the media would have been cyclical about the "old boys network" and Carl Patterson's role in the recruitment process. It's always a negative slant with them - the team can't win with the media.

If we rewind to the ugly bully-gate saga earlier this season - the national media was leading the narrative (all negative, all anti-Ireland, anti-Philbin, anti-locker room and anti-owner without any facts to support them). What does our local media do? Instead of leading the narrative and getting to the heart of the story (you're with the team every day) they piggybacked with the national media and made little attempt to publish the facts and set the record straight. The story was too good and selling newspapers must have been too important!

If we were to compare that journalistic standards applied to the Dolphins and compare then with how other teams are treated the picture get worse. The Patriots are a "can do no wrong" team - winning gets you that - I understand! But that coach, that owner and that locker room had an alleged mass murderer in their midst and no one speaks out on that - how did they miss that one? What about their role in the video scandal? Shouldn't the media be a little cynical about quotes coming from that team? No way - all swept under the rug. If their owner was taking a long time to hire a new GM it would be the new standard - other teams should learn from Kraft.

I was not around for the Dolphins Super Bowl era or even the beginning of the Marino era - what was the media agenda like then? Were the reporters of those eras more professional, more factual and more balanced? It seems like there are a bunch of relatively "young" journalists following the Dolphins for the local newspapers - maybe they lack perspective? I wonder if it's the same in all NFL cities - Dallas, Pittsburgh etc?

The revelation in all of this is that I understand why players and team management are inclined to "sign-off" from/on the media. Whatever you say the media is going to put their own slant on it. I'm more interested in the simple facts and I feel qualified as a fan to draw my own conclusions. Until Miami wins and wins in the playoffs consistently this media driven negativity will be par for the course.

 

[Ikema]

I like to blame Armando for the negative slant nationally. It has to start somewhere, and he seems to take such delight with the negativity towards the team. Besides it's easier to just keep on harping on the negative rather than actually doing some journalistic work.To answer your question, back in the Shula days, the team generally enjoyed positive press throughout the media.

 

[Zounds]

Now I also understand that when a team does not win and especially does not win in the playoffs the news and speculation surrounding the team will not be positive or upbeat. That being said, I've been trying to understand the harsh, cynical tone that the media takes with all things Dolphins. I think I've got them figured out.

My theory has been that since the Dolphins' front office is so tight lipped and apathetic to the media, these beat reporters have developed their own agendas - most of which reflect the organization negatively. I believe the Dolphins' disdain towards the media has created a big PR problem for them, and it really became worse when Parcells arrived. I understand the need to keep certain information confidential, but Miami needs to be a little more transparent. A new GM with good communications skills could go a long way with the media.

 

[315DolphinsFan]

There is no media agenda. Look at any losing team's coverage and you'll see basically the same thing. The difference is their fans blame the team first, not the media. I'd spend my time worrying about who the next GM is going to be than a media "agenda."
The truth is, the Dolphins have been a joke of a franchise ever since Shula was forced out and Marino was kicked to the curb. The people running the team the last 18 years have turned it into a national joke. Jimmy was a quitter, Wanny was a joke, Saban was a liar, Cameron was inept, Sparano was unqualified and Philbin is clueless.
When the Dolphins get a quality GM and coach and start winning again, you'll be amazed how different the media's coverage is. It's that simple.

 

[OnDaChainWax]

Great read. Thanks.

Unfortunately, I have to add that the local reporting reflects the local attitude. Last week I was listening to radio shows criticize Lebron James because James made a comment about being fatigued with callers agreeing with the criticism and bitching about recent losses to bad teams. You'd think fans would be grateful for the last 3 years.

As per National media, its the team's fault. We've made it so easy for them. It seems as its every couple of years, the negative happenings. From my memory, it all started with Ricky Williams: huge negative story. Nick Saban: huge bomb. Cam Cameron/1-15: precipice of historic failure. For the National media, its a simple here we go again and it has been for the last decade.

But it also seems like bad ju-ju. It truly feels like a curse to me. I knew we weren't going to win at Buffalo. It was a toxic tightness, anxiety ridden knot in my stomach. And sure enough, as if it was the devil himself, our most sure-handed WR couldnt make a catch to save his life. These tales are almost Hollywood script worthy.

I can feel the disappointment on the horizon most of the time and as much as I hold on to hope and cheer and pray; the horizon always seems bleak. But we hold on because what else can we do? Ive tried to turn off games. Ive tried, " Im done with this f@cking team and the time I wont get back on my deathbed." But its not in my blood. The DNA is tainted. For better or worse, we are Dolphin fans.

 

[JTC111]

The media agenda is very easy to understand: dollars. Any commercial media outlet will cease to exist if they don't sell papers, attract viewers, or accumulate web hits. The media is a business, the things I listed increase the value of advertising, so whatever generates those things is what the media will do.