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Talking Sports Media and CFB with Teddy

August 28, 2008 By paulmbanks 2 Comments

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Paul M. Banks interviews Chicago Tribune college football and sports media expert Teddy Greenstein 

Teddy Greenstein is a college football reporter for the Chicago Tribune and a regular panelist on Comcast Sports Net’s “Chicago Tribune Live.” The Medill graduate used to be the Trib’s sports media columnist for half of the year. Note this excerpt from his final media column:
 
“This time of year, I usually hand the sports-media baton to Ed Sherman. Unfortunately, “the Shermanator” opted to take the Tribune’s buyout and is leaving the paper, along with esteemed colleagues Skip Myslenski, Mark Shapiro, Alan Sutton and Barry Temkin.

Ed is teaming with WMVP-AM 1000’s Dan McNeil on a book that lists the best and worst of Chicago sports.

My vote for best: Wrigley Field. Worst: the Wrigley Field trough.”

In this interview, we discuss college football, the past, present, and future of the sports media industry and much more.

TSB: Tell us more about your column and the annual shift in duties from sports media to college football….

TG: Well, this year I’m handing off to no one, kind of like our Olympic relay teams. Ed Sherman took a voluntary buyout, and I’ve left sports media in favor of golf and some hoops. But the Trib plans to keep the sports media column alive and our editors are weighing who’s the right person to take it over.
 

TSB: Any memorable stories from the interviews that you’ve done? Or favorite/least favorite interview subjects?
 
TG: Oh, yes. I could go sport-by-sport on that one. My favorite college football guys have been Troy Smith and Braylon Edwards. Many of the coaches either spew cliches or are guarded, like Lloyd Carr. Charlie Weis embraces the whole tough-guy aura, but many of his answers are actually in-depth and informative.
 
All the media guys I’ve interviewed are great because they’re promoting something — and they talk for a living. A couple of recent ones: A gumbo-and-po’ boy lunch with James Carville during which he laid out his plan for a college football playoff. And an interview with Bob Costas that lasted just five questions. He could not have been nicer, but his answers were long and his handlers whisked him away after 15 minutes.
 

TSB: I’ve noticed the exact same thing. Media personalities are MUCH more interesting. What trends do you see emerging in the sports media world? Print, internet etc. in what mediums are we going to see more/less coverage and how will that change it?

TG: One of our top editors recently described the Tribune as a “24/7 online business that also publishes in print once a day.” The focus obviously will go online. What’s weird about the demise of newspapers is that people have never been hungrier for news. If only we didn’t give away our online content for free.
 

TSB: It’s true, I’m certainly hungrier for information. I’ve heard you say some less than flattering things about Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and Patriots coach Bill Belichick in other interviews…are they really that bad?

TG: Yeah, Belichick is the world’s biggest grump. He’s also the worst thing to happen to sportswriters since Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. He gives terrible answers and keeps his assistants off limits to the media. Weis learned from him and has adopted similar strategies for keeping the media away from his team. He has created a culture where players are worried about speaking out and showing too much of their personality.
 

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TSB: They certainly are polarizing. If ND keeps losing, could they lose their status as Chicago’s “Home College Football Team?” What would it take for Illinois or Northwestern to take that position away from them?

TG: I doubt it. Notre Dame is Notre Dame. No program is anywhere close in terms of the love-’em/hate-’em factor. But if the Irish play like they did last year, their TV ratings will plummet again. In terms of local interest, Illinois kicked Notre Dame off the front page toward the end of last season after its upset of Ohio State.
 
 
TSB: Yep. What a sweet moment that was! What’s your season forecast for ILL and NU?
 
TG: I’m looking for Illinois to go 8-4, 5-3 in the league and NU to go 8-4, 4-4 in the league. The Cats have an easy non-conference slate and should score a ton of points. Illinois receiver Rejus Benn could be the league’s best player by his junior season in 2009.
 

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TSB: I agree with both predictions exactly. Back to some media questions, there seems to be a big internet backlash against one of your former classmates at Medill, ESPN’s Rachel Nichols. Internet commenters criticize her for being Diane Sawyer’s daughter-in-law, never blinking on camera and everything else under the sun…is her criticism vastly unwarranted? What makes her so polarizing?
TG: Well, I’m completely biased on this one because Rachel and I are good friends. I don’t think she’s polarizing, unless there’s a group out there that doesn’t like TV reporters who deliver the goods.
 

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TSB: Moving on to her employer, everyone knows that ESPN is the 400 LB Gorilla in the room, but do they have some legitimate competition in any of their enterprises? Sure, they have better access than everyone else does now, but could we see a day when that changes?

TG: Not really. We just received our Football Writers Association of America directory, and ESPN.com/ESPN the Mag have a combined 13 writers and reporters. And ESPN hires terrific people, like Gene Wojciechowski, Bruce Feldman, Ivan Maisel and Adam Rittenberg. Now they all owe me a beer.
 

TSB: Indeed they do. Finally, does Mark Cuban have a chance of buying the Tribune co.? (The Cubs?)

TG: Whoever pays the most should get the team. This is America. And our company needs the money.
 
TSB: The very definition of a “free market”

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Filed Under: College Football

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. paulmbanks says

    August 28, 2008 at 11:46 AM

    Dave, I’m sure there is a lot you’ll love and hate in this one!

  2. Jason Moe says

    August 28, 2008 at 3:13 PM

    Dave, Please tell me how you feel about Rachel??

    Diddy Out..

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