When the Roopstigo story by Selena Roberts hit on Wednesday, I was busy getting ready for a 6 p.m. Sports, Media, and Culture graduate class. While we did talk about it a little, mainly we talked about research on sports talk radio and social media. Not as exciting, but it’s what the State of Alabama [...]
After reading this interview with Deadspin Editor-in-Chief Tommy Craggs, libel attorneys might have their business cards ready to draw. The interview, by Manny Radwaha of Indiana University’s National Sports Journalism Center, was typical manic Deadspin. Craggs seemed unable to avoid the sarcasm, particularly when talking about others. That’s his option; it’s his reputation and image. He [...]
Birmingham is sports crazy, and these days sports radio in Birmingham is almost as crazy. I wrote about Paul Finebaum and the changes that might be on the horizon as his contract with Citadel/Cumulus broadcasting comes to an end. But where Birmingham sports radio is concerned, expect more. In particular, ESPN 97.3 the Zone, the [...]
When it comes to sports, few broadcasting markets are as hungry and crazed as Birmingham. Thus, the changes that are on the horizon should bring as much attention as fiscal cliff negotiations. Forget that: more attention. I mean, here the negotiations will result in real change. Probably the two biggest changes, which will interest all fans, involve [...]
This is not one of those wild parallel reality articles; I’m not that talented. It’s my take as a faculty member on the just-concluded search for a head coach. For those nine days, I lived in fear that somehow, Auburn would name Bobby Petrino as head football coach. Yes, I know that most Auburn fans [...]
My first memory of Philip Lutzenkirchen was when he had scheduled an appointment with our Communication and Journalism department chair during his official recruiting visit in 2008. The chair at the time, Dr. Mary Helen Brown, referred me to his highlight video on YouTube. Plenty of high-high-highlights. My favorite was of him blocking a punt [...]
These days, Southern football and evangelical Christianity have forged a strong bond. But it hasn’t always been that way. At least, so wrote Andrew Doyle of Winthrop University, in an article he wrote titled, “Foolish and Useless Sport: The Southern Evangelical Crusade Against Intercollegiate Football.” In fact, the article was published about 15 years ago, [...]
What a 48 hours for the Red and Black staff. Here is a quick update. You can read yesterday’s post for the background. The Red and Black had scheduled an open house for new staff members Friday that quickly turned into a media event that ended up closed to the media. From what I can [...]
Most of the top student staff of the Red and Black, the University of Georgia student newspaper, resigned en masse last night. Why and what will happen from here is not clear, and might change in the time it takes to write and post this. But here is a try. The resignations were announced on [...]
The news that Cox Media Group is selling its Birmingham radio stations (including 97.3 The Zone), only days after the group and station reaffirmed their commitment to lure Paul Finebaum after his contract with Cumulus and WJOX expires, is the stuff of Friday afternoon confusion. For the past year, Finebaum has been involved in a [...]
