What's News To You?

Thursday, February 17, 2005
by Scot H. Laney

But you can't argue the point that between the work of the two organizations – BASS and FLW – some positive changes have occurred. The sport has become real, and Don Rucks is right when he says that this is a major sport and the anglers should be viewed the same as any other major sport's athletes – albeit pro anglers are slightly more stressed about costs, since they have to pay to play while the others do not (my point, not his).

Be that as it may, the opportunity for the anglers has never been greater. Irwin Jacobs is right when he points to the FLW and the deep pay-down that they have, and how this allows some economic vitality in the sport.

The trouble is, we may never hear about the right stuff. Seems like all we hear about is the bad stuff, the "controversial" stuff. I guess that's what sells nowdays. Or at least on "news" shows.

I don't give myself a hall pass here. I'm as guilty at times as the rest.

But in the past that kind of stuff was never the story and now, in the "modern era" of bass fishing, it would appear that's changed. In the past, the story was always who won and how they did it. Did the practice of looking by the controversial stuff generate a sort of fantasy persona to the sport? Probably. But is the sport only about this kind of thing? Absolutely not.

The trouble is, if you're a newer fan, you may have some trouble believing that. Because most of what you've been treated to lately is not what this sport is about, and not an accurate representation of what our sport is.

BassFan was founded on the principle that there was a gap in the coverage of professional fishing, both in the time it took to get the story out, and the nature of the news once it did get out. We thought, and still do think, that the fans want information that is not spun, that is timely and that is reported from a news standpoint. So we have never shied from the less-than-happy stuff.

But I also don't think that we've ever made it the central thrust of what we do.

Sometimes things happen on the tours that you wish wouldn't happen. But you don't build a franchise around these things. If it's newsworthy you report it and move on. You don't stir the pot.

You see, at least in my estimation, you need to avoid becoming the story yourself. You need to avoid skewing your coverage in a way that it meets some goal that you have – a goal that goes beyond being a news service. You need to remember that you're not out there every day doing what these anglers do.

If you're in the business of the news, you need to understand that you're just a conduit, nothing else. You report the good and the bad and you don't lean toward one or the other.

That's what the news is, and that's what news reporting is. Anything else is fair game, but it needs to be couched as opinion. Opinion and news never mix. Opinion as news really stinks. News that trends negative really stinks too, regardless of whether it helps sell your product or not. Because that "sale" comes at the expense of the sport, the fans and the anglers.

Let me ask you this: Are we to the point where a Jay Yelas or a Kevin VanDam have no place in our sport? Because I can guarantee you it will be a long time before they "bitterize" themselves on television. And I can name 30 or 40 more anglers who are in the same boat. If the truth were known, Jim Bitter, Peter T. and Bernie Schultz are nothing like you think they are if you only know what you've seen in the last couple of weeks. But the coverage has defined them that way – at least for now.

I think it stinks. I think that, if we're going to present ourselves to the fans as a source of news, we'd better keep all of the responsibility that comes with that in the front of our minds. And I could care less if you work for BassFan or you work for a large sports network.

There's plenty of positive news in our sport right now. As a matter of fact, the sport is more interesting, challenging and vibrant than it's ever been. Lots of new things have to be worked out and there is some pain in all of this, but it's exciting.

Shouldn't that be the story?