Buckeye Battlecry Roundtable: Media Frenzy

Fourth installment of our Q&A regarding the recent happenings in Columbus- today’s question was also put to our team before all of the events of this week, and should be viewed as such:

Question- Why do you think this story has gotten more media coverage and “energy” than the ones at Auburn, Oregon, or earlier scandals?

Jay– Because it’s “sexy.”  This isn’t just recruiting violations.  This is about tattoos (originally), and cars, and trophies.  But more than any of that stuff, this is big because (sadly) it involves Tressel and his well-known reputation.  Ohio State will always get attention when things happen, but Tressel has been such a figure for the school and college football.  The story has shock value because of him.

Joe– Easy, We are the Ohio State University.  We have a ton of alumni all over the country, it is something that everyone from the huge sports fan to the average Joe has an opinion on.

We are disliked by many because we have been successful for the past decade, and it seems that people like to bring down teams that are on top and preach the squeaky clean, “always do the right thing” way- think about if Tim Tebow or Duke basketball were to get in trouble; there’d be big time stories based on the persona that the two put out there.

Everyone feels like Auburn is dirty, but the articles if this were ever proven would probably read “it was just a matter of time”.

Robby- There’s a couple different circumstances that contributed to the more media coverage and energy devoted to this story. For one, ESPN is the Worldwide ‘Never stop talking about the same story over and over again’ Leader in Sports and that’s everyone’s source of sports news now a day. They fed the Ohio State scandal frenzy in the beginning, and kept it going on and on. That was a big factor, and the other centers around Ohio State being at the epicenter of that media scrutiny. Being in the Big Ten, the Midwest, and having a high profile name like THE Ohio State University, everyone wants to see the Buckeyes crumble. When it happened, everyone couldn’t get enough of it. The Cam Newton story at Auburn was pretty significant, but you never saw that story or the allegations at Oregon take off because of what ESPN can do to a story.

JoeD- When it comes to the NCAA and investigation, it all comes down to timing and success. There is no doubt that before this year, Auburn was on the back burner of the SEC. The Oregon Ducks have never been a perennial powerhouse.  But when the NCAA was riding a successful ship, they didn’t want to sink it. In the cause of Cam Newton and Auburn, the NCAA came back with their investigation within two weeks.  When everything was concluded, it was back to college football and the best match ups of the week. With the Buckeyes, it was self imposed at the end of the season. The NCAA told players they could play in a BCS game, despite knowing what they had done. With the NFL locked out, and sports at a “dead point” this was a prime opportunity for media to grab on something, report it non-stop,  and keep digging. Something that wouldn’t of happened anywhere else dealing with scandals.

Mali- Man, where do I start here…

1. It’s the offseason, and the NFL is locked out. There’s always a need to find stories; Lance Armstrong ain’t gonna’ cut it.
2. Ohio State is serving this up on a platter. Unlike other “situations”, the University is reporting this to the NCAA and whatever leaks there are in Indianapolis allow this to hit the media pretty quickly.
3. Everyone’s tired of being second best. Yahoo broke and drove the Southern Cal/Reggie Bush story, and the other media outlets were left hanging. At this point, no one wants to be seen as irrelevant. And with Yahoo getting ahead of the University’s report, everyone’s afraid to be out in the cold on this one. Including local media, who make money on the program win or lose.
4. Perfect storm- Tress’ public persona, Jim Delany/Gordon Gee’s comments about other programs, and the general “B1G is above all that” that fans have touted. When you set yourself above others, you can’t be surprised when they’re gleeful to see you fall.
5. Not handling the message. Like I said yesterday, this has been a media fiasco from the initial presser to the Tressel/Smith revelation.
6. Network/Access frustrations. The BTN is a partner with Fox, while the SEC/Texas are partners with ESPN. An example- yesterday’s comments from Mrs. McCoy were buried in the Big 12 blog at ESPN, even though she said that he did a good job staying away from “perks” (ESPN’s word). When Brian Rolle talked about how he was able to reject people offering him benefits, it was seen as an indication that Ohio State had a problem.
7. Network/Access frustrations, part deux- It’s well known that Tressel’s administration has closed a lot of the access to the team during the week and that he’s notorious for his filibuster answers; it’s not hard to imagine that some of the energy is a bit of payback.
8. General OSU loathing. Either due to the university’s success, the “stolen” national championship, the BCS failings in 06/07/08, or the fact that the players involved were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl, there are those who have a strong sense that Ohio State is a sham and needs to be exposed as such.
9. Because it’s a big deal. I left this for last, but it might be better placed at the top of this list- As things continue to come out due to the continued scrutiny, it’s quite possible that this needs the attention that it’s gotten. And, to some extent, Buckeye fans should hope for whatever scrutiny that helps the program correct any issues that might exist.
   

Jim- Hating on Ohio State is big business. We have the largest fan base in the country that also happens to be extremely passionate. If you want to drive ratings and get audience participation, bash the Buckeyes and watch the phone lines or your inbox light up like a Christmas tree.

Eric- Two reasons:

1. There was more to find than at Auburn, Oregon, etc.  While USC had lots and lots of “interesting” things happen, the athletic department (just like at Auburn, and Oregon) kept a very very tight lid on what was going on.  That caused the release of information to be much slower, making it feel like the media coverage wasn’t as extensive.
2. Ohio State has played the role of the “clean” program for years.  We had the pristine coach that played by the rules, the athletic department that had been investigated twice with the NCAA finding nothing substantial.  We were the one with the soundbites about doing things right.  A “major” scandal, especially the pristine head coach lying, is big news.

It’s no secret that the rest of the College Football world hates Ohio State – they don’t exactly hide it.  Success does breed a certain level of jealousy and rage, after all.  Of course the media was going to turn this into a circus, knowing full well how much they stood to gain off of it.