snuffy
07-16-2009, 11:52 AM
Mailbag: Are we OU haters or a propaganda machine?
7/13/2009 5:41:12 PM
http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/blogs/weblog.aspx?column_id=8
Two e-mails, two completely different opinions about our OU coverage. Are we Sooner haters or a Sooner propaganda machine? Let’s go to the mailbag, but first a note:
I’m not publishing names of the e-mailers, because I didn’t ask their permission to publish these. Without permission, I don’t think it’s right to include their name or any other way to identify them.
On to the letters I've received recently. They have been edited down in size, but their point remains intact:
The World: OU’s propaganda machine
This reader said he believes we should be on the OU payroll.
“I have been a subscriber to the Tulsa World for approximately 15 years. My renewal is up in a few weeks and I am seriously considering cancelling my subscription. This is due to the sports section non-stop cheerleading for all things OU. … Yes, I understand that the majority of TW readers are OU fans. But not all readers are fans and many like myself have reached the point of not wanting to be bombarded with this propaganda.”
My thought: He’s right about OU readers. There are a bunch of them. As a result, we are going to have a lot about OU. Some of what we write makes OU fans happy. Some doesn’t. To wit...
How about some positive OU news?
About a week after we were labeled a propaganda machine, a reader let me know that we don’t have enough positive about OU on our Web site. His take:
“I would like to request that you provide some more positive coverage on the OU sports page online. ... Its kind of to the point where if I want to read something good about OU I need to go to newsOK.com”
My take: I thanked him for the e-mail, because it helped me notice we didn’t have an OU story on our OU site that morning. It was interesting feedback from two readers who saw our OU coverage completely differently in a span of about 10 days.
7/13/2009 5:41:12 PM
http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/blogs/weblog.aspx?column_id=8
Two e-mails, two completely different opinions about our OU coverage. Are we Sooner haters or a Sooner propaganda machine? Let’s go to the mailbag, but first a note:
I’m not publishing names of the e-mailers, because I didn’t ask their permission to publish these. Without permission, I don’t think it’s right to include their name or any other way to identify them.
On to the letters I've received recently. They have been edited down in size, but their point remains intact:
The World: OU’s propaganda machine
This reader said he believes we should be on the OU payroll.
“I have been a subscriber to the Tulsa World for approximately 15 years. My renewal is up in a few weeks and I am seriously considering cancelling my subscription. This is due to the sports section non-stop cheerleading for all things OU. … Yes, I understand that the majority of TW readers are OU fans. But not all readers are fans and many like myself have reached the point of not wanting to be bombarded with this propaganda.”
My thought: He’s right about OU readers. There are a bunch of them. As a result, we are going to have a lot about OU. Some of what we write makes OU fans happy. Some doesn’t. To wit...
How about some positive OU news?
About a week after we were labeled a propaganda machine, a reader let me know that we don’t have enough positive about OU on our Web site. His take:
“I would like to request that you provide some more positive coverage on the OU sports page online. ... Its kind of to the point where if I want to read something good about OU I need to go to newsOK.com”
My take: I thanked him for the e-mail, because it helped me notice we didn’t have an OU story on our OU site that morning. It was interesting feedback from two readers who saw our OU coverage completely differently in a span of about 10 days.