Media Thread

[cw]

Outside of turning every second incident into an anti-fighting stance, Cox has generally been fairly objective and mostly non-annoying over the last year or two.

I agree.

I'd also say that Cox's ability to express himself is well above average. Ignoring the quality of his research or opinion, he's a good writer - better than most sports writers.

But I strongly suspect that the change in his tone came from a change in Leafs management and coaches he was dealing with and more importantly, a change in what he had to do to survive.

FAN590 cutting him loose had to sting. And a lot of folks had the sort of comments for him that the Simmons article linked above experienced. It couldn't continue because he was getting tuned out.

Leafs fans, like the fans of any team, are going to have some bias and hope for the best. A few might enjoy seeing the team endlessly bashed but the majority won't. It wears thin.

So to his credit, the tone of what he published improved for his survival. From that, he got his FAN590 gig back. But when I review his twitter feed, the core of the guy is basically unchanged.

 

[ZBBM]

Outside of turning every second incident into an anti-fighting stance, Cox has generally been fairly objective and mostly non-annoying over the last year or two.

I agree.

I'd also say that Cox's ability to express himself is well above average. Ignoring the quality of his research or opinion, he's a good writer - better than most sports writers.

But I strongly suspect that the change in his tone came from a change in Leafs management and coaches he was dealing with and more importantly, a change in what he had to do to survive.

FAN590 cutting him loose had to sting. And a lot of folks had the sort of comments for him that the Simmons article linked above experienced. It couldn't continue because he was getting tuned out.

Leafs fans, like the fans of any team, are going to have some bias and hope for the best. A few might enjoy seeing the team endlessly bashed but the majority won't. It wears thin.

So to his credit, the tone of what he published improved for his survival. From that, he got his FAN590 gig back. But when I review his twitter feed, the core of the guy is basically unchanged.

I agree completely.  Cox is a writer of considerable talent but his ego is even bigger and that is his Achilles' Heel.

 

[cw]

Here's the article by Simmons that triggered Burke cutting him off
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/01/burke-off-to-afghanistan
You can?t be both busy and absent when you?re another world apart. There isn?t regular cell phone coverage in Kandahar. The communication isn?t that easy.

Here's some of Burke's response to that:
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/07/04/burke-deeply-offended-by-columnist/
?The night before the trade deadline, I made sure we had Skype contact so that I could talk to any free agents we needed to talk to,? Burke said. ?My cell worked great on the base. We had a backup landline.?

Most of the UFAs do not reside in Toronto so it shouldn't matter where one calls from.

Obviously, Simmons presumed poor communications and never checked with the Leafs on them or Burke's schedule - that he wasn't posing for pics when free agency was going down - he was on the phone a bunch of the time.

Simmons got caught inaccurately filling in some blanks and Burke held him accountable.

 

[Zee]

Here's the article by Simmons that triggered Burke cutting him off
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/01/burke-off-to-afghanistan
You can?t be both busy and absent when you?re another world apart. There isn?t regular cell phone coverage in Kandahar. The communication isn?t that easy.

Here's some of Burke's response to that:
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/07/04/burke-deeply-offended-by-columnist/
?The night before the trade deadline, I made sure we had Skype contact so that I could talk to any free agents we needed to talk to,? Burke said. ?My cell worked great on the base. We had a backup landline.?

Most of the UFAs do not reside in Toronto so it shouldn't matter where one calls from.

Obviously, Simmons presumed poor communications and never checked with the Leafs on them or Burke's schedule - that he wasn't posing for pics when free agency was going down - he was on the phone a bunch of the time.

Simmons got caught inaccurately filling in some blanks and Burke held him accountable.

I forgot about that article, I now remember how ridiculous it was.  He even mentioned it on his Sunday morning show "The Reporters with Dave Hodge" and I can't recall other guys backing him up on it.  Oh Steve, stirring the pot and you got your hand burned..tsk tsk.

 

[Tigger]

That tricky Burke, wasn't he out of the country back on July1 '09 too? Wonder how he dealt with it then...

 

[Bender]

Here's the article by Simmons that triggered Burke cutting him off
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/01/burke-off-to-afghanistan
You can?t be both busy and absent when you?re another world apart. There isn?t regular cell phone coverage in Kandahar. The communication isn?t that easy.

Here's some of Burke's response to that:
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/07/04/burke-deeply-offended-by-columnist/
?The night before the trade deadline, I made sure we had Skype contact so that I could talk to any free agents we needed to talk to,? Burke said. ?My cell worked great on the base. We had a backup landline.?

Most of the UFAs do not reside in Toronto so it shouldn't matter where one calls from.

Obviously, Simmons presumed poor communications and never checked with the Leafs on them or Burke's schedule - that he wasn't posing for pics when free agency was going down - he was on the phone a bunch of the time.

Simmons got caught inaccurately filling in some blanks and Burke held him accountable.

It's almost like these hack reporters have degenerated into cynical misanthropes the way their articles seem to exude anger and tantrum writing. It seems like everything the Leafs do is a point of utmost contention. Either the management is there to destroy the franchise further than it already has or the Leafs exist solely to play the public as chumps.

Nik stated earlier that this is what beat writers do to survive. Well, the bias and distortion in their reporting and the heavy slant against the Leafs regardless of reality really doesn't inspire me to read their columns. It's not even hard to find examples anymore: "Burke is becoming an embarassment." Just scrolling through the comments people are just deriding Simmons like there's no tomorrow, and its only a matter of time before people move away completely to more level headed journalism and opinion pieces.

I've moved away from Cox, Simmons et al. and found a new guard of James Mirtle, Jonas Siegel and even to a lesser extent, Mike Brophy amongst a couple of others. There's many more options for Leafs coverage than in the past and sooner or later it will catch up to Simmons and Cox.

 

[cw]

I've moved away from Cox, Simmons et al. and found a new guard of James Mirtle, Jonas Siegel and even to a lesser extent, Mike Brophy amongst a couple of others. There's many more options for Leafs coverage than in the past and sooner or later it will catch up to Simmons and Cox.

I don't think you're alone. Far from it. Eventually, someone at the Sun is going to figure out there's a better bang for their buck to fill that space. And that will draw more clicks or ads than perpetual garbage from someone like Simmons.

I've been reading hockey writers in all 30 NHL cities for a long time. Compared to a lot of them, I think he's a bad hockey writer. The internet will eventually allow readers to see that and compare him to good Leafs blogs or even sites like this and they'll migrate accordingly. Simmons and Sun Media are not just competing with 3 other papers any more. Their piece of the revenue pie is dwindling with increased competition. Trolling for clicks can only stave off the inevitable for so long.

 

[Kin]

Nik stated earlier that this is what beat writers do to survive.

Yeah, just to re-state this because it seems as though people have missed what I was saying by giant leaps and bounds what I said was that Beat writers need to get scoops and generate page views, which is why they need accurate information. I didn't say they need to be sensational or negative or anything of the sort.

Well, the bias and distortion in their reporting and the heavy slant against the Leafs regardless of reality really doesn't inspire me to read their columns. It's not even hard to find examples anymore: "Burke is becoming an embarassment." Just scrolling through the comments people are just deriding Simmons like there's no tomorrow, and its only a matter of time before people move away completely to more level headed journalism and opinion pieces.

I know we don't like to acknowledge this much because we're all of a particular genus(the internet savvy Leafs fan) but I think you're maybe missing that we here in cyber-land are not the be all and end all when it comes to Leafs fandom. We tend to be middle class, white collar-y types and students and die-hards which informs what we want to read and digest in terms of Leafs information. There are lots of other people with appetites for other things.

I mean, not to drive the point home too hard, but if I'm confronted with the fact that Simmons writes stuff that's distorted, slanted and short on factual information in favor of pandering to the lowest common denominator I don't immediately think "Oh no, how will he survive at the Sun?"

 

[Chev-boyar-sky]

Report about the sport, the players that are playing and what the coach/GM tells you. That's the job. It's not to ascertain exactly what injury Armstrong or Reimer has.

Yeah, that's just not true. The reality is that people are so eager for accurate reporting on things that NHL teams make it a point not to disclose(precise injuries, trade rumours) that a reporter who was consistently right about those topics would see a ton of following both on twitter and at his column. The reality is that driving traffic is their job. Their job isn't to write press releases for the Leafs, I can read those if I want at the team's site.

A reporter following the team should be looking for something nobody else has and that informs us about the team otherwise why am I even reading them? I've got no interest in reading team-approved puff pieces and I can find out about the line-ups when I watch the game.

Well evidently he's looking but has no sources. Expecting to get the scoop from the GM himself is rather hopeful IMO.

Writing a child-like article in response to not getting what you want (he feels he's being freezed-out) is, quite frankly, pathetic.

Take a page out of Dreger's book. Get some real sources. If he can't, he should report what he can. If that's the equivalent of a Leafs press report then he's not the best journalist out there and he should accept that. If the Sun decides he's not good at his job (shich he isn't) then they can hire someone who's better connected.

 

[Andy007]

if I'm confronted with the fact that Simmons writes stuff that's distorted, slanted and short on factual information in favor of pandering to the lowest common denominator I don't immediately think "Oh no, how will he survive at the Sun?"

That's right and I think that's why I don't really pay attention when guys like Simmons or, say Garrioch, spout out of something. It's like a pop culture enthusiast complaining about the factual validity of a National Enquirer article.

As for Cox, he actually has the capacity to be a great writer/reporter so maybe thats why it bothers me when he delves into the immature and innacurate.

 

[Zee]

I mean, not to drive the point home too hard, but if I'm confronted with the fact that Simmons writes stuff that's distorted, slanted and short on factual information in favor of pandering to the lowest common denominator I don't immediately think "Oh no, how will he survive at the Sun?"

What was it Burke said about the Sun a few years back?  It's only good for lining bird cages or something. 

 

[cw]

I mean, not to drive the point home too hard, but if I'm confronted with the fact that Simmons writes stuff that's distorted, slanted and short on factual information in favor of pandering to the lowest common denominator I don't immediately think "Oh no, how will he survive at the Sun?"

What was it Burke said about the Sun a few years back?  It's only good for lining bird cages or something. 

"The Sun has great value if you own a puppy or a parakeet" Brian Burke,  October, 2010

 

[Optimus Reimer]

I have the feeling that when the Leafs win the cup, types like Simmons and Cox will be criticizing the organization for something, whether it is playing the veterans, playing the prospects or making a trade deadline deal to pick up a player or two that helped the team win the cup.

 

[Tigger]

I have the feeling that when the Leafs win the cup, types like Simmons and Cox will be criticizing the organization for something, whether it is playing the veterans, playing the prospects or making a trade deadline deal to pick up a player or two that helped the team win the cup.

Liars and puppies and parakeets, oh my!

 

[Zee]

I mean, not to drive the point home too hard, but if I'm confronted with the fact that Simmons writes stuff that's distorted, slanted and short on factual information in favor of pandering to the lowest common denominator I don't immediately think "Oh no, how will he survive at the Sun?"

What was it Burke said about the Sun a few years back?  It's only good for lining bird cages or something. 

"The Sun has great value if you own a puppy or a parakeet" Brian Burke,  October, 2010

That should be a tag line under all of Simmons articles.

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

I mean, not to drive the point home too hard, but if I'm confronted with the fact that Simmons writes stuff that's distorted, slanted and short on factual information in favor of pandering to the lowest common denominator I don't immediately think "Oh no, how will he survive at the Sun?"

What was it Burke said about the Sun a few years back?  It's only good for lining bird cages or something. 

"The Sun has great value if you own a puppy or a parakeet" Brian Burke,  October, 2010

I assume we're also talking about a puppy or parakeet with low standards.

 

[Optimus Reimer]

I mean, not to drive the point home too hard, but if I'm confronted with the fact that Simmons writes stuff that's distorted, slanted and short on factual information in favor of pandering to the lowest common denominator I don't immediately think "Oh no, how will he survive at the Sun?"

What was it Burke said about the Sun a few years back?  It's only good for lining bird cages or something. 

"The Sun has great value if you own a puppy or a parakeet" Brian Burke,  October, 2010

I assume we're also talking about a puppy or parakeet with low standards.

The literate puppies and parakeets refuse to read the Sun.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

A pretty open, 20+ minute interview with Burke by The Score:

http://video.thescore.com/watch/brian-burke-1-on-1

He talks about his daily life, the Leafs involvement in community service, trading with certain GMs, stopping bullying, and of course his involvement with the LGBT community and Brenden's legacy. It's also the same interview where Burke talked about the potential barn fight with Kevin Lowe.

 

[Corn Flake]

I have the feeling that when the Leafs win the cup, types like Simmons and Cox will be criticizing the organization for something, whether it is playing the veterans, playing the prospects or making a trade deadline deal to pick up a player or two that helped the team win the cup.

Something like: "ONE LOUSY STANLEY CUP WIN DOES NOT ERASE DECADES OF FAILURE.".

 

[L K]

I have the feeling that when the Leafs win the cup, types like Simmons and Cox will be criticizing the organization for something, whether it is playing the veterans, playing the prospects or making a trade deadline deal to pick up a player or two that helped the team win the cup.

Something like: "ONE LOUSY STANLEY CUP WIN DOES NOT ERASE DECADES OF FAILURE.".

That or you can almost assure a summer full of "Leafs setting up for a let-down next year when they do the cover stories on each players home town Cup celebration.