Jump to content
  • Join us — it's free!

    We are the premiere internet community for New York Rangers news and fan discussion. Don't wait — join the forum today!

IGNORED

A Year and a Day


ClearedForContact

Recommended Posts

A year ago yesterday Phil Kocher published the first article on a new blog created by a few members of his Blueshirt?s Brotherhood forum. We?ll get back to that post in a moment because it deserves some ridicule, but first some backstory. I had been on Phil for a while to get a blog going. The forum was a great place to discuss the New York Rangers, but a handful of us would write up long-form initial posts in threads that didn?t really fit in with the more organic discussion-based nature of a forum. Typical forum posts were driven by a more singular idea, often pulled out from articles from those on the Rangers? beat, opinion pieces from established media outlets or from bloggers.

 

Phil was not having it. He did a lot of work managing the forum along with his team of moderators and the prospect of creating a new venture was daunting. Creating synergy with the blog was going to be an issue as was the time commitment needed to get something new off the ground. Eventually, I informed him I was moving forward and I would let the chips fall where they might. He, along with a couple others such as John Gaffney and Ray Sarlo, jumped on board and Cleared for Contact was born.

 

Read more

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A year ago yesterday Phil Kocher published the first article on a new blog created by a few members of his Blueshirt’s Brotherhood forum. We’ll get back to that post in a moment because it deserves some ridicule, but first some backstory. I had been on Phil for a while to get a blog going. The forum was a great place to discuss the New York Rangers, but a handful of us would write up long-form initial posts in threads that didn’t really fit in with the more organic discussion-based nature of a forum. Typical forum posts were driven by a more singular idea, often pulled out from articles from those on the Rangers’ beat, opinion pieces from established media outlets or from bloggers.

 

Phil was not having it. He did a lot of work managing the forum along with his team of moderators and the prospect of creating a new venture was daunting. Creating synergy with the blog was going to be an issue as was the time commitment needed to get something new off the ground. Eventually, I informed him I was moving forward and I would let the chips fall where they might. He, along with a couple others such as John Gaffney and Ray Sarlo, jumped on board and Cleared for Contact was born.

 

Read more

 

 

Dave, I respect what you, Phil, and the other writers on the blog do. To take the time out to write about a team that passionately shows a lot about character. I've also come to respect what Phil does to keep this place going, and what the mods do to keep it in order. I've learned to debate in a more mature manner although I'm still gonna be an asshole at times, but everyone's peronality is what keeps it real, right?

 

With that said, I don't agree with your take on the bloggers vs the writers. Every point made about blogs holds true ONLY if bloggers and press have equal access. And they don't. The majority of certain articles is assumption. Teams hold back a ton of shit from the press themselves, so when they or bloggers start assuming things it creates a huge debate. The mindless fans and followers of blogs just hop along for the ride. Some of these bloggers are like Jimmy Jones. Everyone just follows what they say, and it's comical. Some of these bloggers can write that all kittens should be burned in a hell fire, and 100 idiots start agreeing. I'm not saying that's CFC, I'm just pointing it out. Reading some of the blogger articles out there and seeing a large number of people agreeing with it makes me seriously question all of their hockey knowledge. You and I had a convo via telephone about this, so you know what context I'm saying this in. Again, I respect a few guys knowledge on here, and you are one of them. Please don't put yourself, Ray, Phil, etc in the same category as other bloggers. I don't care if they've been blogging for 4 years or 10 years. They haven't earned anything. The Ranger FB page has been operating since the birth of FB. It means nothing. You guys are better than that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave, I respect what you, Phil, and the other writers on the blog do. To take the time out to write about a team that passionately shows a lot about character. I've also come to respect what Phil does to keep this place going, and what the mods do to keep it in order. I've learned to debate in a more mature manner although I'm still gonna be an asshole at times, but everyone's peronality is what keeps it real, right?

 

With that said, I don't agree with your take on the bloggers vs the writers. Every point made about blogs holds true ONLY if bloggers and press have equal access. And they don't. The majority of certain articles is assumption. Teams hold back a ton of shit from the press themselves, so when they or bloggers start assuming things it creates a huge debate. The mindless fans and followers of blogs just hop along for the ride. Some of these bloggers are like Jimmy Jones. Everyone just follows what they say, and it's comical. Some of these bloggers can write that all kittens should be burned in a hell fire, and 100 idiots start agreeing. I'm not saying that's CFC, I'm just pointing it out. Reading some of the blogger articles out there and seeing a large number of people agreeing with it makes me seriously question all of their hockey knowledge. You and I had a convo via telephone about this, so you know what context I'm saying this in. Again, I respect a few guys knowledge on here, and you are one of them. Please don't put yourself, Ray, Phil, etc in the same category as other bloggers. I don't care if they've been blogging for 4 years or 10 years. They haven't earned anything. The Ranger FB page has been operating since the birth of FB. It means nothing. You guys are better than that.

 

Sure. I don't disagree. But Zipay was dismissing the entire format. There is a nitch when it comes to sports for passionate fans who are also knowledgable to contribute to the conversation. So, for instance, a blogger can look at the Rangers' team defense and see that it's obviously lacking. Then they can explore different fixes, from a change in coaching strategy, to different line combinations that offer better balance, suggest trades that might benefit the situation two teams find themselves in, etc. That doesn't require locker room access necessarily.

 

Now, you could argue...let's take the Rangers' defense. We don't know if McDonagh is suffering from some injury he's trying to battle through that will likely mean reduced minutes, less practice time and weaker assignments than he's regularly used in for the next 3-4 weeks. That could be a reality the coaching staff is aware of, management is unwilling to make a significant roster move to fix and so the only plan is to ride it out with others less capable defenders picking up the slack that they can. For that sort of insight, bloggers have to rely on beat writers if they find that out and care to share it, or else read the tea leaves of extra maintenace days, time on ice and shift data that shows matchups outside of the ordinary. So in that sense, a conclusion a blogger comes to (say trade a top 9 winger for a middle 6 defender) could be short sighted, especially if they don't do the extra leg work required.

 

There are certainly garbage bloggers out there, or blogs that have good and bad writers. Readers should evaluate sources with bloggers just like they do any other form of journalism. We've seen that drastic calls to action or maligning popular players can increase page views. We don't choose to do that intentionally just to get eyeballs, but some certainly do. Others pretend that their reading of tea leaves that lets them come up with somewhat justified trade rumors are actually the result of sources, crow when a trade they predict happens and dismiss when it doesn't as "these things don't always come to pass, but they were trying". We don't do any of that either.

 

So I would say that what bloggers choose to write about and how they do it is important when it comes to whether they're adding value to hockey journalism.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can agree with all of that. I also can't blame Zipay for losing his shit because I've read comments on his tweets before and it makes you want to pour gas on your phone and burn it. It's the same as coaches getting pissed at writers when they ask dumb questions. Now the writers have bloggers to kick at. Some deserve it though, writers and bloggers. Lol
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The blogging community can be wonderfully brilliant and woefully hive-minded all at the same time. It really depends on who, exactly, we're talking about. I've definitely come across both through this past year. Zipay, in this case, probably didn't do himself any favors just blocking every Twitter account that laughed at him, or mocked him, or just plain disagreed with him, but at the same time you can see just why he did it watching the followers of some of the more popular Rangers' blogs take cues to line up at trying to get blocked. It was a game to them.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.



×
×
  • Create New...