My event is the Bulls vs. Celtics game on February 16, 2012. Since the event is not for a week there is not a lot of preview information yet, but as the game approaches there are a few spots I will be looking for information:
http://espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=320216004
http://espn.go.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/chi/chicago-bulls
http://espn.go.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/bos/boston-celtics
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls
By Jeff Dickerson courtesy of the ESPN Chicago Bears Blog
1. The upcoming NFL Draft: The Bears’ failure to draft enough impact players, especially in the years following the 2006 Super Bowl berth, ultimately proved to be Jerry Angelo’s undoing. Currently holding four picks in the first three rounds, it’s critical for the Bears to hit on at least two impact players who can step in, stay healthy and potentially start. There are to be no more redshirt seasons. The Bears can no longer afford to draft the likes of Jarron Gilbert, Juaquin Iglesias, Dan Bazuin, Marcus Harrison and Michael Okwo in the earlier rounds. Emery was hired, partly, because of his extensive college scouting background. The quickest way to get a franchise back on the track is to draft well. The quickest way to destroy a franchise is to draft poorly. More than anything, Emery’s tenure as Bears general manager will be defined by his draft record in the month of April.
Even though there are four other issues Emery will have to deal with upon starting his new position with the Bears, I believe that this is the most important issue at hand. The Bears are in desperate need of good draft picks with an ailing offense and aging defense. It will not be until the draft that we see if this was the right pick or not.
For the rest of the article:
1. http://espn.go.com/chicago/
2. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bears
3. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/blackhawks
4. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls
5. http://sportsfixchicago.com/
6. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs
7. http://www.tremendousupsidepotential.com/
This week I followed the Chicago Bears Blog. The Chicago Bears Blog is a blog that is a branch off of ESPN, and is written by two contributors: Jeff Dickerson and Michael C. Wright. When comparing the blog to the reading assignment “Blog uses for mass media” I found that there were many aspects of the blog that followed what the reading had said.
1. Post items that don’t fit in regular news newspaper. The Chicago Bears blog does an excellent job of posting items that would not be covered in a regular article on ESPN. They discuss more topics and go more in depth with their discussion of topics. For example the blog has been constantly covering the Chicago Bears’ search for a new General Manager.
2. Post items you don’t have room for in a regular newspaper. As previously stated the blog does a great job of getting better coverage on events that typically would not be covered as much by ESPN. There are a lot of people that care about the events that are going on with the team who want to be kept up to date. This blog is a great way to get information out to the public.
3. Post item before a newspaper comes out or even incremental updates. This can be seen especially in the Bears’ search for a new GM. There are not daily articles listed on ESPN about who is being interviewed and what the addition of the individual person would mean for the team. The blog does a great job of keeping people in the know about who is specifically being interviewed and what their employment could mean for the Bears’ future.
4. Become more transparent. The blog enables personal contact because it allows viewers to comment on posts that are made. This enables the blogger to get direct feedback on his post. The blog also gives viewers the opportunity to retweet the post on Twitter or recommend it on Facebook. By allowing there to be more direct contact between the blogger and the reader it enables more personal and immediate contact.
5. Informality. Even though the blog is not written in an entirely conversational format there is still an abundant amount of informality to it. The posts are written in a similar format to a news story but it is appropriate given that it is a blog branched off of ESPN. Posts do not completely parallel a news story because a lot of them do not contain leads or follow the inverted pyramid format.
6. Offering their thoughts/opinions. The blog has certain posts called Four Downs where they will get four various sports reporter’s views on four topics at hand based on a statement that is made. For example one of the downs was Fact of Fiction: Forte should skip the Pro Bowl. From there each of the four reporters answered “fact” or “fiction” and then gave his or her opinion.
7. Many reporters/editors mentioned getting story leads/sources from comments on the blogs or through private communication initiated via the blog. This is the one aspect of the blog that does not apply to this statement. Given the material the blog covers and the sources of information that are acceptable the bloggers cannot rely on information given to them through simple users. There would be a lot at stake for publishing false information because they are writing on behalf of ESPN.
8. The story doesn’t end. The blog is always following up on previous stories. This week alone they had followed up on the Bears’ search for a GM, the futures of current offensive coordinator Mike Tice and special teams coordinator Dave Toub, and the pending trial of Sam Hurd.
