Media Savvy
No Cheering In The Press Box
By Stan Savran

Sometimes, I'm not sure if I'm a breath mint, or a candy mint. Sometimes, I have trouble deciding whether I should taste great or be less filling. All the time, I'm convinced that the reader/viewer/listener doesn't understand exactly what it is I'm trying to do, and/or what I should be doing.

There's a misconception on the part of the sporting public as to exactly what role a sports journalist should fill. And given that the roles are multi-faceted and often overlap, perhaps that's what leads to at least some of the confusion.

Recent criticism by callers and

e-mailers to my radio show have complained that the media, left to its own devices and preferences, will generally take a negative view. That the media's glass is not even half-empty, but bone dry, with not a drop of optimism to be squeezed from any rock. Many further suggested/requested that, especially when it came to the Pirates, that we (the media) speak positively about them whenever possible, if not always.

That is not our job.

Clearly, there are some media members who have difficulty making a distinction between criticizing and ridiculing. The Pirates, to use them as a continuing example, have lent themselves to being criticized based on their voluminous shortcomings over an extended period of time.However, you draw the line there. Some colleagues have kicked the organization when it was down just because they could, and because there would be limited repercussions because they weren't in a position to hit back. Skewering a team that loses is acceptable, because it's grounded on the fact that it is losing. Continually driving a stake through the team's heart because it's easy to do is overkill. It's not an accepted practice.

But neither is combing a haystack of bad news just to find a shiny needle. Putting a positive spin on insignificance, or at least holding the howling mob temporarily at bay to sell tickets isn't our job. I'd love to see the Pirates succeed - but that's on them, not me.That's not to say a journalist should ignore a positive in a sea of negativity. It isn't root, root, rooting for the home team to point out that Jack Wilson is having a great season, or that Oliver Perez and Jose Castillo may provide some future relief from the dismal present and past. But the reverse can never be the case either, where the dismal is obscured by a cheery countenance for the sake of painting the local team in a positive light. It's not our responsibility to spin or polish their road apples. Leave that to political operatives. We're expected to provide facts, or opinions based on the facts. Then, as the audience, it becomes your job to separate the two and interpret what we've said or written.

One thing that really fries me is media types who tell fans that they should or shouldn't go to games. Generally, I don't pay for my tickets, so who am I to tell you how to spend your money? And truth be told, I don't believe I'm capable of selling tickets. Short of not mentioning it, if a team is 10-0, how much more can the media embellish that record?Conversely, what can possibly be said or written to soften the reality if the record is 0-10? What can a team expect of me to help them out? What can a fan expect of me in either of these extreme cases? All they should expect is the reporting of the facts that led to either record, and my interpretation as to what factors contributed to it. The sports teams should accept that, for that is the parameter of the media's responsibility. Report the facts accurately, and be fair in our analysis of those facts. After that, they live, die, and draw based on merit.Theirs, not mine.

Stan Savran hosts a sports talk show 3-6 pm weekdays on WBGG Fox Sports Radio 970. Read his column exclusively in the Pittsburgh Sports Report.