Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com

Oct 31, 14 8:40

Post #1 of 53 (9585 views)

Two days ago, the following article was posted on letsrun.com about the good and bad aspects of ESPN's coverage of the NYC Marathon: http://www.letsrun.com/...hon-broadcast-espn2/

The author, Robert Johnson, starts out with "praise" of ESPN's coverage. In this praise, he wrote the following:

Quote:

4) This isn�t PC, but ESPN deserved kudos for not spending much time on the wheelchair racers. Yes, American Tatyana McFadden got a decent amount of time as she completed the Grand Slam, and I�m fine with that. But ESPN thankfully didn�t miss key parts of the men�s or women�s races to show you the wheelchairs. They showed a tape of the finish. Thank you.
The wheelchair racers are inspiring for sure but it�s not elite sport in the same sense of running. The best marathoners are the best of millions of runners on the globe. The best wheelchair racers are the best of, what, a few thousand wheelchair racers at most? There were more than 44,000 marathon finishers in New York � just 66 in the wheelchair division.
ESPN is in the business of covering elite sporting events. They know this and thus covered the wheelchair racers appropriately for the most part.

To say that wheelchair racing is not deserving of ESPN's coverage is absurd, at best. The races are faster, the margins of victory are closer and the storylines are more compelling. That's exactly what the viewing public wants to see in sports. Just because there aren't millions of wheelchair racers on the globe does not diminish what Tatyana McFadden did last year, and continues to do. Tatyana has won 10 Summer Olympic medals (3 Gold, 4 Silver, 3 Bronze), 1 Winter Olympic silver medal, 12 IPC World Championship medals (10 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze). She also won 4 of the Marathon Majors in 2013, the first time this has been done ever, by anyone. She's one of the most decorated athletes period, wheelchair or otherwise.

I'll state my bias clearly: I too attended the University of Illinois, of which Tatyana is an alumna, and I own a business focusing on wheelchair accessibility. However, I find it shocking that someone on a somewhat reputable (maybe? I'm not really sure) website would write an article like this.

It looks like Robert Johnson, the author, is a co-founder of letsrun.com, but I can't find his contact information anywhere. Does anyone know how to get in touch with him?

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 8:50

Post #2 of 53 (9517 views)

Anando wrote:

Two days ago, the following article was posted on letsrun.com about the good and bad aspects of ESPN's coverage of the NYC Marathon: http://www.letsrun.com/...hon-broadcast-espn2/

The author, Robert Johnson, starts out with "praise" of ESPN's coverage. In this praise, he wrote the following:

Quote:

4) This isn�t PC, but ESPN deserved kudos for not spending much time on the wheelchair racers. Yes, American Tatyana McFadden got a decent amount of time as she completed the Grand Slam, and I�m fine with that. But ESPN thankfully didn�t miss key parts of the men�s or women�s races to show you the wheelchairs. They showed a tape of the finish. Thank you.
The wheelchair racers are inspiring for sure but it�s not elite sport in the same sense of running. The best marathoners are the best of millions of runners on the globe. The best wheelchair racers are the best of, what, a few thousand wheelchair racers at most? There were more than 44,000 marathon finishers in New York � just 66 in the wheelchair division.
ESPN is in the business of covering elite sporting events. They know this and thus covered the wheelchair racers appropriately for the most part.

To say that wheelchair racing is not deserving of ESPN's coverage is absurd, at best. The races are faster, the margins of victory are closer and the storylines are more compelling. That's exactly what the viewing public wants to see in sports. Just because there aren't millions of wheelchair racers on the globe does not diminish what Tatyana McFadden did last year, and continues to do. Tatyana has won 10 Summer Olympic medals (3 Gold, 4 Silver, 3 Bronze), 1 Winter Olympic silver medal, 12 IPC World Championship medals (10 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze). She also won 4 of the Marathon Majors in 2013, the first time this has been done ever, by anyone. She's one of the most decorated athletes period, wheelchair or otherwise.

I'll state my bias clearly: I too attended the University of Illinois, of which Tatyana is an alumna, and I own a business focusing on wheelchair accessibility. However, I find it shocking that someone on a somewhat reputable (maybe? I'm not really sure) website would write an article like this.

It looks like Robert Johnson, the author, is a co-founder of letsrun.com, but I can't find his contact information anywhere. Does anyone know how to get in touch with him?

I'm OK with Johnson's perspective...it seems a fair representation. And, yes, you are clearly bias.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 8:50

Post #3 of 53 (9513 views)

Anando wrote:

Two days ago, the following article was posted on letsrun.com about the good and bad aspects of ESPN's coverage of the NYC Marathon: http://www.letsrun.com/...hon-broadcast-espn2/

The author, Robert Johnson, starts out with "praise" of ESPN's coverage. In this praise, he wrote the following:

Quote:

4) This isn�t PC, but ESPN deserved kudos for not spending much time on the wheelchair racers. Yes, American Tatyana McFadden got a decent amount of time as she completed the Grand Slam, and I�m fine with that. But ESPN thankfully didn�t miss key parts of the men�s or women�s races to show you the wheelchairs. They showed a tape of the finish. Thank you.
The wheelchair racers are inspiring for sure but it�s not elite sport in the same sense of running. The best marathoners are the best of millions of runners on the globe. The best wheelchair racers are the best of, what, a few thousand wheelchair racers at most? There were more than 44,000 marathon finishers in New York � just 66 in the wheelchair division.
ESPN is in the business of covering elite sporting events. They know this and thus covered the wheelchair racers appropriately for the most part.

To say that wheelchair racing is not deserving of ESPN's coverage is absurd, at best. The races are faster, the margins of victory are closer and the storylines are more compelling. That's exactly what the viewing public wants to see in sports. Just because there aren't millions of wheelchair racers on the globe does not diminish what Tatyana McFadden did last year, and continues to do. Tatyana has won 10 Summer Olympic medals (3 Gold, 4 Silver, 3 Bronze), 1 Winter Olympic silver medal, 12 IPC World Championship medals (10 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze). She also won 4 of the Marathon Majors in 2013, the first time this has been done ever, by anyone. She's one of the most decorated athletes period, wheelchair or otherwise.

I'll state my bias clearly: I too attended the University of Illinois, of which Tatyana is an alumna, and I own a business focusing on wheelchair accessibility. However, I find it shocking that someone on a somewhat reputable (maybe? I'm not really sure) website would write an article like this.

It looks like Robert Johnson, the author, is a co-founder of letsrun.com, but I can't find his contact information anywhere. Does anyone know how to get in touch with him?

He didn't write that wheelchair racing is not deserving of ESPN's coverage. He wrote that they "covered the wheelchair racers appropriately for the most part."

And I agree with him for the reasons you quoted, though I haven't read the whole article. I try to stay away from letsrun.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 8:52

Post #4 of 53 (9500 views)

I'm sorry but I just don't see the problem. A guy who runs/ posts an article on a running site has an opinion congratulating the coverage of a running event. Seems like the right place and right time to have an opinion.

Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 8:57

Post #5 of 53 (9453 views)

Anando wrote:

4) This isn�t PC, but ESPN deserved kudos for not spending much time on the wheelchair racers.

To say that wheelchair racing is not deserving of ESPN's coverage is absurd, at best.

These sentences say two completely different things. Your bias is quite evident and you probably need some remedial critical reading skills.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 9:06

Post #6 of 53 (9388 views)

"The wheelchair racers are inspiring for sure but it�s not elite sport in the same sense of running."

This is the sentence that is most absurd.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 9:17

Post #7 of 53 (9328 views)

Considering that the article came from Letsrun it seems surprisingly well thought out and politically correct.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [JayZ] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 10:44

Post #8 of 53 (9042 views)

There seems to be lots of "FORs" in athletic achievement these days.
"He is remarkably fast FOR a 74 year old."
"She is remarkably fast FOR someone with only one lung...."

Some "Fors" are more legitimate than others:
"He is remarkably fast FOR a 74 year old"
Some are less legitimate:
"He is remarkably fast FOR a fat guy, who did not train very hard and really likes his barbecue."

A good "For" story is great stuff. These are often elite achievements of equal note to world records and Olympic performances.

The problem is that this type of analysis requires a lot of knowledge.
Take Ed Whitlocks marathon record for 74 - 2:54:48.
To truly apreciate this feat one must have an idea of what it is like to be 74, and how hard it is to run 2:54.
Many commentators do not understand either of these things.

The media thus often mistakes random crap for world class performance (and vice versa). This is extremely annoying.

If we are all "world class" elite athletes then none of us are.

A wheel chair race with 100 contestants might have some "elite" performances. But it might not.
Should we have to watch it and talk about it, if it doesn't?
Shouldn't someone who is knowledgeable make that decision?

Cudos to Running Times for showing me who Ed Whitlock and Christine Kennedy are.
F#### Ironman and Slowtwitch for not allowing me to ignore Hines Ward and Gordon Ramsay.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 10:53

Post #9 of 53 (8972 views)

I don't care about wheel chair races, womens sports in general, and any running event other than the 100/200 and on occasion the 400. This opinion is that of the general population as well.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [-Mike-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:01

Post #10 of 53 (8913 views)

> This opinion is that of the general population as well.

That's why you clicked on a thread about a letsrun article.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:07

Post #11 of 53 (8873 views)

There's a part of me that agrees with you. Another part of me enjoys watching competitive anything - I don't care what it is or who's doing it. If there is a real competition and a race, I'm into watching it.

HOWEVER - this is TV, and TV is driven ruthlessly by the numbers, and the numbers here are going against the wheelchair folks. So you get what you get.

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Fleck] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:10

Post #12 of 53 (8857 views)

>Another part of me enjoys watching competitive anything

x2. I can be doing a run past a 60+ senior soccer scrimmage and get stuck into to the point I'm screaming at some dude to get back on D.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [-Mike-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:11

Post #13 of 53 (8842 views)

-Mike- wrote:

I don't care about wheel chair races, womens sports in general, and any running event other than the 100/200 and on occasion the 400. This opinion is that of the general population as well.

We (the general public) don't care about the 100, 200 and 400 much either. We also don't differentiate between real and imaginary performance either.

It is vaguely interesting that Usain Bolt is "fastish." Not because Usain Bolt can run 100m in 9:58.
It is interesting because it means that Hines Ward and Tim Tebow could do the 100 in 7.50 seconds. (Hines Ward and Tim Tebow make more money and the guys on TV said they were fast).

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:15

Post #14 of 53 (8814 views)

How much coverage of the wheelchair race do you think is appropriate?

Perhaps a proportional amount based on ratio of finishers in the wheel chair category to non-wheelchair finishers? If the wheelchair race received 66/44000 of the airtime then in 3 hrs of coverage they'd receive about 15 seconds of airtime.

Perhaps proportional to the interests of the viewership (i.e proportion of people watching the race who are interested in wheelchair racing)? My guess is that would work out to maybe a bit more than 15 seconds over 3 hours of coverage, but not sure how much.

I don't know, which is why I'm genuinely trying to understand how much coverage you think is appropriate.

__________________________

I tweet!

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [-Mike-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:18

Post #15 of 53 (8799 views)

and any running event other than the 100/200 and on occasion the 400. This opinion is that of the general population as well.

This is a whole other discussion. In the U.S., the ONLY time that there is any major coverage and exposure of running is during the Olympic Games. A long time ago, NBC decided, that they would ONLY cover the 100 - 400 sprints. You may get a bit or occasional 800m but that's rare. For a 100m dash race that taks 10 sec. they will show about 10 re-runs and slow motion analysis and then interviews with the top placers - the whole thing takes 10 - 15 mins of real time.

What's happened is that several generation of Americans have had NO exposure to any middle or distance running events. None! Is this because they are not interested in watching or did NBC decide that they would not be interested in watching?

20 million Americans ran a 5K running race/event or longer last year. That's a pretty big potential audience!

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:24

Post #16 of 53 (8775 views)

The "E" in ESPN stands for entertainment. They are a for-profit business. They make their money by selling advertisements and selling content to cable providers. They provide what the masses want or they go out of business. The list of "noble and good" things not covered in mass media is infinite. If more people wanted to see noble and good things then mass media would give it to us.

I have no problem with Robert Johnson's comments.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [dirtymangos] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:28

Post #17 of 53 (8742 views)

Viewership numbers and rating are easy to come by, the 100/200 are some of the most viewed events in the olympics next to gymnastics. I am not trying to be confrontational just for kicks, i just looked the data up and it supports my statement. Other than gymnastics and ice skating womens sports is almost a non event for the US TV market, one of the few upticks is also on on occasion soccer, but the numbers are still really low. Unless there is a really compelling story people are not going to watch live a wheelchair race, i am not degrading the individual racing, i am just saying there is no monetary value to their performance.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [ZackCapets] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:29

Post #18 of 53 (8741 views)

My argument isn't that ESPN is or isn't giving enough airtime to the wheelchair race. It's that the article on ESPN's coverage lacks a sense of appreciation of the wheelchair race.

Your logic on the coverage time for the wheelchair race is flawed. TV doesn't cover stories proportionally. For example, say there are 50 elite racers. By your logic, 0.114% of coverage should be on the elite racers, and the other 99.886% of the coverage should be on everyone else.

I think there is TV value in showing more of the elite wheelchair race and I think there are very compelling storylines for the racers in that race, just as there are in the elite able-bodied field, and in the general field and that's what people want to see, along with competitive racing. Anyone who's seen a wheelchair race will tell you that it's exciting. In this year's Chicago Marathon, the top 11 mens' finishers finished within 11 seconds of one another.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [daveinsd] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:36

Post #19 of 53 (8704 views)

daveinsd wrote:

"The wheelchair racers are inspiring for sure but it�s not elite sport in the same sense of running."

This is the sentence that is most absurd.

Actually, if you don't take it completely out of context, it really isn't. He goes on to define the "elite-ness" as a fact of total number of participants world wide which shows a very small participant field. It's akin to being "elite" at a Div III school.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:42

Post #20 of 53 (8668 views)

So start your own wheelchair-racing channel and see what kind of air time & ad revenue you can draw. I'm guessing not much. I run, and find watching footraces interesting. I bike, and find cycling coverage interesting. Same for swimming, and a lot of other things. Wheelchair racing? Meh. The times, as a measure of performance, have no relevance to me. So they're faster than running and the margins are smaller? That is utterly meaningless in context; so is NASCAR, and I find that boring as shit too.

You sound like the parent trying to convince the coach that your kid deserves more playing time cuz he's extra extra special.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:48

Post #21 of 53 (8629 views)

Oh, and "abhorrent"? "Misguided" perhaps, or you could even go w/ "ignorant" or something else indicating they're missing some significant point of reason. But abhorrent, as if they're directly causing someone grievous harm? Who exactly is being victimized here? Going drama queen doesn't strengthen your case.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [OneGoodLeg] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:50

Post #22 of 53 (8615 views)

ab�hor�rent
adjective

inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant.

Last edited by: Anando: Oct 31, 14 11:51

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Anando] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 11:57

Post #23 of 53 (8582 views)

Did someone send you here specifically to entertain us? Because we're always a little disappointed if Friday passes without any drama.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [Fleck] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 12:04

Post #24 of 53 (8547 views)

Fleck wrote:

What's happened is that several generation of Americans have had NO exposure to any middle or distance running events. None! Is this because they are not interested in watching or did NBC decide that they would not be interested in watching?

20 million Americans ran a 5K running race/event or longer last year. That's a pretty big potential audience!

I am pretty sure there are millions of viewers clamoring to watch a 5K on TV but NBC decided not to broadcast such events because it already makes enough advertising revenue.

Re: Abhorrent Article on letsrun.com [OneGoodLeg] [ In reply to ]

Oct 31, 14 12:07

Post #25 of 53 (8530 views)

OneGoodLeg wrote:

You sound like the parent trying to convince the coach that your kid deserves more playing time cuz he's extra extra special.

QFT

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