The Stinkin’ Media!
Usually that’s said when it’s suggested the media is too critical. But when covering ETSU, the media isn’t critical enough.
“What do we want from our media?”
Former Tennessee head football coach Butch Jones asked this at a press conference early in the 2017 season when asked about the criticism he was receiving.
Jones’ line was outrageous. He was the coach, not an editor. The moment an entity controls the media that covers them journalism is replaced by propaganda.
And while it isn’t uncommon for a public figure to try to control how media covers them, it’s the responsibility of the media to not allow them to do so.
Historically the media covering ETSU has been compliant, and that is likely a reason for the Buccaneers’ demise.
There are no newspaper columnists writing about ETSU sports. Now that I’m not on the air there’s little discussion of the Bucs on local sports talk radio and none of it critical.
Sure, there’s social media, but it tends to be fanboy and simply doesn’t have the scope of…
