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News coverage of UTEP -- looking back, looking ahead

HeWore62

All Star
Apr 18, 2018
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The retirement of Bill Knight, after 40 years at the El Paso Times, may be fodder for you anonymous cheap-shot weasels. But it will do nothing to enhance coverage of the Miners.

The EPT sports staff is now down to two -- Felix Chavez to focus on the Sun City's umpteen high schools and Bret Bloomquist to cover UTEP sports. All of them. Men and women.

History lesson: Just after playing my senior season I was still on scholarship my last semester while working at the Times, December 1971 to May '72. (Might have been a violation of some vague NCAA rule.) I was sixth man on the sports staff, covering a few high school events, filling in on the El Paso Class AA minor league club (Dodgers chain) and laying out the section.

We also had a full-time intern who was taking journalism classes, as I had done. Which means we operated with 6 1/2 staffers. The rival Herald-Post had just as many.

The so-called "bulldog edition" was circulated from Silver City to Roswell, N.M., from Van Horn south into the Big Bend country. Sunday circ was +/- 92,000.

Without a car, I walked or hitch-hiked from the UTEP campus to the office for the night shift. I would get back to Miners Village at 1:30 in the morning, then stumble to my 8 o'clock classes. Small wonder I lost from +/- 235 pounds down to about 210.

My salary was $90 a week. Green as a gourd, I was overpaid.

Today, the EPT distribution is a fraction of a generation ago. Deadlines are so early, you can forget getting next-day coverage of night games in the Central Time Zone. Living 300 miles away, I take the EPT, online. I'm happy to have the lifeline to El Paso and to the only alma mater I will ever have. You whiners who complain about paying for a subscription, make me wonder.

You think we should receive Miners sports coverage for free? Got some extra goofy dust? If so, kindly wave your magic wand, and sterling, wall-to-wall UTEP sports coverage will just magically appear.

Please, neighbors, spare me the wisecracks and your thin baloney. The contraction of the newspaper industry and the retirement of an earnest, honest sports writer is our loss. It should bring you no joy.
 
I think Bob Moore may have something cooking for those two guys who retired. Just a hunch.
 
The retirement of Bill Knight, after 40 years at the El Paso Times, may be fodder for you anonymous cheap-shot weasels. But it will do nothing to enhance coverage of the Miners.

The EPT sports staff is now down to two -- Felix Chavez to focus on the Sun City's umpteen high schools and Bret Bloomquist to cover UTEP sports. All of them. Men and women.

History lesson: Just after playing my senior season I was still on scholarship my last semester while working at the Times, December 1971 to May '72. (Might have been a violation of some vague NCAA rule.) I was sixth man on the sports staff, covering a few high school events, filling in on the El Paso Class AA minor league club (Dodgers chain) and laying out the section.

We also had a full-time intern who was taking journalism classes, as I had done. Which means we operated with 6 1/2 staffers. The rival Herald-Post had just as many.

The so-called "bulldog edition" was circulated from Silver City to Roswell, N.M., from Van Horn south into the Big Bend country. Sunday circ was +/- 92,000.

Without a car, I walked or hitch-hiked from the UTEP campus to the office for the night shift. I would get back to Miners Village at 1:30 in the morning, then stumble to my 8 o'clock classes. Small wonder I lost from +/- 235 pounds down to about 210.

My salary was $90 a week. Green as a gourd, I was overpaid.

Today, the EPT distribution is a fraction of a generation ago. Deadlines are so early, you can forget getting next-day coverage of night games in the Central Time Zone. Living 300 miles away, I take the EPT, online. I'm happy to have the lifeline to El Paso and to the only alma mater I will ever have. You whiners who complain about paying for a subscription, make me wonder.

You think we should receive Miners sports coverage for free? Got some extra goofy dust? If so, kindly wave your magic wand, and sterling, wall-to-wall UTEP sports coverage will just magically appear.

Please, neighbors, spare me the wisecracks and your thin baloney. The contraction of the newspaper industry and the retirement of an earnest, honest sports writer is our loss. It should bring you no joy.

I don’t think anyone is expecting any coverage for free. Unfortunately their coverage of all things El Paso is down to a minimum. And when it is all said and done they’re in a bad spot because they want to charge you money, while giving giving you less.
 
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never complained about paying.....just what I get for my money. The Times is USA Today with a few day old local interest stories. This is a reflection of out of town ownership, decay in the print media business and decline in circulation. I always loved the paper every morning but todays times is nowhere what it was. The times had a presence in the community at one time, but that has dried up along with their customers. Many of these are cooperate decisions which have accelerated the decline. The Herold-Post has a good website for local news/sports as does the EP Inc (limited sports) both of which are now my choices.
 
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It has been a relatively tough year for Miner fans who enjoy reading UTEP coverage. First we lost Miner Rush, who was hands down the best, and now there is further reduction at the EP Times. There is essentially only Brett Bloomquist left for original info and any type of unique insight. During football season, I think that Bloomquist is the only person left who provides original information like: which injured players practiced on a Tuesday, or depth chart movement, or who was taking first team reps, who is redshirting, which new freshman are turning heads and might get playing time, etc., etc., etc. Eveyone else like ESPN600 and the local newstations are just taking 90% of their UTEP information from either twitter or UTEP press releases.

There is a big opening and possible opportunity there if any news media wants to make the effort to fill this void.
 
Re: all of the above posts. You are correct in one way or another. Although I moved away from EP, I have seen what has become of The Times and it's dreadfully a tearful sight. It's certainly not Bill Knight's fault. He was limited in what he could do. He was always a good and honest reporter and IMO not deserving of some of the insults from here. He was sincere in his efforts to do the job.
We always had Times and Herald Post subscriptions...ahhh the good old days
 
never complained about paying.....just what I get for my money. The Times is USA Today with a few day old local interest stories. This is a reflection of out of town ownership, decay in the print media business and decline in circulation. I always loved the paper every morning but todays times is nowhere what it was. The times had a presence in the community at one time, but that has dried up along with their customers. Many of these are cooperate decisions which have accelerated the decline. The Herold-Post has a good website for local news/sports as does the EP Inc (limited sports) both of which are now my choices.
All points well taken. Print media has been in real trouble since the early- to mid-1980s. Maybe earlier. I was just too naive to notice.
 
It has been a relatively tough year for Miner fans who enjoy reading UTEP coverage. First we lost Miner Rush, who was hands down the best, and now there is further reduction at the EP Times. There is essentially only Brett Bloomquist left for original info and any type of unique insight. During football season, I think that Bloomquist is the only person left who provides original information like: which injured players practiced on a Tuesday, or depth chart movement, or who was taking first team reps, who is redshirting, which new freshman are turning heads and might get playing time, etc., etc., etc. Eveyone else like ESPN600 and the local newstations are just taking 90% of their UTEP information from either twitter or UTEP press releases.

There is a big opening and possible opportunity there if any news media wants to make the effort to fill this void.
You might e right. Perhaps there really IS a void in local sports coverage. Anybody got the sack, imagination, organization skills and the cash to explore the soft spot? First 50 subscribers might be found right here on this message board. I figure UTEP administration would be more than cooperative -- especially after they realize the inevitable erosion of coverage.
 
BTW, I survived newsrooms in El Paso, Abilene, Dallas and San Antonio, including the Times Herald (RIP) that featured such luminaries as Skip Bayless, Skip Hollandsworth (Texas Monthly), the late Frank Luksa and the incomparable Blackie Sherrod. I have seen this game played at a high level. Bret Bloomquist gots game. He can run with the big dawgs.
 
BTW, I survived newsrooms in El Paso, Abilene, Dallas and San Antonio, including the Times Herald (RIP) that featured such luminaries as Skip Bayless, Skip Hollandsworth (Texas Monthly), the late Frank Luksa and the incomparable Blackie Sherrod. I have seen this game played at a high level. Bret Bloomquist gots game. He can run with the big dawgs.

Coming from you, that’s quite the compliment!!!!!!!
 
I grew up in the Marty Robbins neighborhood in the east side. I remember waking up early, stealing a quarter from my mom’s purse, and picking up a copy of the times on my way to the school bus stop every morning. I wonder if those newspaper vending machines in the neighborhoods still exist. They might be gone along with the pay phone. I really used to enjoy reading the UTEP sports stories every day.
 
I’m sure Knight was good earlier in his career, but he’s been mailing it in for years.
 
Moore is retired I believe. He is active on twitter now and then.
Bob, Bill, Ruben, etc were all offered early retirement. Gannett is further downsizing.
Bob has adjusted (probably well planned) to so called retirement. He has articles published regularly in publications like the Texas Tribune, Washington Post, etc. If Bill chooses to pursue this, I am sure there will be opportunities. Maybe make some travel money on the side. I used to read Bob's editorials all the time but he just seems too extreme left for me. I like my media somewhat neutral.
Bill is a super dude. I can see him riding off into the sunset.

The decline in print media is directly related to the internet. (mid to late 90s?) Print got caught waaaaay behind the curve and still hasn't figured it out. Thus, it will be dead soon. I don't think most people would care about paying for an online subscription if there was enough content to read. 1 sports reporter, 1 photog, and delayed coverage just won't get you there...

Fun fact.....Brett was sports editor. He got pissed and wrote a very harsh email to the editor. Next day he was a beat writer again. That had to be like 20 years ago...
 
This is a problem nearly everywhere, and no one has a good solution yet. Here in the Denver area there are five major professional sports franchises, a half dozen division 1 universities, and a staff not much bigger than the EP Times to cover it all. Check out denverpost.com and you'll be amazed at how little news reporting you'll find.
 
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This is a problem nearly everywhere, and no one has a good solution yet. Here in the Denver area there are five major professional sports franchises, a half dozen division 1 universities, and a staff not much bigger than the EP Times to cover it all. Check out denverpost.com and you'll be amazed at how little news reporting you'll find.
A frequent Denver visitor, I can attest to Colominer's observation. He knows of which he speaks. The Rocky Mountain News (RIP) died years ago. The surviving Denver Post gets thinner every year, as advertisers use other media to connect with customers.

The Mile High City is a top 25-30 media market in the nation, yet Colorado State, CU, Wyoming and the Air Force Academy receive only token coverage. It's all Broncos, Rockies, all the time. Left to pick up the crumbs are the universities and the pro clubs in hockey, soccer and NBA.

Help me, bruthas and sistuhs. Anybody recite those franchise names?
 
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For a few years I was a stringer for the El Paso Times. I would cover high school games for $25 a game. We would all meet back at the HQ after the games and write. It was alot of fun. Then the El Paso Times cut us all but some of us still did it for a couple more years for free. But some of the guys like Sam Aseltine and Lenny moved on and you could tell the industry was dying.
 
This is a problem nearly everywhere, and no one has a good solution yet. Here in the Denver area there are five major professional sports franchises, a half dozen division 1 universities, and a staff not much bigger than the EP Times to cover it all. Check out denverpost.com and you'll be amazed at how little news reporting you'll find.

The Athletic is a pay website with really great content and it's a bunch of writers that are basically done working for local papers. They hire the local beat writers to come up with content and podcast. Seems to be a model that's working.
 
San Antonio Express News is pretty much an extension of the Houston Chronicle.

What makes EP Times even more garbage is the limit on articles read for free online.
 
A frequent Denver visitor, I can attest to Colominer's observation. He knows of which he speaks. The Rocky Mountain News (RIP) died years ago. The surviving Denver Post gets thinner every year, as advertisers use other media to connect with customers.

The Mile High City is a top 25-30 media market in the nation, yet Colorado State, CU, Wyoming and the Air Force Academy receive only token coverage. It's all Broncos, Rockies, all the time. Left to pick up the crumbs are the universities and the pro clubs in hockey, soccer and NBA.

Help me, bruthas and sistuhs. Anybody recite those franchise names?
I travel to the panhandle of Nebraska who rely on Denver news and visits to the panhandle in the late 90's and early 2000's was all Sonny Lubick of Colorado State. I swear the man could have ran for Governor of Colorado and won I read about him all the time. Winning and beating your bigger in state rival does wonders.
 
For a few years I was a stringer for the El Paso Times. I would cover high school games for $25 a game. We would all meet back at the HQ after the games and write. It was alot of fun. Then the El Paso Times cut us all but some of us still did it for a couple more years for free. But some of the guys like Sam Aseltine and Lenny moved on and you could tell the industry was dying.
Sad but true.
 
It costs money to gather and distribute content. Website visitors, in general, seem allergic to paying for content, the aforementioned The Athletic notwithstanding.

Question for this august body: What if local advertisers paid the freight?
 
I travel to the panhandle of Nebraska who rely on Denver news and visits to the panhandle in the late 90's and early 2000's was all Sonny Lubick of Colorado State. I swear the man could have ran for Governor of Colorado and won I read about him all the time. Winning and beating your bigger in state rival does wonders.
Love the people of western Nebraska. They care about the right stuff. And winning cures cancer.
 
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In my time at the DMN, I covered the old Southwest Conference and the PGA Tour. The newsroom was alive with bright, topical people numbering +- 1,200 in editorial. Cowlisaw covered colleges, if I remember right.

Today, the staff dipped below 200. Dunno how many cover sports but far, far fewer than the late 1980s when I was there. Back then, the sports editor could not spend enough money, sending us hither and yon, even to Europe for a car race.

In '86, I covered UTEP in the WAC tournament in Laramie. Contests in Mountain Time Zone running so late my game stories did not appear until the second day after. Wastfeful.

What am I doing here
, I wondered? Am I here just to explore the back end of the travel budget?
 
Love the people of western Nebraska. They care about the right stuff. And winning cures cancer.
Parlaying risk for columnist and reports seem to be a necessity. Local EP sport media would not embrace dot com sports domain sites initially....initially, year back. Today it's a yell back ("Let me tell why! with a dominant voice) at your followers and making them feel they are part of the discussion with the occasional "clapback" to show who's boss.
 
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Parlaying risk for columnist and reports seem to be a necessity. Local EP sport media would not embrace dot com sports domain sites initially....initially, year back. Today it's a yell back ("Let me tell why! with a dominant voice) at your followers and making them feel they are part of the discussion with the occasional "clapback" to show who's boss.
Again, an old man needs a little help here. "Clapback" ... You lost me (us?). Please translate.
 
Again, an old man needs a little help here. "Clapback" ... You lost me (us?). Please translate.

Merriam-Webster: "Not to be confused with a garden-variety diss, a clapback is deemed by most as a targeted, often viciously acute comeback intended to place someone in much-needed check. … The goal of the clapback is to Shut. It. Down"

The King of Clapback, Stephen A. Smith (Personally, I think Wolken has a rapier double edge better than Smith to him but Wolken has gone decaf).
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