First of all Jon, if you're going to read my thread practically verbatim on your radio show, you could at least mention my name. How am I supposed to build my media empire if I can't even get my name on the radio?
I listened to your podcast from this morning. Your analysis is full of flawed premises and reflects the "born on third base and thinks he hit a triple" mindset that permeates the way an Iowa fan approaches everything. So let's clear a few things up.
This is NOT about local media launching a campaign to get Iowa State into the Big 10. As I said yesterday, this is about laying out the ramifications of Iowa State being left for dead. That involves a closer examination of ALL the circumstances surrounding conference realignment and what it really means for the health of a university as a whole – as well as what the health of said university means for the state of Iowa.
It involves someone with journalistic chops sinking his teeth into the story and doing the research. It’s a more rigorous analysis than a couple of sports talk radio hosts spitballing at 7:00 a.m.
Now, I happen to think such an examination would make a lot of people take notice of what’s at stake here and get engaged to see that ISU’s future is secure. But maybe I’m wrong; maybe the data would show that a drop to a lesser conference would not harm ISU in the ways that I suspect it would. But shouldn’t such an analysis take place before we casually dismiss it?
Today, you ticked off a handful of examples – some of which may be legit, others not, and immediately dismissed them out of hand. You can’t just assume that because ISU gets good attendance for North Dakota State in August that we would get good attendance for Wyoming in November. You don’t know what kind of hit ISU’s reputation will take in the marketplace of prospective students or faculty if we’re cast out of a major conference. You don’t know how many research dollars might dry up because we lack connections with institutions of similar interest and academic standing.
And you know what? I don’t know those things either. But the difference between you and me is that I think those things are worthy of examination and you can’t get past TV payouts. And because you’re on the radio when a lot of people happen to be in their cars, those people never get past TV payouts either.
It’s not just about what Big 12 or Big 10 or PAC-10 membership says about ISU’s athletic programs, it’s about the company you keep as a university and how that influences what others think about you. That, Jon, is the role the media plays in shaping public perception, and it shouldn’t need to be explained to you.
I listened to your podcast from this morning. Your analysis is full of flawed premises and reflects the "born on third base and thinks he hit a triple" mindset that permeates the way an Iowa fan approaches everything. So let's clear a few things up.
This is NOT about local media launching a campaign to get Iowa State into the Big 10. As I said yesterday, this is about laying out the ramifications of Iowa State being left for dead. That involves a closer examination of ALL the circumstances surrounding conference realignment and what it really means for the health of a university as a whole – as well as what the health of said university means for the state of Iowa.
It involves someone with journalistic chops sinking his teeth into the story and doing the research. It’s a more rigorous analysis than a couple of sports talk radio hosts spitballing at 7:00 a.m.
Now, I happen to think such an examination would make a lot of people take notice of what’s at stake here and get engaged to see that ISU’s future is secure. But maybe I’m wrong; maybe the data would show that a drop to a lesser conference would not harm ISU in the ways that I suspect it would. But shouldn’t such an analysis take place before we casually dismiss it?
Today, you ticked off a handful of examples – some of which may be legit, others not, and immediately dismissed them out of hand. You can’t just assume that because ISU gets good attendance for North Dakota State in August that we would get good attendance for Wyoming in November. You don’t know what kind of hit ISU’s reputation will take in the marketplace of prospective students or faculty if we’re cast out of a major conference. You don’t know how many research dollars might dry up because we lack connections with institutions of similar interest and academic standing.
And you know what? I don’t know those things either. But the difference between you and me is that I think those things are worthy of examination and you can’t get past TV payouts. And because you’re on the radio when a lot of people happen to be in their cars, those people never get past TV payouts either.
It’s not just about what Big 12 or Big 10 or PAC-10 membership says about ISU’s athletic programs, it’s about the company you keep as a university and how that influences what others think about you. That, Jon, is the role the media plays in shaping public perception, and it shouldn’t need to be explained to you.
