When I heard our next beat assignment for #loweclass was to blog about our website's coverage of NFL opening weekend, I groaned--loudly. Of all the things that interest me, football doesn't even make it onto the list. And despite having lived in two sports-obsessed cities, Chicago and Milwaukee, I know very little about sports journalism. With this in mind, observing The Miami Herald's coverage of the Dolphins this weekend was as easy for me as understanding a game of cricket.
Even though I felt a little out of my league with this assignment, it was still interesting to see how The Miami Herald chose to report on their city's football team. First, I did a little research and learned that although the Dolphins are relatively new to the NFL, they've won two Super Bowls and completed the only perfect season in NFL history. That sounded like a legacy worthy of some pride.
So I was surprised when, on Saturday, the sports page's top story wasn't about the Dolphins' upcoming game against Houston on Sunday; instead, the headline lamented the Miami Hurricanes' defeat against Kansas State. The Dolphins were relegated to the headline below that, a rather opinionated article about the Dolphins' need for "pass-rushers." This gave me the impression that Miamians might be more interested in college football than they are in their NFL team. Again, I don't know much about sports journalism, but the day before a big game I would want to read articles about team dynamics, game strategy and how players match up against their rivals.
On Sunday, the Dolphins' game against the Houston Texans was front and center on both the sports and home pages. There was a scorecard below the header, and the top story linked to a live blog of the game written by Armando Salguero. Such tools are helpful for casual and devoted fans alike, especially when some people might not be able to watch the game live; I think it's great that the Herald made them so accessible. However, I did notice a few commenters criticizing Salguero for his spelling and grammatical mistakes, most of which seem to have been fixed before I read the blog.
It looks like The Miami Herald might have a few things to work on in terms of professionalism on their reporters' blogs; I'll put the lack of NFL enthusiasm down to the Dolphins not appearing in a Super Bowl since 1985. But I am impressed by the site's user-friendly approach to reporting the highlights of live games and offering post-game reflections. Still, you won't catch me reading any football articles this season.
Even though I felt a little out of my league with this assignment, it was still interesting to see how The Miami Herald chose to report on their city's football team. First, I did a little research and learned that although the Dolphins are relatively new to the NFL, they've won two Super Bowls and completed the only perfect season in NFL history. That sounded like a legacy worthy of some pride.
So I was surprised when, on Saturday, the sports page's top story wasn't about the Dolphins' upcoming game against Houston on Sunday; instead, the headline lamented the Miami Hurricanes' defeat against Kansas State. The Dolphins were relegated to the headline below that, a rather opinionated article about the Dolphins' need for "pass-rushers." This gave me the impression that Miamians might be more interested in college football than they are in their NFL team. Again, I don't know much about sports journalism, but the day before a big game I would want to read articles about team dynamics, game strategy and how players match up against their rivals.
On Sunday, the Dolphins' game against the Houston Texans was front and center on both the sports and home pages. There was a scorecard below the header, and the top story linked to a live blog of the game written by Armando Salguero. Such tools are helpful for casual and devoted fans alike, especially when some people might not be able to watch the game live; I think it's great that the Herald made them so accessible. However, I did notice a few commenters criticizing Salguero for his spelling and grammatical mistakes, most of which seem to have been fixed before I read the blog.
It looks like The Miami Herald might have a few things to work on in terms of professionalism on their reporters' blogs; I'll put the lack of NFL enthusiasm down to the Dolphins not appearing in a Super Bowl since 1985. But I am impressed by the site's user-friendly approach to reporting the highlights of live games and offering post-game reflections. Still, you won't catch me reading any football articles this season.
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