The Free Press on APR numbers.
Let's give Brian Cook credit. (Don't we always?)
Before it happened, he predicted it. That the Free Press story on APR numbers would single out Michigan football, and would fail to report the background detail needed to understand the numbers.
Brian's prediction is here:
http://mgoblog.com/content/academic-progress-rate-out-ugly-expected
So as to avoid a link to the hated Freep, here's the headline from Freep.com: "Michigan State's, Michigan's APR scores mostly up -- except for U-M football."
And there's this, technically correct, wholly uninformative (cf: the link above) paragraph from staff sportswriter Kevin Bull:
"The Michigan football team scored a 936, which is in the 30%-40% rank in the sport. This four-year period measured the last three years under coach Lloyd Carr and the first year under Rich Rodriguez. The score is down from 947 last year and 951 in the 2008 report."
Thanks, Free Press, and have a nice day!
is the story at least buried in the expansion, USC sanctions, and the annual Izzo to the NBA watch news?
The article summarizes the scores and states that Michigan football's is rather low (which it is). It doesn't even talk about the 897 we scored this year. This is not something to complain about.
And I accept what you said.
What I said was that the story was "technically correct and wholly uninformative." What you say is likewise correct.
But here's the take-away. If you get your news from the Free Press, you'll be virtually in the dark, compared to the readership of MGoBlog. If you are a Michigan fan and supporter of its intercollegiate athletics, and you simply read the Free Press, you will be in a sorry state. If you read MGoBlog, you'll be much, much, much better informed. That doesn't say much for the Free Press, does it?
a news source not being as hyper-explanatory as, say, a highly specialized blog with uninhibited amounts of space/word count
what will they think of next? a shitty website that allows any random person the ability to write a "story" that can be then linked by the MSM as real? what would they call that crazy futuristic website? i bet it would be something like Riser News or something similar.
"...we leave the hyper-explanatory stuff to a highly specialized blog with uninhibited amounts of space/word count."
But it's not okay for that paper to then say, "Those fan blogs are biased and partisan and you, dear reader should believe our reporting and not theirs." And that is essentially what we have seen from the Free Press. Circle the wagons. Fight those silly fan blogs.
I'd have only a little problem with the Free Press if they were engaging in any self-criticism, and if they were doing anything other than stealing bits and pieces from MGoBlog and then continuing about the business of their staff's jihad against Rich Rodriguez. Of course, what the Free Press is doing, in fact, is stealing little bits and pieces from MGoBlog and then continuing about the business of their staff's jihad against Rich Rodriguez.. So here we are.
Unfortunately, a lot of people that I talk to still don't know about Mgoblog, and they still want to talk about M based solely about what they have read in the Free Press and have supplemented with hearing on sports talk radio. Hopefully the fanbase is coming around, but there is still a large number of unfortunately (and, probably, innocently) uninformed fans out there. Let us continue the Crusade.
...then I say ride on. Salvation awaits.
I love how MGoBlog is becoming more credible than some "mainstream" media out there, such as DFP, and, I don't know, talk radio.
To be fair, at some point you just have to cut bait with those who intentionally or unintentionally remain ignorant to situations. If you rely on a single newspaper for your sports knowledge, even though there are literally thousands of other sources at your fingertips, then so be it. MGoBlog is a great site with high-quality info, and I guess we should just be happy that it is available. The fact that there are uninformed UM and sports fans out there shouldn't come as a shock, and we can take sollace in the fact that most of them probably don't care enough the situations to really make a stink about them beyond the knee-jerk reactions that most of us drown out.
I'd venture that most people dont even know or care what APR is.
i.e This article is not a big deal.
Most people don't understand, and won't care.
Then again, a significantly larger number of people will see the bland headline, "Michigan State's, Michigan's APR scores mostly up -- except for U-M football", and it will be approximately the 1,154th "drop" in the drip-drip-drip of headlnes, stories and assorted tidbits about Rich Rodriuguez and the current Michigan football program. Courtesy of your Detroit Free Press!