Denies media credentials for Rob Howe & Pat Harty.
http://coachingsearch.com/article?a...s-to-veteran-reporters-in-surprising-decision
http://coachingsearch.com/article?a...s-to-veteran-reporters-in-surprising-decision
Iowa PR doing its thing
- Thread starter HawkandTackle
- Start date
Iowa is being childish and petty but to be honest it's doesn't surprise me at all. I can't be the only one who is growing very tired of all the marketing and PR bullshit. I can't help it but I'm about as disgusted with this university as I can get. Bitter losers (the administration not the student athletes)
I understand they have to draw a line for all of the start up blog sites and such but they have a combined 42 years covering Hawkeye sports. You would think they could find a spot in the box or on the sidelines for them.
Whats next, they going to kick Bob Brooks out too?
Whats next, they going to kick Bob Brooks out too?
Are you aware of some vindictive reason Iowa would have for this denial? Did Hardy/Howe do something to annoy Iowa?
I don't have a problem with it. They are a couple of hacks trying to start a business that profits off the back of the UofI athletics. It's not Iowa's obligation to help them out and I don't see any benefit in doing so. Plenty of Hawkeye news can be found elsewhere already.
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There is a lot of faux outrage about this.
I don't get the big deal. yeah the covered Iowa sports but they did so as either part of Scout or the Press Citizen. So if a newspaper guy loses his job they are just supposed to give him credentials just because he has covered them in the past? A couple of unemployed guys start a blog and they are supposed to get credentials?? Howe and Harty are making a big deal out of it on purpose to try and get Iowa to give them press credentials.
I don't get the big deal. yeah the covered Iowa sports but they did so as either part of Scout or the Press Citizen. So if a newspaper guy loses his job they are just supposed to give him credentials just because he has covered them in the past? A couple of unemployed guys start a blog and they are supposed to get credentials?? Howe and Harty are making a big deal out of it on purpose to try and get Iowa to give them press credentials.
Harty and Howe likely fell victim to the continuing decline of newspaper outlets nationwide. So they get laid off, what do you expect them to do? Why not try a start-up covering the school they already have for the past 40 years combined? Have you noticed the coverage the DSM Register has these days? Its pretty awful. I honestly had no idea Howe and Harty started their own website, but after quickly glancing their website for the first time just now, it appears they have as much coverage on the Hawks as the Register and if recent Rag articles are an indication, I bet Howe and Harty offer superior coverage and writing skills. Heck, the DSM Rag had a story about Dale Jones a month or so ago. The headline and article suggested he was an incoming freshman, but at the same time referenced his time in juco in the article...poor journalism and editing at its finest but what we've grown accustomed to the past couple years, but most especially after the Rag and Citizen combined their efforts and laid off experienced journalists.
The University has the ability to make exceptions if they wanted, and it seems to me these two should be allowed/encouraged to cover the University of Iowa sports teams. I have no idea if perhaps the denial stems from critical articles of late, but either way I think folks that are upset are justified.
Yeah, they stopped polishing the turd and the PR department doesn't like hearing the truth one bit
Why is this Iowa's responsibility? What do they gain from it? They aren't preventing these two guys from running their website, they just aren't doing anything to help them out.
Howe's content tends to be garbage ... and Harty's isn't a huge step up from Howe's content. I don't care how experienced the guys are ... if they're not linked to recognized media outlets, I don't blame the choice.
In the rush to point fingers, why wouldn't Howe and Harty be recognized as the babies?
In the rush to point fingers, why wouldn't Howe and Harty be recognized as the babies?
Probably wouldn't be as big of deal but having all the teams play on the road grant them passes and not Iowa seems kind of petty. It's like the mods of BWI and husker board are now in charge of handing out press passes for Iowa games.
They have a good Iowa podcast and had the entire open practice broken down to 15 minutes. They do a very good job. And they are no more negative just a bit below the level of the OnIowa podcast.
they wouldn't have got fired if they didn't suck. somehow, cash strapped papers find a way to keep paying people with actual talent and work ethic.
What a terrible decision. The Iowa PR machine at it's best.
Let's see ... The two reporters want to write about the Iowa football team. The Iowa team should want somebody to write about them. Seems fairly symbiotic.
And then Iowa doubles down on dumb by coming up with an obvious b.s. cover story - because certainly the "private" part of the excuse is inconsistent with granting others private entities access.
But what do you expect from an athletic department that asked fans to wear red to a TV game against Wisconsin, that went out of its way to not post video or photos of the construction of the new practice facility, and that grants the media a grand total of 1 hour of access to practice all year?
It appears our athletic department doesn't want to do anything to try to excite a fan base that is slipping away (see ticket sales) and fails to understand that people have options for their entertainment dollar.
SMH
Let's see ... The two reporters want to write about the Iowa football team. The Iowa team should want somebody to write about them. Seems fairly symbiotic.
And then Iowa doubles down on dumb by coming up with an obvious b.s. cover story - because certainly the "private" part of the excuse is inconsistent with granting others private entities access.
But what do you expect from an athletic department that asked fans to wear red to a TV game against Wisconsin, that went out of its way to not post video or photos of the construction of the new practice facility, and that grants the media a grand total of 1 hour of access to practice all year?
It appears our athletic department doesn't want to do anything to try to excite a fan base that is slipping away (see ticket sales) and fails to understand that people have options for their entertainment dollar.
SMH
There are some things I agree with, but do many of these "folks" even know what they're upset about...or why?
That's faux outrage.
It's chicken sh*t for Howe and Harty to go to Twitter complaining. Geez, pick up the phone and call a Hawkeye PR contact that you surely must have a relationship with after 40 years of Hawkeyes coverage.
I wouldn't be surprised if its Harty's ongoing twitter commentary that put them in the penalty box. He's drifts from satirist, to fan, to brown noser, to antogonist - I wouldn't give them tickets either. As independent bloggers, they should have to pay for tickets like the rest of us.
Harty reports 300 subscribers. At $40/annual that's $12,000. How much longer can that business model support two independent bloggers?
I wouldn't be surprised if its Harty's ongoing twitter commentary that put them in the penalty box. He's drifts from satirist, to fan, to brown noser, to antogonist - I wouldn't give them tickets either. As independent bloggers, they should have to pay for tickets like the rest of us.
Harty reports 300 subscribers. At $40/annual that's $12,000. How much longer can that business model support two independent bloggers?
List all of the instances just of the past 5 years that show:
-that Barta doesn't know what he's doing
-that Barta does know what he's doing
We'll break it down afterwards. Good luck.
But, but, but.... it's Pat Harty!! And Rob Howe! They are clearly more deserving than other bloggers.
I"m certainly not upset, so I would be speculating on why others would be. Perhaps because it puts the University in a bad light. It looks pretty foolish and perhaps spiteful to deny credentials to reporters that have covered the Hawk beat for 40 years combined, whether they work for the Gazette, Register or a privately owned Hawkeye blog/website. Second, I think most people, and again I'm speculating, have their favorite sports writers, and perhaps over the years, some folks have come to enjoy the content provided by two guys that have covered the Hawks for so long. I honestly didn't know Harty and Howe had their own website, and I don't particularly have a strong opinion about them good or bad, especially Howe, I just think the University should have granted access/passes initially and this wouldn't have even been a story.
Fans were never asked to wear red for a Wisconsin game.
But, but, but.... it's Pat Harty!! And Rob Howe! They are clearly more deserving than other bloggers.
I'm not the biggest fan of their reporting but 40+ years on the University of Iowa sports beat has to count for something -even if it is now via a private blog.
This is basically how I feel.
Now, they've got their credentials and can go on doing what they do. Theirs is a blog, like many others, many others who have been denied credentials. What makes them better? Experience? Some paid subscribers? But I quoted this post for a reason: They didn't have anyone to call based on their long experience? Had they burnt that many bridges?
You would not have second thoughts about giving credentials to two guys who had recently got fired from sports writing jobs?
Crap! I was looking forward to not having to read stupid crap from those two. Darn you University of Iowa ....
I was unaware that a large number have been denied credentials. How many exactly? I need to know what your definition of "many "is.
No they go cheap. Get rid of the higher paid longer tenure employees. Anybody can be replaced.
