TV station buries Nuggets brawl

[adam & doctor drew]

link (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/spotlight_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23962_5221361,00.html)

[kgsl]

Or, if you're uneasy about clicking on a blind link......

PERSPECTIVE MISSING ON TV

By: Dusty Saunders (Rocky Mountain News)
December 17, 2006

Everyone agrees. The brawl at Madison Square Garden Saturday night was an ugly event and a total embarrassment for the NBA. Unfortunately, the post-event television commentary, locally and nationally, did little to put the shoddy situation into any kind of a perspective.
At the start of Altitude's postgame show, Bill Hanzlik and Julie Browman stressed the fact the Nuggets got a road win over the Knicks. Only midway through their initial report did they seem to sense that the victory wasn't the real story.

They finally began recounting the nasty events that began when the Knicks' Mardy Collins hammered the Nuggets' J.R. Smith with an intentional foul. But they initially played down Carmelo Anthony's punch.

Altitude compounded the fracture Sunday morning, editing out nearly all of the nasty events during the tape replay of the game. Viewers saw Smith responding to the foul and the Knicks' Nate Robinson grabbing him as they fell into the crowd.

Altitude then edited out the brawl, inserting nearly 2 minutes of public service announcements before coming back to the meaningless final minute after the five players from each team had been tossed.

Altitude ran an on-screen disclaimer: "Due to time constraints we now move forward in game action."

Time constraints?

Why didn't Altitude simply announce: "We didn't want to show you the brawl."

At least that would have been an honest admission of censorship that deprived viewers who missed all the events.

On the national level, ESPN News' Cindy Brunson salivated over the ugly melee Saturday night like a Hollywood gossip columnist.

She actually seemed delighted that such an unseemly event took place.

Between the constant reruns of the brawl, Brunson reminded viewers that the leading scorer in the NBA had thrown a punch.

Rarely did she lead off her repeated reports mentioning the brouhaha was initiated by the deliberate foul on Smith. She also seemed to agree with Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who, in smirking terms, said the Nuggets might have precipitated the brawl because George Karl left stars such as Anthony and Marcus Camby on the court with a 19-point lead with less than 2 minutes to play.

Brunson was so enthralled with Thomas' theory that she forgot to remind viewers that such comments came from a man who has always had a killer instinct on the court.

ESPN News rushed Kiki Vandeweghe on camera, putting him between an electronic rock and a hard place.

The former Nuggets general manager, now an NBA analyst, handled an uncomfortable situation fairly well, finally noting what everybody knew - Anthony's punch was a "big mistake."

Local radio fared much better.

A distraught Jerry Schemmel, a thorough professional, spread the blame equally on KKFN-AM (950), saying that Anthony's senseless act could cost him a suspension ranging from 10 to 15 games.

Knicks announcer Mike Breen, heard on ESPN News, also provided an even-handed account, quickly shooting down as "ridiculous" Thomas' "stars-in-the-game" theory.

The story, of course, is just beginning.

And there are probably office pools about how many times the unsavory basketball brawl will be shown on television during the next month.

[Kace]

Wasn't Breen onhand for the Pacers Vs Pistons 2004 fiasco?

[Ralphie the buffalo]

First of all, it is not a tv station. It is a regional network.

Secondly, it is no surprise that the brawl was expunged. This comes directly from the Altitude website:

Altitude was created by Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke to give area sports fans the most comprehensive regional sports network in the Rockies.

http://www.altitude.tv/AboutUs/altitude.aspx

What were you expecting from Attitude? A hard-hitting analysis? That is why you turn to ESPN and the other places.

[Kace]

The one great thing about Altitude is that they carry the CFL. In fact, that's the channel I watched the Grey Cup on.

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally posted by Ralphie the buffalo:
First of all, it is not a tv station. It is a regional network.

Secondly, it is no surprise that the brawl was expunged. This comes directly from the Altitude website:

Altitude was created by Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke to give area sports fans the most comprehensive regional sports network in the Rockies.
I disagree.
a network has more than one station in it, no?
Altitude is one station in one building in one city.
what are the other stations in its "network"?

and how does editing out the fight make it "the most comprehensive"?

that line on the website should be rewritten: Altitude was created by Stan Kroenke to carry Nuggets and Avalanche games, but we reserve the right to ignore and/or edit out anything that's unflattering to the teams. If you want complete and unbiased coverage, go somewhere else.

[ December 19, 2006, 10:49 AM: Message edited by: adam & doctor drew ]

[Ralphie the buffalo]

Originally posted by adam & doctor drew:
I disagree.
a network has more than one station in it, no?
Altitude is one station in one building in one city.
what are the other stations in its "network"?

and how does editing out the fight make it "the most comprehensive"?

that line on the website should be rewritten: Altitude was created by Stan Kroenke to carry Nuggets and Avalanche games, but we reserve the right to ignore and/or edit out anything that's unflattering to the teams. If you want complete and unbiased coverage, go somewhere else.It is carried in multiple markets so I could argue that it is a network.

Station?
Network?
It is a media outlet.
Happy now?

As for your failure to grasp the function of Altitude - it is there to show the games and also serve as a support vehicle for those games. It is marketing and propoganda. They show their teams in the best light. That includes ignoring bad things that happen.

It isn't journalism, it is self-promotion by the ownership. Pure and simple.

Get it?
Got it?
Good.

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally posted by Ralphie the buffalo:
Station?
Network?
It is a media outlet.
Happy now?

dude, YOU'RE the one who told ME that I was wrong to call it a station.

now you're backing off that and acting like I'M the one with a problem?

[ December 19, 2006, 12:17 PM: Message edited by: adam & doctor drew ]

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally posted by Ralphie the buffalo:
It isn't journalism, it is self-promotion by the ownership. Pure and simple.
that was my point all along.

[ December 19, 2006, 12:15 PM: Message edited by: adam & doctor drew ]

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally posted by Ralphie the buffalo:
It is carried in multiple markets so I could argue that it is a network. you can argue anything you like.
but in this case, you'd be wrong.

the Denver local affiliates are also carried in parts of Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, Wyoming and Kansas.

does that mean that they're "networks" too?

[ December 19, 2006, 12:16 PM: Message edited by: adam & doctor drew ]

[Ralphie the buffalo]

I don't give a damn what you call it!!!

It is a self-promotion machine by any name. That is the important point you couldn't seem to get your arms around at the beginning of this thread.

[imported_Mr. Vengeance]

Ralphie has a good point, and one which all you about-to-be-displaced sports reporter-producer types should note: Altitude Sports and Entertainment and its ilk are taking the place of sports segments in local newscasts. That's where the sports jobs will be in the future. Make up your minds whether you want to be part of the sports marketing world (TV)...or the sports journalism world (most likely print-only).

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally posted by Ralphie the buffalo:

It is a self-promotion machine by any name. that's fine.
but Altitude shouldn't pretend it's anything more than that, as they apparently do on the website.

THAT was MY point.