ESPN and Politics

[AU64 10,122]

In case there was ever any doubt, saw this piece today which confirms what many of us suspected....not just a coincidence that those ESPN talking heads always seem to find a way to weave race or politics into their sports discussions.....turns out it's policy.  

http://www.espn.com/blog/ombudsman/post/_/id/816/new-espn-guidelines-recognize-connection-between-sports-politics

Love the use of the word "recognize"....which I guess is used to justify this policy. 

Anyone on ESPN with half a brain (which includes a good percent of them) knows to toe the party line ....and they pretty much know what that line is.  Likely, failure to follow this guideline could result in some kind of reprisal from the "suits" who run the place but even more likely, hiring policies can pretty much assure over the long term that "like minded" people are hired for on-screen positions.

[TitanTiger 20,510]

I think this has exacerbated their fall in ratings and subscribers.  Maybe there is the VERY occasional, rare moment where politics and sports intersect in a manner that it cannot be ignored and not covered.  But generally speaking, we are bombarded with political crap every day.  It's all over the news, you can't watch the Grammys, Emmys or Oscars without hearing it.  It's a frequent topic on late night TV.  Everyone has that jackass at work or church that manages to steer every topic back to some thing political.  Sports for most people is an escape from all that.  We just want to see a game and enjoy a simple pleasure.  When it becomes a constant topic on your sportscasts, I think people just wearily tune it out and do something else eventually.

[icanthearyou 4,463]

5 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

I think this has exacerbated their fall in ratings and subscribers.  Maybe there is the VERY occasional, rare moment where politics and sports intersect in a manner that it cannot be ignored and not covered.  But generally speaking, we are bombarded with political crap every day.  It's all over the news, you can't watch the Grammys, Emmys or Oscars without hearing it.  It's a frequent topic on late night TV.  Everyone has that jackass at work or church that manages to steer every topic back to some thing political.  Sports for most people is an escape from all that.  We just want to see a game and enjoy a simple pleasure.  When it becomes a constant topic on your sportscasts, I think people just wearily tune it out and do something else eventually.

I'm not sure bombarded is the correct word.  Looking at cable news ratings, we appear to be seeking it out.  

It's not information, it's entertainment.  The story lines, the narratives, the "passionate" viewers,,,,it's almost like professional wrestling.

[TitanTiger 20,510]

1 minute ago, icanthearyou said:

I'm not sure bombarded is the correct word.  Looking at cable news ratings, we appear to be seeking it out.  

It's not information, it's entertainment.  The story lines, the narratives, the "passionate" viewers,,,,it's almost like professional wrestling.

Some are seeking it out.  But it's nearly unavoidable at times.  I rarely watch any of the cable news channels, but even I find it wearying.  

I'm definitely not seeking it out when I decide to tune into a football, baseball or basketball game.

[icanthearyou 4,463]

2 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Some are seeking it out.  But it's nearly unavoidable at times.  I rarely watch any of the cable news channels, but even I find it wearying.  

I'm definitely not seeking it out when I decide to tune into a football, baseball or basketball game.

I was in no way referring to you specifically/personally.

 

[TitanTiger 20,510]

Just now, icanthearyou said:

I was in no way referring to you specifically/personally.

 

I understand.  But I don't think I'm alone.  And even for those who do watch some cable news to get up to speed on political matters, even they want a break from it.  Sports ought to be a place where they can happen.

[icanthearyou 4,463]

8 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

I understand.  But I don't think I'm alone.  And even for those who do watch some cable news to get up to speed on political matters, even they want a break from it.  Sports ought to be a place where they can happen.

Perhaps politics is becoming our favorite "sport".  

[Strychnine 1,803]

15 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Some are seeking it out.  But it's nearly unavoidable at times.  I rarely watch any of the cable news channels, but even I find it wearying.  

I'm definitely not seeking it out when I decide to tune into a football, baseball or basketball game.

 

I cannot say as I have noticed it in sports coverage, but I could have just as easily been tuning it out or overlooking it.  What I would like is a channel where I could get actual news in a clear and simple format, free of bias, opinion, or editing to support the aforementioned bias or opinion.  If ESPN can give me that AND sports coverage, I would gladly watch more.  No, I do not expect that to ever be the case.

[Strychnine 1,803]

5 minutes ago, icanthearyou said:

Perhaps politics is becoming our favorite "sport".  

 

It has definitely become as polarizing and bitter as sports fandom can be.  I have witnessed friendships get destroyed over conservative vs liberal or Republican vs Democrat arguments on Facebook.

[icanthearyou 4,463]

1 minute ago, Strychnine said:

 

It has definitely become as polarizing and bitter as sports fandom can be.  I have witnessed friendships get destroyed over conservative vs liberal or Republican vs Democrat arguments on Facebook.

I am amazed by how educated adults can be brainwashed into believing in ideological "perfection".  The division is troubling.  Is it contrived?

 

[AuburnNTexas 7,171]

30 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

I understand.  But I don't think I'm alone.  And even for those who do watch some cable news to get up to speed on political matters, even they want a break from it.  Sports ought to be a place where they can happen.

I agree I go to the cable channels and regular stations where I listen to each channels editorial be it Fox, MSNBC, CNN, PBS, BBC, ABC etc. I said editorial because most have gotten away from just reporting the news. I listen on all of them so that I get some balance. When I go to a sporting event it is a form of escape for me. I want a sports network to play sports not be a political discussion. I wish the award ceremonies would also realize they are award ceremonies and keep politics out of them. Since the Grammy's and Oscars have become so political as have almost all of the award ceremonies I no longer watch them.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

39 minutes ago, Strychnine said:

 

It has definitely become as polarizing and bitter as sports fandom can be.  I have witnessed friendships get destroyed over conservative vs liberal or Republican vs Democrat arguments on Facebook.

I think this very forum has become very polarized. Do you?

[AUloggerhead 2,253]

1 hour ago, TitanTiger said:

I think this has exacerbated their fall in ratings and subscribers.  Maybe there is the VERY occasional, rare moment where politics and sports intersect in a manner that it cannot be ignored and not covered.  But generally speaking, we are bombarded with political crap every day.  It's all over the news, you can't watch the Grammys, Emmys or Oscars without hearing it.  It's a frequent topic on late night TV.  Everyone has that jackass at work or church that manages to steer every topic back to some thing political.  Sports for most people is an escape from all that.  We just want to see a game and enjoy a simple pleasure.  When it becomes a constant topic on your sportscasts, I think people just wearily tune it out and do something else eventually.

That's the only reason I watch anything on ESPN.  Discussion-type shows, pre-game and post-game shows bore me to tears and I most definitely can think of better things to do.  

[icanthearyou 4,463]

11 minutes ago, Proud Tiger said:

I think this very forum has become very polarized. Do you?

The question is not if,,,the question is why.

[AU64 10,122]

1 hour ago, TitanTiger said:

I understand.  But I don't think I'm alone.  And even for those who do watch some cable news to get up to speed on political matters, even they want a break from it.  Sports ought to be a place where they can happen.

That's the point IMO....when I go to a political site I know what I'm getting and after about 15 minutes of it I can turn it off.  BUT when I go to a sports site to watch a ball game of some type, I prefer not to have the discussion deflected to some PC social issue.    For years it was possible to call ball games or all types without interjecting social opinion into the discussion.  Seems that NBC and CBS were the leaders with policy to brainwash their sports listeners about social issues....and ESPN has jumped in full force in the past few years.  

Best feature of my remote control is the mute button....found I can watch most sports without having someone explain what I am seeing....and if something controversial comes up like a "targeting penalty"....I can at least check to see what the discussion is about.  Hoping ESPN pays the price for forcing their opinions on viewers,....most of whom did not turn to that channel to hear the opinions of ESPN suits living in NY or where ever.

Rant over.....

[Strychnine 1,803]

1 minute ago, icanthearyou said:

I am amazed by how educated adults can be brainwashed into believing in ideological "perfection".  The division is troubling.  Is it contrived?

 

 

I think it is the end result of the marriage between politics and media, but only contrived to the extent that it is manipulated.  Americans are increasingly conditioned to accept and treat partial or even incorrect information as if it were infallible truth, simply because it came from their preferred news source(s).  Reality is that many of our news sources are more concerned with satisfying their target demographic than they are facts, and their coverage reflects this.  Most modern news outlets begin with the premise of telling you what to think, and then strategic reporting to reinforce it.  Objective reporting is all but dead or buried underneath the avalanche of biased reporting and confirmation bias to an extent that the average American rarely comes into contact with it.  One has to make extra effort to seek it out, and then engage critical thinking to be able to make any use of it.  Most people lack the time or interest in doing so.

As a result of that, American political discourse has largely been reduced to Republicans right, Democrats wrong or conservatives right, liberals wrong, and vice versa.  Media caters to, reinforces, and manipulates it, as do politicians.  This country could have never come into being in an environment such as it exists now.

[MDM4AU 336]

Here is a piece on Out Kick The Coverage on this topic:

http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/msespn-doubles-down-on-left-wing-politics-bounces-sage-steele-040517

The truth of the matter is this: the sports media doesn't need more people who look differently and think the same. When only 4% of the sports media voted for Donald Trump according to a recent poll in The Big Lead, it desperately needs more diversity of thought, not less.

 

[homersapien 11,431]

1 hour ago, MDM4AU said:

Here is a piece on Out Kick The Coverage on this topic:

http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/msespn-doubles-down-on-left-wing-politics-bounces-sage-steele-040517

Voting for Trump is hardly a reflection of "thought" at all. 

Adding the mindless to your ranks is not really increasing diversity of thought.

 

 

[MDM4AU 336]

55 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Voting for Trump is hardly a reflection of "thought" at all. 

Adding the mindless to your ranks is not really increasing diversity of thought.

 

 

Clearly you missed the point or you have liberal derangement syndrome or both. This wasn't about adding Trump voters. Did you read the article or just look at the pictures?

[Auburnfan91 1,407]

3 hours ago, MDM4AU said:

Here is a piece on Out Kick The Coverage on this topic:

http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/msespn-doubles-down-on-left-wing-politics-bounces-sage-steele-040517

Good article. It not only shows ESPN's bias but also the bias of Twitter.

[homersapien 11,431]

1 hour ago, Auburnfan91 said:

Good article. It not only shows ESPN's bias but also the bias of Twitter.

"Bias of Twitter"?    

Is that sarcasm?

[homersapien 11,431]

2 hours ago, MDM4AU said:

Clearly you missed the point or you have liberal derangement syndrome or both. This wasn't about adding Trump voters. Did you read the article or just look at the pictures?

I was responding to this (in the same post):

    Quote

The truth of the matter is this: the sports media doesn't need more people who look differently and think the same. When only 4% of the sports media voted for Donald Trump according to a recent poll in The Big Lead, it desperately needs more diversity of thought, not less.

 

 

[AU64 10,122]

9 hours ago, Strychnine said:

 

I think it is the end result of the marriage between politics and media, but only contrived to the extent that it is manipulated.  Americans are increasingly conditioned to accept and treat partial or even incorrect information as if it were infallible truth, simply because it came from their preferred news source(s).  Reality is that many of our news sources are more concerned with satisfying their target demographic than they are facts, and their coverage reflects this.  Most modern news outlets begin with the premise of telling you what to think, and then strategic reporting to reinforce it.  Objective reporting is all but dead or buried underneath the avalanche of biased reporting and confirmation bias to an extent that the average American rarely comes into contact with it.  One has to make extra effort to seek it out, and then engage critical thinking to be able to make any use of it.  Most people lack the time or interest in doing so.

As a result of that, American political discourse has largely been reduced to Republicans right, Democrats wrong or conservatives right, liberals wrong, and vice versa.  Media caters to, reinforces, and manipulates it, as do politicians.  This country could have never come into being in an environment such as it exists now.

I don't think that is true.    In fact it came intro being in a much more divisive environment where people were killing each other.   The American revolution was won by a minority of people living in the British colonies.   If I recall, about 1/3 were in favor of independence, 1/3 were loyalists and the remaining 1/3rd did not take sides in a great way.   The division was strong enough that in a good part of the south...particularly the Carolinas, the War for Independence was as much a civil war as a war against Britain.  It was a brutal war of brother against brother....not much unlike what happened 90 years later.  

[homersapien 11,431]

2 minutes ago, AU64 said:

I don't think that is true.    In fact it came intro being in a much more divisive environment where people were killing each other.   The American revolution was won by a minority of people living in the British colonies.   If I recall, about 1/3 were in favor of independence, 1/3 were loyalists and the remaining 1/3rd did not take sides in a great way.   The division was strong enough that in a good part of the south...particularly the Carolinas, the War for Independence was as much a civil war as a war against Britain.  It was a brutal war of brother against brother....not much unlike what happened 90 years later.  

Tru dat.

[MDM4AU 336]

15 minutes ago, homersapien said:

I was responding to this (in the same post):

    Quote

The truth of the matter is this: the sports media doesn't need more people who look differently and think the same. When only 4% of the sports media voted for Donald Trump according to a recent poll in The Big Lead, it desperately needs more diversity of thought, not less.

 

 

If we're being honest, it could have been ANY Republican and the number would be very small. This is no secret. So his point rings true. A huge section of their audience has a different political view than they (sports media). Continuing the push to the left (or to interject politics at all) is a ridiculous idea.