An Even Better Article that Everyone Should Read

[Uncle Rico]

Wojo's job was to win games.  If you can't win games, you're not a good coach.  Some might even say you're pathetic. 

I've never read any of this guy's stuff, so I can't really say if he's a good reporter or not.  But I believe what he's said here about Wojo, because it was obvious to anyone paying attention to the program that this was going on.  Wojo was apparently blindsided when Scholl started asking him tough questions last week; I'm not surprised!  He faced zero criticism from the media his first seven years here.  Again, pathetic, and glad his arrogant, horrible coach ass is gone.

There is no Marquette "media".  The media rights folks aren't going to criticize the coach, so Good Karma Brands isn't going to bash the program or coach.  That eliminates one potential media entity.

The Journal Sentinel is a shell of itself.  Matty V and Ben Steele have done a great job covering the program.  I can also guarantee their editors aren't giving them a lot of demands when it comes to doing actual investigative or critical journalism.  Twenty years ago, there would have been much more coverage on the negative side.  Ask Mike Deane about D.Orlando Ledbetter.  He hated him.  This is true across all local sports.  Good luck finding anything critical of Wisconsin in any local media.  The days of Bud Lea and the likes are long gone.

Lastly, Marquette doesn't move the needle for local sports talk.  Wisconsin barely does and they've been wildly successful.  It's Packers, Brewers and then Bucks.  And the Packers suck almost all the air from those other teams.  The Bucks could make the finals this June and if Rodgers comes out and asks for a trade, the Bucks won't be the first segment anywhere.

[Pakuni]

The problem is that a lot of the media can't ask the hard questions without losing their credentials or getting a cold shoulder.  As a group they should band together and ask the hard questions as a group.  They're all afraid of losing their insider info that they become part of the media wing of the school incidentally.

Ask the hard questions, and if you get the cold shoulder, write articles that you are getting the cold shoulder for asking those questions.

This isn't really true. Can you name some instances of reporters being deprived of credentials for asking "hard" questions? Think about what happened a couple of years ago with Wardle with Bradley. That's every SID's nightmare.
Cold shoulder? Sure. But good reporters establish rapports with sources in which they can ask difficult questions without damaging the working relationship.

This guy is whining that other people wouldn't ask tough questions. Ask them yourself, doofus.

[Hards Alumni]

This isn't really true. Can you name some instances of reporters being deprived of credentials for asking "hard" questions? Think about what happened a couple of years ago with Wardle with Bradley. That's every SID's nightmare.
Cold shoulder? Sure. But good reporters establish rapports with sources in which they can ask difficult questions without damaging the working relationship.

This guy is whining that other people wouldn't ask tough questions. Ask them yourself, doofus.

Obviously Wardle was where I was going to go.  And yes, it blew up in his face as well it should. 

The cold shoulder is as bad or worse as an outright credential yank because it isn't overt, and there is no "Wardle" story to write.  Reporters need to have each other's back more often, and work as a unit while still being competitive.  It's a fine line, but a sense of mutual purpose to ask good questions instead of lobbing softballs out of fear or retaliation is needed.

Or just be the guy who asks the hard questions no matter what and deal with the consequences.  Either one works, while the softball questions frustrate the hell out of me.

whew that was a lot of ramble even for me.

[muwarrior69]

That's fair. I haven't been in MU's press room, maybe it was new to MU. But I have been in other press rooms for other institutions and it is very much a thing.

Yeah, I thought I recognized you at the door waiting to get into tomorrows press conference at the White House.

[94Warrior]

"  Yes, the bloggers saw through the flaws, but they're not in the press room and don't have to deal with the ramifications of directly questioning a coach and potentially having him clam up on answers, or have staff limit access, accordingly. The Wojo era made me wish for a time when we had more people doing the question-asking. It never felt like we could challenge Wojo on things going wrong. At other schools in markets with a more robust media presence, like Butler in Indianapolis, reporters noticeably asked more-drilling questions. Expecting a student, a guy who does a lot of work for Marquette Athletics, or the only other professional journalist in the room to be that person seemed like a bridge too far, as well as when it's clear from the want of Marquette staff to wrap pressers up quickly that there's no interest on their part in encouraging the media to go too in-depth on anything. I tried, in my own way, to occasionally hold Wojciechowski's feet to the fire in my blog. But there was only so much I could do while still expecting to face co-workers the next day."

Now some people DEFINITELY owe me an apology.

Ok, I'll say it.

I AM SORRY to hear you have a blog.

[rocket surgeon]

Yeah, I thought I recognized you at the door waiting to get into tomorrows press conference at the White House.

  " You said there was a conspiracy protecting Wojo from the media"

Say it ain't so!  But but but the "journalistic standards" need to be upheld at any cost . No one is above reproach eyn'a

[NorthernDancerColt]

Thanks for posting that blog, rc83.

It confirms what most of us saw when we watched the press conferences from afar - that Wojo often was very defensive, and reluctant to let any of his personality come out.

I agree with the writer that Wojo might have had some trouble in a larger market in which there were dozens (or even 100+ in some markets) of reporters asking questions after games. I still remember how small he looked when he went after a student reporter a couple years ago. I can only imagine if he got the kind of grilling that the UConn coach or Illinois coach get every day.

Wojo might not have the personality to deal with this anyway, but being exposed to only one basketball culture did him no favors in this regard. Where he was his entire adult life was a fiefdom for K, who is rarely challenged. When he does get challenged even a little, he strikes out like a rattlesnake ... to his credit, he often apologizes a day or two later, but that he feels the need to strike out when challenged shows just how easy he has it. Of course, when you win as much as K does, you aren't getting challenged all that much.

This is Example No. 438 of why Wojo would have benefited from having experiences at other universities.

Could not agree with you more. Did you know U of I homer Loren Tate from your media days in Illinois? The guy could be a petulant whining fan-child while radio broadcasting  a rough game for the Illini, but the moment he got Coach Henson on the air after the game, he would tone it down and show respect.

[avid1010]

But the author's whole point is it was unique to Wojo / the Wojo era. And, unless you're in press rooms, I would think he knows better than both of us.

Yeah...where have we seen examples of people refusing to speak to certain media outlets because they ask difficult questions?  That is so unique to Wojo it should be called a conspiracy?  I deal with the media routinely in a small town (less than 100,000)...we discuss this all the time.  Pros and cons to talking with them...the fewer there are the "softer" they have to be...but you'd be a fool to cut them out.  People are learning this lesson...

That said, if Wojo would have won, he could have been the biggest jerk in the world to the media and it wouldn't have mattered much.

I really thought the best part of the article was pointing to almost a Duke-type entitlement that Wojo had.  It will be interesting to see where he lands next.