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Some say that journalism isn’t what it used to be. I disagree. Journalism exists…it has simply been pushed into the background by sensationalism. ESPN isn’t a news source, they are into entertainment. Opinion columns, shows, radio…those are all far more popular than anything factually focused. They are popular because it allows folks to feel more involved. “Hey! That guy on tv said something similar to my own ill-thought out opinion! He’s great!”
There are so many outlets of information now that in order to stay in business, everyone had to switch over to sensationalism over journalism. Opinions and bluster over facts. “Analysis” over analysis. That’s why a site like this is so refreshing, even though it isn’t journalism. It is, however, not sensationalism and that’s a bonus.
There’s an almost absurd situation now where most people distrust anything ‘official’ but believe any hackneyed blurb on the internet.

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How much influence the professional press has on the thinking of the average fan is interesting (and a more interesting question/task would be to try to chart how that role has changed today vs. yesteryear i.e. pre-social media, and pre-internet.)

The landscape we live in is dramatically different today, than say 20 years ago.

Although I’ve only done it once, I can listen to Mike Tomlin’s press conferences live on the internet while at lunch. Ten years ago, I could go to the Steelers website and copy/paste them into Word, and read them at my leisure. FIVE years before that, I was dependent on Ed Bouchette et. al. to write stories based on what the coach said, deciding what information to share and what to leave out.

With that said, the ability to “official” organs of the NFL to shape debate, if not opinion is tremendous, particularly during the season when all sorts of rules and restrictions govern what credentialed writers can say.

If the Steelers make, publish an interview with say Heath Miller on Steelers.com and make him available to the press, you will see the major dailies and TV-related sites do stories. Bloggers will follow suit.

In terms of impact of opinion, it is a little harder to gauge. I’ve been looking fairly closely at the Steelers press coverage since 2008, and one of the things that I have noticed over the last year or so a change in the attitude of the professional press, at least those based in Pittsburgh.

In the 1990’s and even in the first part of the 00’s, every time a free agent left town “The sky was falling, the sky was falling.” Tom Donahoe even said, “No offense, but I love proving you guys wrong.”

However, over the last few years, it seems like Pittsburgh-based writers are pushing back against the “Fire Everyone” mentality. Jim Wexell has written about it, Dale Lolley has commented on it, and Ed Bouchette has made similar remarks.

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As for the issue of professionalism, I burrow a little deeper into that in Part Three which appears next week. I really do think that the so-called professionals bear much of the responsibility for setting the tone for this type of thinking.

You also raise an interesting question as to what actually constitutes an evaluation of ‘Bust’. It would seem for some that failing to become All Pro would be the criteria. Hood has found and maintained work in the league, not a small accomplishment every year since he’s been drafted. If this is the expectation of all high round draft picks then a lot of players are doomed.

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And Hood just signed with Washington, and they appear glad to have him.

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Probably just sloppiness on my part. I have no idea who actually pulls the trigger on the picks though I imagine involves some form of consensus. Influence rather than overrule would likely be the better choice of words.

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Great points. But not sure its 100% accurate to say that the Rooneys/Nunn overrode Noll, and then Cowher and Colbert on Franco, Stallworth and Roethlisberger. If you go by what Dan Rooney says in his autobiography, when he saw Colbert and Cowher talking about Whatever that Guard’s name was, he says he threw out Roethlisberger’s name and from there they arrived at the decision to pick him.

Reading accounts of Stallworth and Franco, I get the feeling it was more a matter of convincing Noll than overriding him.

But, I know you have sources in the organization, so I realize you might be in a better position to gauge this than the rest of us.

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Let me add in an element from a slightly fresh angle. Much of your commentary centers on our friend Mel Kiper Jr. who, quite frankly, is a professional and should know better.

But I think part of this “Bust” mentality that dominates much of the fan base is actually a result of how well the Steelers have drafted. Most Steelers fans think Ziggy Hood was a bust. And to be honest, as a first round pick, he did not deliver the value he should have. But Ziggy Hood was not a bust. He was average.

The Steelers went from the early 1970’s until picking Aaron Smith in 1999 without picking a Pro Bowl defensive lineman. Think of the Gary Dunn’s, Keith Gary’s and Aaron Jones of the era and Chuck Noll and Dick Haley would have been happy to have drafted Ziggy Hood instead.

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Just a little

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