msdos wrote:serious question...regardless of the method, do you guys honestly believe there's enough people that really care enough for any change to occur?
Unfortunately, I really, REALLY, believe that there are not.
Is there enough people that care about the athletic policy on it's own? Probably not.
Are there enough Tulane alumni to say "enough is enough" of Scott Cowen's leadership and results? Absolutely, if those people were made aware of the situation.
The New Orleans business community is the other interested party. But going about this through the tiny, tiny and older Tulane athletics fan base is not going to work.
What's not been said but I think impacts on things a good deal is that most of the alumni are spread around the country and out of the state and somewhat disconnected and also apathetic.
You've simply got to have someone or a group who are local or in the region and can and will communicate to the school and have a way to apply pressure to the school, i.e. deep pockets.
I also agree that print media are dying and that Facebook has "jumped the shark."
Tulane sports: small football stadium, very small basketball arena, w̶i̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶g̶r̶a̶m̶s̶, h̶o̶n̶e̶s̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶o̶u̶n̶t̶a̶b̶i̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ , but, hey, now there's tailgating.
msdos wrote:serious question...regardless of the method, do you guys honestly believe there's enough people that really care enough for any change to occur?
Unfortunately, I really, REALLY, believe that there are not.
Is there enough people that care about the athletic policy on it's own? Probably not.
Are there enough Tulane alumni to say "enough is enough" of Scott Cowen's leadership and results? Absolutely, if those people were made aware of the situation.
The New Orleans business community is the other interested party. But going about this through the tiny, tiny and older Tulane athletics fan base is not going to work.
What's not been said but I think impacts on things a good deal is that most of the alumni are spread around the country and out of the state and somewhat disconnected and also apathetic.
You've simply got to have someone or a group who are local or in the region and can and will communicate to the school and have a way to apply pressure to the school, i.e. deep pockets.
I also agree that print media are dying and that Facebook has "jumped the shark."
Without the one key "deep pocket" person stepping up, there is no way to apply pressure. I also remember the Kent McWilliams 'es and Ben Weiners of the past. Does that person exist today? And if so, can we "find" them and give our input before SC and RD find them?
If someone were to offer the Athletic Dept the money for the naming rights and maybe more, contingent on the stadium being a minimum of 35-40K, I bet RD and SC would turn them down. Unless of course, that someone implied he would state publicly that he offered and was turned down. Can we find that person first?
"That mantra is the only consistent thing that never needs to ever change for the rest of this program’s existence because that is all that matters & as long as that keeps occurring, everything will handle itself" -- Nick Anderson
If Kent McWilliams had not demanded (and most important, was in position to demand) and pressured Tulane during the 1980's to bring basketball then heaven knows when they would have done that.
Somehow I sense that they (the Tulane powers-who-are) don't really care about much, other than that there isn't a scandal, if all that they're doing with athletics is "just barely getting by" mode as long as they are getting by. And then if somehow they do arrive at a scenario where they aren't quite getting by, then what? Is it more likely that they would shut it down/drop down to a lower classification or would they ever get the idea that it's time to offer a better, more salable on-field product? The evidence and the precedent seems to indicate the former resolution more than the latter one.
It's hard to avoid getting the sense that their view is that that on-field product is the item in the whole formula least likely to change, that they think and have always had the thought that Tulane already wins games plenty often enough to suit them or possibly that they refuse to take the risk on embarrassment what might happen if Tulane actually did do more to try to be winning more often and that the main variable is whether the alumni and non-alumni followers of the sports teams donate and buy tickets enough.
The "other forum" is all about pressuring everyone to open their wallets/checkbooks though it's more because of "Tulane does things the right way..." than because of the teams having success.
The issue is not just Rick Dickson and it's hard to say, too, that it all stops with Cowen.
I'd go so far to say that anyone who really, really wants to be seeing consistent success is fighting against the whole ingrained culture of the school.
You've simply got to have the ammunition with which to fight the battle, because you will be in one with these people (the one school president who was truly serious about wanting to have winning football at Tulane was also one of the most controversial).
My guess though just a guess is that there are plenty of SMU alumni in Texas and who have a lot of money (and SMU of course always did have the money and willingness to spend it in whichever way even in the 1980's) and made it clear to the school that they were stepping up and demanding change. And probably that's also true of TCU and there's the difference.
So where to go from here? Hope that Scott Cowen won't be around much longer, that the next school administration will have a very different mindset and also would be more true to their word and then that someone or group steps up and effectively applies pressure to the school to make substantive changes and that's about all that you can do.
Tulane sports: small football stadium, very small basketball arena, w̶i̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶g̶r̶a̶m̶s̶, h̶o̶n̶e̶s̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶o̶u̶n̶t̶a̶b̶i̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ , but, hey, now there's tailgating.
Remember, too, though, that David Filo, an engineering alum, donated $30 million but still Tulane dropped computer engineering among other things.
Tulane sports: small football stadium, very small basketball arena, w̶i̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶g̶r̶a̶m̶s̶, h̶o̶n̶e̶s̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶o̶u̶n̶t̶a̶b̶i̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ , but, hey, now there's tailgating.
I'm a student and I rarely read the Times Pic. OCCASIONALLY I will go to Nola.com. I get 99% of my news from CNN.com, facebook.com, and friends texting me. Sports news is espn.com, and the forums.
And to the original post, it bothers me when you send an email to a woman's coworker or boss with the words "have previously spoken to you about the fans dismay". I'd prefer you say 'have previously spoken to you about MY dismay". I'm a fan and don't agree and you're in deep waters with me when you go over someone's head and threaten their job security with a complaint when they're the only writer we've got. Just feels dirty.
Just some thoughts I'm having. Happy Sunday everyone! Off to apartment hunt in NEW ORLEANS
The T-P has the #1 readership in the country as per yesterday's paper. nola.com is the # 1 newspaper affiliated website. As always New Orleans is different. It is still where people get their news and it is still very influential.
Sorry, but this isn't that other site and you can't tell people what they have to say. What I said was accurate. I didn't call for her job. I called for balanced reporting. There are other assignments at the paper.
I don't know the stats but i'm assuming he was talking Per Capita as far as the newspaper goes, obviously the TP isn't going to match the sheer numbers of other publications in bigger cities. JDTulane, do you think Tammy is good? You know what feels dirty to me, when I support a program for 30 years and my dad for 30 years before that and all I get is lies and the one person who has access to the liar doesn't ask any questions, but publishes his lies and agenda as fact. She reports like a 5 year old. No tough questions, no easy questions, no questions period. How long have you been a Tulane fan? I'm pretty sure you were on here bashing the 25K number as fiction months ago and also bashing us for complaining about yogwf. Most of the people on here have been around this program for awhile and are sick and tired of all the secrets and B.S. that surrounds it. We cant afford to have reporters like Tammy. Dickson and Cowen never have to answer tough questions, ever. Tammy is a grown woman and she does a poor job. Those are the facts. The time for B.S. and niceties is long gone.
sader24 wrote:the one person who has access to the liar doesn't ask any questions, but publishes his lies and agenda as fact. She reports like a 5 year old. No tough questions, no easy questions, no questions period.
Ditto.
Nothing personal to her but her reporting is terrible.
sader24 wrote:I don't know the stats but i'm assuming he was talking Per Capita as far as the newspaper goes, obviously the TP isn't going to match the sheer numbers of other publications in bigger cities. JDTulane, do you think Tammy is good? You know what feels dirty to me, when I support a program for 30 years and my dad for 30 years before that and all I get is lies and the one person who has access to the liar doesn't ask any questions, but publishes his lies and agenda as fact. She reports like a 5 year old. No tough questions, no easy questions, no questions period. How long have you been a Tulane fan? I'm pretty sure you were on here bashing the 25K number as fiction months ago and also bashing us for complaining about yogwf. Most of the people on here have been around this program for awhile and are sick and tired of all the secrets and B.S. that surrounds it. We cant afford to have reporters like Tammy. Dickson and Cowen never have to answer tough questions, ever. Tammy is a grown woman and she does a poor job. Those are the facts. The time for B.S. and niceties is long gone.
RWR- Just out of curiosity... have you emailed Tammy with these complaints? I'm assuming you have. If you have it's less dirty and if you have NOT, then it is. I just get nervous when people complain to higher ups with reporting... but I guess that's the sports world and everyone gets their opinion. I would personally address 99% of my complaints to the spoken word and when they direct me elsewhere I'll go elsewhere to complain. Thats just how I personally go about things.
Sader. Time does not a better fan make. I'm 22 so your 30 years trumps me... but that doesn't make you a better fan. We all have our opinions and thoughts, but proudly we all bleed the same Tulane colors. And if you read my opinions on 25k you'll read that if that ends up being the number I will be on the frontlines of complainers who think it's ludicrous and small time. And YES, I still think taking the time to bash YOGWF is a waste of sports talk and thread space to shift through.
I'm happy to have a beat writer that covers Tulane so often and before her this was barely and rarely the case. While some of her opinions are wishywashy political, she's new and a female reporter in a men's field. I cut her slack. I like some of her articles quite a bit and shake my head at others... like I do with most authors.
Of course I did. But either way it 's not dirty at all. She works in the public eye and if she can't handle the heat she can get out of the kitchen. I'm glad for her coverage but that doesn't mean we have to accept her egregious failure to ask hard questions on the important topics. Furthermore she's not new as she's been covering us for at least two years.
Fair enough. You're winning me over. I guess I just don't see what she writes as untruthful/biased/poorly done enough to go above her to complain (YET) . Maybe I'm just settling and just happy someone else is at our party.
I guess if I was insulted or disappointed enough I might do the same. Took some time to conclude that.
JDTulane wrote:Fair enough. You're winning me over. I guess I just don't see what she writes as untruthful/biased/poorly done enough to go above her to complain (YET) . Maybe I'm just settling and just happy someone else is at our party.
I guess if I was insulted or disappointed enough I might do the same. Took some time to conclude that.
JD I wouldn't accuse her of anything sinister like a bias or certainly not being untruthful. She just isn't thorough, at all.
All she basically does is take dictation. The TP could simply print Wilson Center press releases verbatim and we wouldn't lose anything in coverage.
Take the recent article about the stadium. Where were the questions? Why did she not ask about parking issues, nimby issues, tailgating, or any of the many other legitimate issues raised by guys on this very forum?
It could have been a really great article. Instead it was pablum.
For me the highlight of that article was her printing Dickson's malapropism and actually using it in the headline, "I am compelled that this will happen." You can't make that kind of stuff up.
JDTulane wrote:Fair enough. You're winning me over. I guess I just don't see what she writes as untruthful/biased/poorly done enough to go above her to complain (YET) . Maybe I'm just settling and just happy someone else is at our party.
I guess if I was insulted or disappointed enough I might do the same. Took some time to conclude that.
JD I wouldn't accuse her of anything sinister like a bias or certainly not being untruthful. She just isn't thorough, at all.
All she basically does is take dictation. The TP could simply print Wilson Center press releases verbatim and we wouldn't lose anything in coverage.
Take the recent article about the stadium. Where were the questions? Why did she not ask about parking issues, nimby issues, tailgating, or any of the many other legitimate issues raised by guys on this very forum?
It could have been a really great article. Instead it was pablum.
For me the highlight of that article was her printing Dickson's malapropism and actually using it in the headline, "I am compelled that this will happen." You can't make that kind of stuff up.
All true.
She asked no questions and raised no issues except for about Tulane always wanting to have the donation in hand before proceeding with a major capital project. She does seem, as do many, to think that the concept is a great idea and somehow is a lock to work out wonderfully and produce results -- while in fact it may never directly produce a result of significantly enlarging the group of people interested in Tulane sports and may well completely backfire on account of issues such as parking or the lack thereof.
And Rick "Compelled" Dickson...what more can one say about him that hasn't already been said?
Tulane sports: small football stadium, very small basketball arena, w̶i̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶g̶r̶a̶m̶s̶, h̶o̶n̶e̶s̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶o̶u̶n̶t̶a̶b̶i̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ , but, hey, now there's tailgating.
It can be difficult at times being a beat writer. I would assume that Tammy is still building relationships with the Tulane staff, community and administration since she's only been beat writer for a couple of years now. Should she go on the attack at this point she'd probably be shunned or cut off from most of those she needs to get her job done. Normally a beat writer doesn't do the hatchet job, that is done by another writer at the TP that isn't close to the program (John DeShazier) Tammy could assist Doug T or John DeShazier with the tough questions that they could ask RD and SC. I believe RD got pi$$ed at Scott Kushner for breaking the stadium story and Scott was basically cut off from that point forward, It's a balancing act to cover any beat, (Saints, Brian Allee Walsh got banned, LSU, has two beat writers (one is the hatchet, the other is the cheerleader) etc) a beat writer wants to break news or ask tough questions but that always comes with consequences. I'd target my anger toward the lack of coverage vs the type or quality of coverage at this point. Once the Saints and LSU start up we'll get buried beneath their stories.
Be proactive, being reactive is for losers..
Tulane Class of 1981
The wave report is an on-line publication it is not the T-P so RD won't cut them off. Our lack of coverage is Tulane's fault so if one is upset it should be w/Tulane. I agree w/bag. She needs to ask relevant questions. She doesn't b/c she's made it clear where she stands on the issue and slants her stories accordingly.
At one time Ted Lewis was the main reporter covering Tulane stories. Many people didn't like him, couldn't stand him. He was never very upbeat in his reports; supposedly he had an axe to grind. I'd say that he definitely was skeptical of things that the athletic department said. I could picture him saying "...and they'll build a small stadium and they still won't fill it." These days, though, when things clearly are not going well in any sense, how does having such a cheerleader of a reporter help anything?
Tulane sports: small football stadium, very small basketball arena, w̶i̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶g̶r̶a̶m̶s̶, h̶o̶n̶e̶s̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶o̶u̶n̶t̶a̶b̶i̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ , but, hey, now there's tailgating.
Fred I was thinking the exact same thing earlier today.
I was no huge fan of Ted's but he would have asked the questions that we are all asking. And the worst fans in college football would have taken him to task for it, accusing him of being a "tigger," or the catch-all "he's too negative."
Ted hated the Tulane beat job (he didn't care at all, just in there collecting a check). He was the Saints beat writer at one time and resented being pushed down the latter, he now covers prep on the Northshore and is close to retirement. Tammy is moving up the latter. She started out covering Northshore prep now moving to Tulane. I would expect that path to continue. Trey Isles was pretty good and Nakita Hogan was weak. Give Tammy time to learn her way, If you did the nola chat thing she was pretty candid when it came to certain topics. She will be our guest this Thursday at the Greenbackers meeting. She has been very candid to us in the past. I know she loves covering Tulane and feels it's an honor. Some may consider that a cheerleader, but she's not.
Be proactive, being reactive is for losers..
Tulane Class of 1981
