The headline on the radio station website reads "Warriors pick up key conference victory in Barrett." Well, congratulations to the Warriors of Wheaton-Herman-Norcross who defeated West Central Area 3-1. Congrats too, to the kmrs-kkok people for having enterprise to report on local sports, not only for broadcast but for its website.
I am puzzled, though, how we learn nothing about the MACA Tigers' Thursday match, outside of the basic outcome. OK it was a 0-3 loss to BOLD. Wins and losses should not have a big impact re. the public's expectations for media attention. It can be more challenging to cover a chronically losing team, granted. You might have to "soften" your headlines somewhat. Generalize the headlines. Saying that a team "came out on the short end" is more gentle than talking about "losing."
Newspaper people might be cautioned against writing headlines that can get too blunt, e.g. one team "steamrolls" another. Colorful and descriptive, yes. Might we get a pass if it was MACA doing the steamrolling? As a matter of principle, it should not matter. We must respect the feelings of all student-athletes and their parents.
Come on, now, opposing teams are not the "enemy." Fans and parents I think are more civilized and reasonable on this front than they used to be.
I can remember from long ago, UMM students and even some older fans being downright hostile to the opponents. Part of that was to project our superiority with intelligence, like having a chant alluding to "GPA." As I remember, "What's your average GPA?" Our editor at the Sun Tribune was actually amused by that one, in an approving sense, while yours truly harbored inner negative feelings toward the attitude/behavior.
I had to be reserved, so as not to buck the local party line. Maybe you're disbelieving about this having happened. I assure you it did happen. I rubbed shoulders with community elite a lot in those days - the opinion drivers - and I found much of it to be shallow. If I said anything I'd be stigmatized further. I had enough baggage, being a known skeptic of the public school teachers union. An asterisk: my criticism was not with a broad brush, and I always felt the majority of teachers were glad to have a job and would have adjusted without protest to new priorities of administration.
The problem was with an ossified group that reinforced each other's views through socializing, getting on the same page, pushing aims that were parochial, if you were to really strip it all down. Which I did.
The Sun Tribune editor who I cited earlier was the one who smoked like a chimney, initials S.K.
Amazing how I navigated through 27 years with the Morris and Hancock newspapers. I worked under another editor who I considered a total psychopath with potential to commit murder. I am honored to have earned his reproach.
My goodness, 15 years have passed since I left the newspaper building through the back door, June 2 of 2006, never to return except for a brief visit to congratulate Shelly Anfinson. I had just finished shooting some hoops at the Wells Park basketball court, had my basketball in my backpack which I suspect made an impression. So that was a nice visit.
Today I'm sure the Anfinsons are challenged keeping the newspaper enterprise afloat because of obvious headwinds caused by people harnessing the endless frontier of electronic media. I was with the paper when we first went online. Looking back, was rather an adventure. My first work computer w/Internet was a hand-me-down which was woefully inadequate. It froze a lot. I can laugh about it now.
I look back on how Morris Area Homecoming week was such a tremendous priority in my mind. Each year I'd aim for a photo collage of the coronation, maybe another for the parade, and then 4-5 game photos. Check your scrapbooks, y'all. So it's disappointing today to observe the much-diminished coverage.
I don't see the Morris paper each week. I'm not about to take notes for the purpose of offering critiques. A former co-worker advised me several years ago to "let it go." So I basically have.
It's entirely possible the community doesn't care about the reduced coverage. People take their own photos like with their phones. The Internet is all about sharing - we bathe in it, perhaps forget how we once lived without all this stuff. So in the past, the newspaper was probably more worthy of public analysis. We depended on "legacy media."
Today the radio station is very helpful through its site of providing at least cursory sports updates with details. No details on the Thursday MACA vs. BOLD volleyball match. I assume the coaches did not take the trouble to submit info, just like they are not cooperating with the West Central Tribune of Willmar. Is this bad? Are these individuals to be upbraided for this? I can't be sure of the answer.
I will say this: the YouTube-based coverage of Tiger sports is phenomenal, getting better and better. Is it uprooting the legacy media? In economics there is a term for this: "creative destruction," and it is a good thing. People can get uprooted but then they have to adjust and "land on their feet" in some way. The ice business went away. Roy Lucken was our ice man here once. Know how to keep ice from melting? Sawdust!
Now, if I can only figure out all the changes that are happening with TV!
We at least know the MACA volleyball Tigers lost Thursday 0-3. The West Central Tribune has all the stats for BOLD but none for MACA. Do other people beside me even notice this much?
I am proud to have covered so many MAHS Homecoming weeks so thoroughly and with more than a dash of enthusiasm through the years. Also, Homecoming at Hancock and Chokio-Alberta. I always felt so conspicuous going out to the middle of the gym floor to take photos at Hancock. Each school had its own special environment.
Oh, congrats to the Warriors of Wheaton-Herman-Norcross on beating West Central Area. I assume "Warriors" is a generic reference and not to Native Americans!
When I left the Morris newspaper, there were probably some satisfied or even gleeful people around town, but they might have been advised by some others: "Be careful what you wish for." The teachers union had clout once. It had tentacles in the favored social "cliques." I sense this faction does not hold sway in town like it once did. A real godsend.
Jim Morrison once described the attitude of teachers/coaches as "us against them." I always thought top administration could have done more, asserted itself more, even if it was tough vs. a union.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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| The seated person in this photo might have been me, in last few months of my time with the Morris newspaper. Everything was changing, so that it was all like a blur. Some things seemed to change just for the sake of change, and some lofty ideas never were implemented. I was an easy person to pick on. The image you see is from "The Onion." The guy facing camera represents Forum Communications of Fargo. They deserted us of course. "The Onion" had some advice for people in the position I was in: "Whether it's a hoard of office supplies or straight-up embezzlement, ask yourself if there's anything else you need to swipe from your company before you turn in that keycard." |
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