The Fan590 radio station bounces a reporter – for doing his job

 There are plenty of words to describe the Fan590 radio station’s decision to suspend Mike Wilner.

  Let’s start with astonishing – astonishing that a media outlet, even if it is a radio station, would pull a reporter off the beat because he confronted a baseball manager with questions about his in-game decisions.

   Isn’t that what beat reporters are paid to do?

  According to a National Post report and by people who were at the media scrum on Wednesday, Wilner didn’t yell at Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston. He didn’t call him names, didn’t swear at him or ridicule him.

   He pressed him about his use of the bullpen in the Jays’ loss to Tampa Bay last Tuesday.  Gaston apparently didn’t answer the questions and instead asked Wilner twice if he “had seen the stats”. The Post called it a “brief but tense exchange.”  Wilner, writing about it in his blog, said near the end of his piece that Gaston had “belittled” him.

   I don’t know about that. But as a result of incident, the Fan590 pulled Wilner from the Jays’ weekend series with the New York Yankees.

   There’s a word for the station did to Wilner. It’s called punishment. The weekend off was a suspension. Whether he’s getting paid or not, and I assume he is, it is still a suspension.

  So, there you have it. A Jays reporter persists in asking  some pointed, perhaps tough questions, and his employer sends him home for a few days.

   Welcome to the world of Rogers Communications, the Vampire Squid (with apologies to Matt Taibbi) that seeks to wrap itself around the face of professional sports in Canada.

  Rogers owns the Jays, Rogers Sportsnet plus other cable channels, and Fan590 as well as plenty of other radio stations. It has a huge cable TV operation, not to mention wireless and telecommunications divisions.

  It’s safe to assume the Fan590’s program director Don Kollins didn’t suspend Wilner on a whim. He received a complaint from the Jays. It could have been from one of the PR people, or vice president Howie Starkman,  who works diligently to root out offensive media types, or Paul Beeston, the  president and a long time Gaston defender. (Beeston claimed he knew nothing about it.)

   Whatever the case, a radio executive with backbone would have politely listened to the Jays’ grievance. His response would have been to do nothing other than perhaps ask Wilner to not accuse Gaston of belittling him when the situation was more likely a give and take between two people who don’t like each other much.

  But not Kollins. Showing himself to be a world class coward, he bowed to the Jays and suspended Wilner, thereby embarrassing himself, not Wilner, and the station. He didn’t even have the guts or the courtesy to respond to calls from the Post. I’d like to think Kollins’s predecessor, Nelson Millman, would have handled the matter differently.

  The Post reported that the Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America sent Beeston a letter voicing concern about Wilner’s suspention.

  Chapter president Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star wrote, “The baseball writers association would like to officially voice its support of the right of Mr. Wilner or any other reporter to ask challenging questions.

 “Similar lines of questioning in the wake of difficult losses are not uncommon in all pro sports. The concern of the BBWAA is that this amounts to an attempt to either censor or intimidate the media coverage that the Jays receive on a daily basis in all four newspapers and the wire services.”

The Ron and Gary show — still not ready for prime time

    As one broadcaster noted, the guy Ron MacLean helped save from drowning in the Delaware River today in Philadelphia most certainly wasn’t NHL commissioner Gary Bettman,  based on the tenor of their conversation Wednesday night.

  Another compared the MacLean-Bettman interview on Hockey Night In Canada to a “a repeat of a bad sitcom.” It certainly was. Like all the others, it was awkward, a little strange, somewhat contentious and not very enlightening.

   MacLean tries to be aggressive and confrontational during these sessions, and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s no reason to soft ball the guy, although the more pressure you put on Bettman the more it seems to elevate his level of smugness and condescension.

  The big problem was the subject matter. MacLean dealt with the financial issues and problems confronting the NHL clubs in a convoluted manner that didn’t explain much of anything. He went from one club to another, wondering which owner was going to “turn in the keys” and which owner wasn’t. As Bettman noted, there is a difference between turning in the keys and deciding to sell.

   The biggest problem with any interview that MacLean conducts is context and first references. He doesn’t believe in either, which, of course, pretty much reduces his efforts to a mumbo-jumbo hardly worth listening to. Still, the CBC is obviously okay with this, because the network has allowed him to ignore basic journalistic principles for years.

   In this one, he raised the issue of the Goldwater Institute, which has challenged the city of Glendale’s multi-million dollar deal with the Coyotes. The problem was, MacLean threw out the word Goldwater without telling us that it is a Phoenix based think thank that believes the Coyotes deal will force taxpayers to subsidize the club’s loses. If you’re not going to explain what the thing is, what’s the point of mentioning it?

  Sean McCormick done at Sportsnet

   Anchor Sean McCormick is quitting Rogers Sportsnet immediately to “devote his time” to winning a seat on Toronto city council.

  McCormick announced several weeks ago that he would run in the municipal election and that he would resign from Sportsnet if he won.

  Given that voting day isn’t until late October, McCormick is giving himself plenty of time — the best part of five months — to prepare and campaign.  His last day at Sportsnet is tomorrow (June 4).

  The following is the internal memo sent out by Nelson Millman, the executive producer of studio productions at Sportsnet, announcing that McCormick is leaving. (Nelson, who joined Sportsnet from the Fan590, is certainly a radio guy – he misspells television twice.)

  As I am sure you all know, Sean McCormick has decided to run for Toronto City Council in the municipal election to be held on October 25th. There is no question that running for politics is a time consuming initiative that requires
full attention in order to be successful. To that end, Sean has decided that in order to give himself the best opportunity to win, he needs to devote his time to the campaign and election process. Therefore Sean’s last day at Sportsnet will be Friday June 4th.
  Sean has been with Sportsnet for the past 7 years and has certainly established himself as one of the country’s premier sports televison broadcasters. His presence, sense of humour and experience will be very much missed by all of us here. However, serving one’s city is a noble endeavour and I’m confident he will be outstanding when he wins the election in his riding.
  I’m sure you will all join me in wishing Sean the best of luck as he moves over from the televison stage to the political stage.

Aussie Rules editing at the Globe; updated SCF audiences

   The Globe and Mail announced internally last week that the newspaper will undergo a redesign in the fall.

    More important for staff was news that copy editing assignments will be contracted out to an external service.

   Globe staffers aren’t happy about this, but weren’t able to stop it. At the Toronto Star, the out-sourcing of copy editing was proposed last November. However,  an alternative proposal by the union to keep the work in-house was accepted in January.

    In an e-mail message to employees, Globe editor John Stackhouse insisted that jobs will not be lost. “There is no planned reduction in headcount,” he wrote.

    Stackhouse expressed confidence in the editing company retained by the Globe. It’s called Pagemasters North America. He said the Australian based parent company, Pagemasters, “has a track record of doing excellent production work for some of the biggest papers in Australia and New Zealand.

   “They have also been doing pages for the Daily Telegraph in London. Pagemasters was formed in 1991, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian Associated Press.  Pagemasters North America [PMNA] is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Canadian Press.”

   Stackhouse said Pagemasters’ “two-page-a-day trial” will start June 7. “From July 6^th until Labour Day, approximately 70 pages a week will be moved to PMNA.  If the summer trial goes well, our plan is to continue to provide PMNA with some work.”

    Stackhouse used a Q&A to deliver most of his message:

 Q. Which pages will be given to Pagemasters?

 A. During the trial, split pages from the A Section as well as the Wall Street Journal page will be provided to PMNA.  During July and August, the pages provided to PMNA will be from a variety of sections. 

Q. Will PMNA be given front-page stories and front pages?

 A. No, PMNA will not be given front-page stories.  We want our best people on the highest-profile work, which includes front pages and front-page stories.

Q. Why did we decide to engage the services of Pagemasters?

A. We are doing this during the summer months to help with vacation relief in this transition vacation year.  If the trial goes well, we are planning to continue this arrangement after the summer because we have ambitious digital plans, including the launch of the GlobeLife hub, and are keen to further integrate our newsroom by developing greater web skills among our own editing team. We can make that happen by providing some of their previous work to PMNA and diverting people to priority areas.  We want to concentrate more resources on what we think is a competitive edge: creation and display of first-rate content.  This arrangement will also free time for enhanced skills training. We are bringing in one of the top Newsgate trainers in North American in a few weeks and will be following through the summer with world-class experts in other areas as well.

   Also, this arrangement will allow us to prepare for and focus on the newspaper redesign this fall.

  Q. How will we ensure our high quality is maintained?

 A. We will have a Service Level Agreement with PMNA that sets out our expectations of quality and timeliness. Pagemasters has a long history of doing excellent production work for some of the biggest papers in Australia and New Zealand as well as the Daily Telegraph in London.  They very clearly understand, and are committed to maintaining, our high quality standards.  As mentioned above, the summer trial will be used as an opportunity to assess the quality, reliability and consistency of their work.  We also encourage you to keep an eye on the quality and provide us with your feedback.

   Readers asked why last weekend’s Sunday night baseball game was carried on Rogers Sportsnet instead of TSN2 which acquired the rights a few weeks ago. Answer: It was a one-off. TSN2 had scheduling conflict involving auto racing. And it had to hold Sunday night for a potential NBA conference final Game 7.

  Strong U.S. audiences for Stanley Cup final

NBC earned a 4.1 overnight rating (percentage of potential U.S. households tuned in) for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final (Philadelphia-Chicago).

  That’s the highest rating for a SCF Game 2 since 1975 (Buffalo-Philadelphia). The rating was also 21 per cent higher than last year’s rating for Game 2 (Pittsburgh-Detroit). The top TV market was Chicago (a 25.1 rating). Philadelphia was second with 18.5.

  NBC’s 2.8 rating for Game 1 on Saturday night  was up 12 per cent from last year’s final (Pittsburgh-Detroit).

  As well, the 2.8 rating was the highest for a SCF Game 1 in 11 years (Buffalo-Dallas, 1999, 3.7 rating). NBC’s 2.8 won the night in U.S. television, topping the other networks in prime time.

  The increases numbers aren’t a surprise given the size of the two markets. As well, the Flyers have a national following. HBO’s documentary last month on the Broad Street Bullies didn’t hurt the Flyers’ profile.

   In Canada, the CBC’s audience for Game 2 was down from the first game. The telecast was watched by 2.775 million. Game 1 drew 3.164 million. The  Game 1 pre-game show was watched by 989,000.

  For round three – the two conference finals – CBCSports.ca had 356,000 views for the online streams. That’s a 600 per cent increase over 51,000 in 2009.

 Blue Jays

 Friday, vs. Baltimore, Sportsnet, 581,000.

Saturday, vs. Baltimore, Sportsnet, 527,000.

Sunday, vs. Baltimore, Sportsnet, 334,000.

 MLB

 Sunday, Texas-Minnesota, Sportsnet,187,000.

 Basketball

Friday, Orlando-Boston, TSN, 348,000

Saturday, Suns-Lakers, TSN, 435,000

Hockey

Friday, NHL scouting combine, TSN, 171,000

Saturday, That’s Hockey Stanley Cup preview, TSN, 243,000

Saturday, Hockey Central, Sportsnet, 186,000

Tennis

Saturday, French Open, TSN, 145,000

Auto racing

Sunday, Turkish Grand Prix, TSN, 312,000

 Soccer

 Saturday, CBC, Hungary-Germany friendly, 134,000.

 Track and Field

 Saturday, Diamond League, CBC, 109,000.

Is this England’s year? Don’t rule it out, says World Cup voice

 I contacted British soccer announcer Steve Banyard last week to get his assessment of the World Cup.

   Banyard, 46, calls English Premier League telecasts for IMG London and does some work for Sky Sports.  He is also a lead play by play announcer for the FIFA host broadcasts. He has worked on World Cups as well as under-20 and under-17 tournaments. He was in Canada three years ago for the under-20 event. And he will be in South Africa to call World Cup games (June 11 start). In Canada, the telecasts will be aired on the CBC.

  I asked Steve to list his top three World Cup seeds.

 They are in order:

Spain

 “For me the big question mark is the fitness of [Fernando] Torres. He missed the last month of the season in the English Premier League and has had a few interruptions through injury this season. However, he’s as good a striker as there is in world football when he’s fit.

 “Spain broke the mental barrier of winning a major tournament when they won the Euros two years ago, and they have as good, and as settled, a squad as anyone.”

Brazil

 “Five time winners. The only nation to participate at every World Cup. They won the South American qualifying group. Enough said.”

England

 “Any successful team has to produce goals, and this could be Wayne Rooney’s time to shine. He’s been utterly brilliant for Manchester United this season and that’s reflected by him winning the major domestic awards as the best player. Fabio Cappello’s instilled a greater sense of discipline and focus, and he’s a manager who is a proven winner.

  “If I’ve worked this out correctly, a Brazil v Spain final can only happen if they both win their groups (or indeed both come 2nd!) as the groups are aired in the Round of 16 knockout stage.”

 The surprise team of the tournament:

Ghana

 “There’s never been a better and more appropriate time for an African nation to make a real impact and reach the latter stages. The continent’s hosted both the U20 and U17 World Cups in the last 12 months, Ghana beat Brazil in the U20 in Egypt in the autumn (or fall, I guess you’d say!) and a number of those players will be stepping up to the senior side. Ghana have tremendous energy, now married with more experience. They beat both the Czech Republic and the USA on their World Cup debut four years ago, and only lost to Italy and Brazil. One to watch for sure.”

His assessment of the U.S. team:

“I was really impressed with the impact made by Landon Donovan in his brief spell with Everton in the EPL this season. He added invention, creativity and was a genuine goal provider. The US also has several proven top-class goalkeepers.

  “However, when I saw them play the Netherlands in March, they were lacking a cutting edge up front through the middle, and I’m not sure the squad has sufficient depth of quality to get past the Round of 16.

 “I’d love to see it happen as it would be a fantastic boost for MLS and for the sport stateside. Lots of people want to build the rivalry between England and the US for the opening game, but personally I’d love to see both do well and I think both should qualify from Group C.”

More on England:

 “Fabio Capello’s tighter regime is already paying dividends. Nine wins in 10 qualifying matches came about by the team applying themselves better, working together, and not allowing unnecessary distractions to get in the way.

 “Rooney is the headline-grabber, but players like [Frank] Lampard, [Steven] Gerrard and [John] Terry give the spine real quality. One concern is the goalkeeping position. David James is occasionally vulnerable (he’s sometimes been referred to as ‘Calamity James’ over here for high profile errors), so it’s unclear if he’ll get the nod. Joe Hart could be a surprise choice between the sticks despite a lack of international experience, or Rob Green may be preferred. Everyone’s just hoping it doesn’t go to penalties again. . . !”

 On the host country:

 ”South Africa will provide a truly unique World Cup, whatever happens, just by virtue of being the first African nation to host the tournament. The local horns or ‘vuvuzelas’ will ensure an atmosphere unlike those at previous World Cups (and we might need ear plugs!) but it’s going to be a great spectacle. Let’s hope the South African people embrace the tournament, there are no security concerns and that the football provides some wonderful memories.”

ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS: How it muscles the competition

  The power that Rogers Communications wields in the Canadian sports media business is truly remarkable.

   We saw an example of it last week when it was announced that TSN was ceding its schedule of 2010 Toronto Blue Jays games to Rogers-owned Sportsnet.

  Why would TSN disrupt its summer programming to accommodate Rogers? Because Rogers asked for the games. And when the biggest, strongest guy on the block asks for something, he usually gets it.

  It should be noted that TSN, for giving up the Jays, received concessions from Rogers, concessions that will help build the TSN2 brand. TSN2 acquired Sunday night baseball games from Rogers, which controls MLB TV rights in Canada, and the 7:30 a.m. Saturday English Premier League game, also from Rogers.

  Make no mistake, TSN and its owner CTVglobemedia are major players in Canadian sports television. But, they can’t match the influence and muscle of Rogers.

  Rogers’s assets, in addition to its telecommunications and wireless business, include the Jays; the four-channel regional service Sportsnet; and Rogers Cable, arguably, the most important cable system in the country, because it controls the rich, heavily populated Toronto market. Rogers also has a close relationship with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns the Maple Leafs and Raptors.

  But the Rogers list of important assets doesn’t end there. You could add the CRTC regulatory body to its group of useful friends. After all, without the help of Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Rogers wouldn’t even be in the TV content business.

  It was the CRTC, in one of its many ill-advised decisions, that ruled in the 1990s that Rogers could operate as both a content provider (owner of a TV network) and a content carrier (cable distributor).

  This represented a clear conflict of interest for Rogers and an invitation for abuse. In the United States, a similar relationship almost a century ago between Hollywood studios and theatre exhibitors resulted in anti-trust legislation. But, for TV, the slogan has been: No regulation is good regulation.

    Consider how Rogers has used its power.

  In 2000, it bought the Jays and not long after acquired the Toronto all-sports radio station Fan590.

   Jays radio rights at the time were owned by Score Media, which had ambitious plans. It wanted to set up a national radio network anchored by baseball and the Jays. The Score Television Network would be a component. It tried, unsuccessfully, to hire Bob McCown away from the Fan to be the lead anchor.

   But these plans ended abruptly when Rogers put on squeeze. Rogers demanded the Score give up its Jays radio rights. The Score capitulated and the Rogers-owned Fan590 and its network of stations started broadcasting the games.

  Fast forward to 2008, when TSN launched TSN2, a worthy addition to television’s sports cable services. The new channel owned rights to Grand Slam tennis, NHL and NBA games and Toronto Raptors games, as well as a few Jays games.

   Every major cable and satellite system in the country started carrying TSN2 almost immediately – except one. Rogers, which owned Sportsnet against which TSN2 would compete for viewers, refused.

   Rogers waited months before finally adding TSN2 to its channel lineup just days before TSN2 was scheduled to air its first game involving Rogers-owned Jays. What a surprise.

  It’s been argued that the delay in Rogers carrying TSN2 was tied to broader negotiations between Rogers Cable and additional CTV cable assets. I don’t know. But on the face of it, this delay appeared to be clear example of Rogers using its cable division to protect its content division.

   Let’s move ahead.

  In 2009, the CBC acquired a license to launch a sports channel to be called CBC SportsPlus. The CBC made plans to launch in 2010, but then put the entire project on an indefinite hold. Why? I’m told it’s because Rogers Cable made it clear it had no interest in carrying the channel. It felt the market was saturated.

   Never mind that Rogers happily makes two U.S. sports channels, CBS College Sports and Big Ten Network, available to its customers. Another Canadian channel (which would compete against Sportsnet) was out of the question.

  Now, we have TSN and TSN2 forced to relinquish their Jays schedules. Only 25 games a season are involved, but TSN loses a major league property and is required to re-juggle its schedule. The reason given for Rogers taking back the Jays games was consistency. All 162 games will be aired on Sportsnet.

   But insiders believe Rogers will air some of the Jays games on a new sports national channel called Sportsnet 2, which it is planning to launch.

  When the new channel starts, the CBC should complain to the CRTC. After all, Rogers apparently refused to consider carrying the CBC’s proposed channel because of market saturation, yet at the same time was planning to start its own national sports service.

   That appears to be an abuse of power, power that was given to Rogers by the CRTC.