For those of you who don't know me, I work for the Taunton Gazette and am a former beat writer for the Revs. Unfortuantely, as the Gazette is no longer my primary job, I have not been able to cover the team in the past few years. Obviously, our Revs content has been limited to AP stories or a (really) rare article by me. With that said, there is a fellow bigsoccer poster who has taken an interest in provding coverage for the paper. I spoke with the Sports Editor, Dave Wolcott, last night and he said he actually liked the idea because AP is highly unreliable. He will be meeting with Jon Root, the Managing Editor, next week to discuss the Sports budget for next year. The Revs are on the agenda (which I can verify that I have seen). Being a small newspaper (12K circulation), obviously our coverage doesn't have a huge impact on the footprint of MLS. However, our sister paper - the Fall River Herald - also has pathetic coverage ans is also very likely to pick up the stories, since they would come at NO cost to them. The FR Herald has a much larger circulation and also has a very large Portuguese readership. Not that I am saying they are Revs fans, but the community in FR does hold a high interest in soccer. Anyway, to get to my point, I've provided the e-mail addresses for the key people involved in this decision in case anyone wants to drop them a note suggesting they increase Revs coverage. Regards, Rob Moles Publisher: John Shields; jshields@tauntongazette.com. Manaing Editor: Jon Root; jroot@tauntongazette.com or newsroom@tauntongazette.com Sports Editor: David Wolcott; dwolcott@tauntongazette.com or sports@tauntongazette.com
I just checked the Sports and Dave's email and NOBODY sent an e-mail...I guess nobody cares Edit: Or hopefully everyone is sending them to the two Jo(h)n's
Don't underestimate You certainly have my support, keepah. btw, Don't underestimate the value of local coverage. Remember, "Think globally, act locally."
Here's a sample letter...Do NOT just copy and paste. This is for idea only. This should give you the jist of the idea. Your note doesn't have to be long. It just has to say that you read (If you subscribe, say so. If not, don't say you subscribe.) the Taunton Daily Gazette, you follow the Revolution, and you'd like to see the paper increase their coverage of the Revs in 2003. If you live in the area, please help Rob out and put the Revs back in the sports pages of the greater Taunton and Fall River areas. ============== Dear Mr. <Name>, I am a loyal and avid reader of the Taunton Daily Gazette. However, I am also a loyal and avid fan of the New England Revolution. Unfortunately, I have not been able to follow the Revolution in the pages of the Gazette as closely as I had hoped as they reached new heights during 2002. I hope that the Gazette will give due consideration to increasing their coverage of the Revolution in the 2003 season. The Revs experienced a banner year in 2002, with an appearance in MLS Cup, hosted in front of 61,000 fans at Gilette Stadium, and their first ever Eastern Conference crown. The Revs are a product only growing in popularity, and with most of the team coming back, including star striker Taylor Twellman, the team looks ready to defend their Eastern Conference crown. This year will also bring visits by Barcelona F.C. of Spain and Juventus of Turin, Italy, as well as various CONCACAF national teams, including the United States national team, competing in the Gold Cup. This is an exciting year for soccer in our area, and I hope to follow these exciting events through in-depth coverage by the Gazette. Sincerely, <Your Name> <Your Address> (optional) <Your Phone> (optional)
Anybody want to start one of these kind of things for other newspapers? Lemme go see if I can get the Metrowest Daily News email guy... Prof
Got it! Dunno if I'm the only one here who reads the MDN, but there's only one guy who covers the Revs, occasionally... Who wants to help me chew him out? Prof metrowest.sports@cnc.com How do I make this a link?