Casper Star beat writer not making any friends

[LanderPoke]

[OrediggerPoke]

What makes it much worse to me is he tried to walk back his comment stating something to the effect of ‘as a journalist he must maintain neutrality...’ I would have much more respect if he was just honest and told the truth that he doesn’t really have a rooting interest in the Cowboys and rather is just paid to cover them but is committed to covering them to the best of his ability (that is understandable as he didn’t grow up here, didn’t attend college here and is a a fan of other teams and like past tribune writers is probably looking to advance his career).

[carbonpoke]

Get rid of his ass. We have a community that loves team before selfishness. Make him jobless. Eat my ass Davis, what a dick head thing to say. Go back too where u came from.

[MrTitleist]

What makes it much worse to me is he tried to walk back his comment stating something to the effect of ‘as a journalist he must maintain neutrality...’ I would have much more respect if he was just honest and told the truth that he doesn’t really have a rooting interest in the Cowboys and rather is just paid to cover them but is committed to covering them to the best of his ability (that is understandable as he didn’t grow up here, didn’t attend college here and is a a fan of other teams and like past tribune writers is probably looking to advance his career).

That's what he said in his follow-up. People need to chill the eff out about this. Davis isn't paid to be a UW cheerleader, he isn't paid by UW, he's paid to cover the team good and bad by Lee Enterprises. He wasn't dissing the Cowboys even initially. Poorly worded, maybe. Probably wouldn't have replied to the statement directed at him. Lesson learned for him, but such a non-issue. Pretty much all beat writers follow the neutrality thing, if you've ever been in a press box there's no cheering, it's far quieter than you'd expect. No one's rooting for anyone (even me when I'm allowed in).. most people are just rooting to make whatever deadline they have.

[WYO_Fan_inPA]

They need to hire writers who follow and enjoy the team. Not these guys who simply do it for a paycheck. The former is what the readers and fans want to see, right?

[LanderPoke]

Whatever his intent was in the original tweet, you can't take that bait. Come on, Davis. I think he does a decent job of covering the team fwiw

[Adv8RU12]

Poorly worded, maybe.

I thought that's why one went to journalism school - so that one could word things properly.

[MrTitleist]

Poorly worded, maybe.

I thought that's why one went to journalism school - so that one could word things properly.

Ha.. you don't have the luxury of an editorial staff double checking tweets.

[bladerunnr]

Poorly worded, maybe.

I thought that's why one went to journalism school - so that one could word things properly.

Ha.. you don't have the luxury of an editorial staff double checking tweets.

poop. It's like saying "he's not my president". He's emphatically distancing himself from a team he obviously doesn't care about. He could have said, "my job is to objectively report on the team and not be a cheerleader". Sadly, a lot of people in Casper view UW as a foreign institution.

[stymeman]

Especially when they butter his bread(for now)

[Poke in New England]

Poorly worded, maybe.

I thought that's why one went to journalism school - so that one could word things properly.

Ha.. you don't have the luxury of an editorial staff double checking tweets.

poop. It's like saying "he's not my president". He's emphatically distancing himself from a team he obviously doesn't care about. He could have said, "my job is to objectively report on the team and not be a cheerleader". Sadly, a lot of people in Casper view UW as a foreign institution.

I'm pretty sure his lack of rooting interest has more to do with living in the deep south all his life and not from living in Casper for 9 months.. come on now.

[MrTitleist]

Poorly worded, maybe.

I thought that's why one went to journalism school - so that one could word things properly.

Ha.. you don't have the luxury of an editorial staff double checking tweets.

poop. It's like saying "he's not my president". He's emphatically distancing himself from a team he obviously doesn't care about. He could have said, "my job is to objectively report on the team and not be a cheerleader". Sadly, a lot of people in Casper view UW as a foreign institution.

Yes, he doesn't care about the team so much that he applied for a job to cover them. I think there's a severe disconnect between people think what non-UW media should do, and what non-UW media actually do. And it's no different at Wyoming than anywhere else. Just like the rest of us, we graduate college and go look for a job whether it be in our home states or elsewhere. Just because a guy doesn't have a degree from UW or from Wyoming doesn't mean they can't adequately cover a team, or care about a team. Sports journalists probably enjoy their jobs more when teams are successful because reaction from fans is better, readership increases etc. But it would be foolish to say, "Davis doesn't care about UW or Wyoming." He sought out this job.

[ELKMT]

Does he do a good job of covering UW athletics? If so than who gives a poop. His job is to be a an unbiased reporter it’s not like he hates the team and is writing poop articles.

[Poke in New England]

Does he do a good job of covering UW athletics? If so than who gives a poop. His job is to be a an unbiased reporter it’s not like he hates the team and is writing poop articles.

The guy is terrible on a podcast but I think his coverage is solid and he doesn't seem to be afraid of asking Bohl tough questions. I liked Brandon Foster but he caught a lot of poop from other fans who acted like he couldn't be trusted because he went to/tweeted about Missouri. Weird expectation some fans have.

[LanderPoke]

Does he do a good job of covering UW athletics? If so than who gives a poop. His job is to be a an unbiased reporter it’s not like he hates the team and is writing poop articles.

The guy is terrible on a podcast but I think his coverage is solid and he doesn't seem to be afraid of asking Bohl tough questions. I liked Brandon Foster but he caught a lot of poop from other fans who acted like he couldn't be trusted because he went to/tweeted about Missouri. Weird expectation some fans have.

I hate Foster because he did that whole "should UW drop to FCS" poop

[TSpoke]

What a bunch of whiney overly sensitive fans we have. He isn't wrong. They aren't his Cowboys. It would be wrong to imply that they were. You don't want reporters that aren't objective. I don't even think he worded it wrong. It was pretty clear exact what he meant to me. I guess he should have just ignored the tweet but there was nothing wrong with what he said. Its his job to cover the team not be a fan and it probably takes effort to distance yourself and be objective since he is going to become familiar with the players and coaches and those relationships builds a connection but as a reporter he has to stay impartial which is probably why he felt like he had to push back on the tweet calling the cowboys his.

I think he has done a good job covering us. I have liked all our recent reporters Foster, Holmgren and of course Mike Vorel. The only one I didn't like was the guy before Vorel Ben Fredrickson I think is his name. He went out of his way to dig up dirt and start a controversy when it wasn't needed. He was looking to make a quick name for himself other than just covering the team.

Keep doing your thing Davis.

[SDPokeFan]

What makes it much worse to me is he tried to walk back his comment stating something to the effect of ‘as a journalist he must maintain neutrality...’ I would have much more respect if he was just honest and told the truth that he doesn’t really have a rooting interest in the Cowboys and rather is just paid to cover them but is committed to covering them to the best of his ability (that is understandable as he didn’t grow up here, didn’t attend college here and is a a fan of other teams and like past tribune writers is probably looking to advance his career).

That's what he said in his follow-up. People need to chill the eff out about this. Davis isn't paid to be a UW cheerleader, he isn't paid by UW, he's paid to cover the team good and bad by Lee Enterprises. He wasn't dissing the Cowboys even initially. Poorly worded, maybe. Probably wouldn't have replied to the statement directed at him. Lesson learned for him, but such a non-issue. Pretty much all beat writers follow the neutrality thing, if you've ever been in a press box there's no cheering, it's far quieter than you'd expect. No one's rooting for anyone (even me when I'm allowed in).. most people are just rooting to make whatever deadline they have.

This is a product of the 24/7 news cycle. You have Fox commentators who want to give Trump head, and MSNBC commentators who would say he put oncologists out of work if he found a cure for cancer. The fact is a journalist is not supposed to carry the water for whatever they are covering. Davis isn't a UW cheerleader or their PR department. He is a journalist who should cover the team objectively and fairly. I think he does a nice job of that.

[Cowduck]

If you want fan-centered coverage of the Pokes written by a fan start a f-word blog. Honestly. That's not what a newspaper does.

[CowboyNV]

If you want fan-centered coverage of the Pokes written by a fan start a f-word blog. Honestly. That's not what a newspaper does.

Agreed. I like reporters to be objective, and ask the difficult questions that all of us want the answers to. The quandary that most of these reporters face is that if they rock the boat too much, or question the authority of the staff, they risk losing access to the programs they cover. Coaches don't like to be questioned about any decisions they make, just as athletic directors don't either. Being an objective reporter at the college level has got to be a pretty tough gig.