By James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales
By Scary Barry Rodriguez December 15,2011
This book should really be titled " Where I Never Want To Work ". After the original founder Bill Rasmussen and his relatives were pushed out of the picture it was land of the big egos ! If a person isn't interested in the business of ESPN then they should pass on the book. Its a compilation of insider's views on a Sport's network at different times during its evolution from a fledgling endeavor to a voracious entity after Sports entertainment domination.
Who but an industry insider is going to recognize names such as Steve Bornstein, George Bodenheimer or Allan B. Scotty Connal ? The answer is nobody else ! What I derived from this read is that networks that report on sports don't want personalities to overshadow the content of the programming. When I watch all these shows whether on ESPN, the NFL Network, Fox Sports or now Comcast it is obvious that the programming is designed to minimize the talent not showcase it.
I was disappointed that the book didn't deeply delve into some of the big stories of the last decade , including Tiger Woods, the Barry Bond's steroid case or others. Instead we get some comments from various people about the brief ESPN flirtation with Rush Limbaugh. The self proclaimed genius Mark Shapiro was responsible for that blunder ! What was he smoking when he added Rush to the Football television booth ? Why am I not surprised that the same backdoor business assassinations occur at ESPN as any other big corporate concern ! My attention was held by the back story about Hannah Storm's short skirt ! Not really !
There is some credence to the concept that persons from print media or those broadcasters accustomed to long winded editorial comment not being suited for game play by play positions. To the Scary one all the Sport's networks are employment agencies for ex jocks with zero charisma including ESPN. This is especially true of NFL football. Just how many times can analysts dissect specific games ! Its totally boring. Reading about NASCAR is as boring as watching the coverage !
ESPN gets credit for have the long view on the what was to be the future of Sport's media coverage. Some of the moves were calculated and as documented in the book , some of the moves were just lucky timing. There is so much more to what it takes to put out all the programming yet maintain such good quality. ESPN has succeeded in this greatly ! Yet because of their contractual ties with the NFL,MLB and NBA , we cannot rely on them to faithfully cover some issues that strike a nerve with their clients. The best example cited in the book is the short lived fictional football series " Playmakers ". This was a high quality program about a fictional professional football team that hit too close to the bone for the NFL !
So the answer is for the fans is for Sports networks to provide entertaining programming. ESPN has tried mightily to do just that. The results are mixed ! This book left me with the impression that the business of Sports is just too serious and this is reflected in what is seen on the tube, heard on the radio and reported on the internet. For my taste ESPN has the technology but is too uptight. That is why my reaction to the book is " Where I Never Want To Work ". I have passion for sports but not to the extent that I am willing to sacrifice my sanity ! Save your money fans ! This book isn't entertaining enough !
Courtesy of Scary Merlin Productions. BarryRodriguez (c) 2011. All Rights Reserved.
By Scary Barry Rodriguez December 15,2011
This book should really be titled " Where I Never Want To Work ". After the original founder Bill Rasmussen and his relatives were pushed out of the picture it was land of the big egos ! If a person isn't interested in the business of ESPN then they should pass on the book. Its a compilation of insider's views on a Sport's network at different times during its evolution from a fledgling endeavor to a voracious entity after Sports entertainment domination.
Who but an industry insider is going to recognize names such as Steve Bornstein, George Bodenheimer or Allan B. Scotty Connal ? The answer is nobody else ! What I derived from this read is that networks that report on sports don't want personalities to overshadow the content of the programming. When I watch all these shows whether on ESPN, the NFL Network, Fox Sports or now Comcast it is obvious that the programming is designed to minimize the talent not showcase it.
I was disappointed that the book didn't deeply delve into some of the big stories of the last decade , including Tiger Woods, the Barry Bond's steroid case or others. Instead we get some comments from various people about the brief ESPN flirtation with Rush Limbaugh. The self proclaimed genius Mark Shapiro was responsible for that blunder ! What was he smoking when he added Rush to the Football television booth ? Why am I not surprised that the same backdoor business assassinations occur at ESPN as any other big corporate concern ! My attention was held by the back story about Hannah Storm's short skirt ! Not really !
There is some credence to the concept that persons from print media or those broadcasters accustomed to long winded editorial comment not being suited for game play by play positions. To the Scary one all the Sport's networks are employment agencies for ex jocks with zero charisma including ESPN. This is especially true of NFL football. Just how many times can analysts dissect specific games ! Its totally boring. Reading about NASCAR is as boring as watching the coverage !
ESPN gets credit for have the long view on the what was to be the future of Sport's media coverage. Some of the moves were calculated and as documented in the book , some of the moves were just lucky timing. There is so much more to what it takes to put out all the programming yet maintain such good quality. ESPN has succeeded in this greatly ! Yet because of their contractual ties with the NFL,MLB and NBA , we cannot rely on them to faithfully cover some issues that strike a nerve with their clients. The best example cited in the book is the short lived fictional football series " Playmakers ". This was a high quality program about a fictional professional football team that hit too close to the bone for the NFL !
So the answer is for the fans is for Sports networks to provide entertaining programming. ESPN has tried mightily to do just that. The results are mixed ! This book left me with the impression that the business of Sports is just too serious and this is reflected in what is seen on the tube, heard on the radio and reported on the internet. For my taste ESPN has the technology but is too uptight. That is why my reaction to the book is " Where I Never Want To Work ". I have passion for sports but not to the extent that I am willing to sacrifice my sanity ! Save your money fans ! This book isn't entertaining enough !
Courtesy of Scary Merlin Productions. BarryRodriguez (c) 2011. All Rights Reserved.
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