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FURFARI COLUMN- IMG could still be seen as controversial
MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University is in its first year of partnership with IMG College for at least partial media rights.
As you may know, that agreement in a 12-year contract has resulted in a lawsuit against WVU by the West Virginia Radio Corp. that has yet to be settled. [Who says it will be settled?]
The WVRC in this lawsuit named the WVU Board of Governors collectively and some members individually: President James Clements, who is now heading to Clemson University, and Athletic Director Oliver Luck, who is still being paid about $700,000 a year, among others. [Luck’s salary is not relevant to the fact that a lawsuit was filed.]
The partnership with IMG College is paying the university slightly more than $6 million annually than it previously had been receiving.
As far as radio coverage, WVU had received some 70 years of excellent and high profile exposure from the longtime provider originated by Greer Industries, now WVRC, still part of Greer Industries. [Great. They used to broadcast the games. But the previous sentence says that IMG is now paying WVU $6 million more per year to do what Greer was doing.]
Yet Morgantown’s radio affiliate WAJR, whose signal carries as far as the Greater Pittsburgh area, was reportedly deprived of carrying broadcasts of WVU football and basketball for 2013-14.
Why? That’s a question raised by many that is yet to be answered. Nobody at WVU has seen fit to offer answers. Some feel it could be out of spite because of the litigation between the WVRC and WVU officials.
I don’t know. I am just asking. But I am told that IMG College claims WAJR rejected an offer for broadcasts. [Why do you repeatedly put the phrase “I am told” in your articles? As a journalist you should be looking these things up yourself. Just read the answer filed by the defendants to see what IMG is claiming.] But an attorney for WVRC denied that emphatically. [Oh. Raese’s attorney says it!!! It must be true!!!]
With that said, I challenge anyone to find another major university in the United States that does not have an AM radio station at its location carrying its game broadcasts. [Doesn’t your old timey radio have an FM setting? AM radio is dying. Too much interference.]
Because WAJR was denied game broadcast rights [A couple of sentences ago it you said that WAJR claimed it was denied broadcast rights. IMG says WAJR not denied. But you have now come to the conclusion that Raese is right and IMG is wrong. Based on what. Two paragraphs ago you stated and I quote “I don’t know. I am just asking.”], the owners decided that the broadcasts would not go on any of their other 40 radio stations in West Virginia towns and Cumberland, Md., area. [So you are saying because Raese was denied one media area he threw a hissy fit and decided not to broadcast any games.]
Obviously, this means that thousands of WVU alumni are unable to receive game broadcasts. [Wouldn’t that be Raese’s fault? He could have bid more or agreed to broadcast on his other 39 stations.] What’s more, some viewers must pay extra to receive football telecasts on Fox Sports 1. [I don’t. Part of my regular cable.]
Before WVU joined the Big 12 Conference, a majority of its football and basketball games were televised by ESPN and ESPN2, and Mountaineer fans could tune in from coast to coast. That was when WVU was still a member of the Big East Conference. [I cannot argue that we were in the Big East prior to being in the Big 12. But to say the majority of our games were on ESPN or ESPN 2 is a lie. From my fact checking I saw that about half the football and basketball games from 2009-2011 were on ESPN affiliates. Yet, you would need to pay extra to watch our games on ESPNU, ESPN3.com, ESPN 360. And Mickey doesn’t want to pay extra.]
However, if you have Internet service, perhaps you might want to thank IMG College for credit in establishing WVUSports.com. [First, this a poorly worded sentence. Second, wvusports.com has been around for awhile. It was called msnsportsnet.com until the name of the website changed. However, the website sucked. IMG was able to make the website more user friendly and it is updated more often.]
Last Saturday afternoon you could have sat and watched the WVU women’s basketball team defeat Fairleigh Dickinson, 94-47, at the WVU Coliseum. [Ok. Again, I cannot argue with this fact. Did you have a word limit that you needed to meet and just decided to throw this sentence in?]
MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University is in its first year of partnership with IMG College for at least partial media rights.
As you may know, that agreement in a 12-year contract has resulted in a lawsuit against WVU by the West Virginia Radio Corp. that has yet to be settled. [Who says it will be settled?]
The WVRC in this lawsuit named the WVU Board of Governors collectively and some members individually: President James Clements, who is now heading to Clemson University, and Athletic Director Oliver Luck, who is still being paid about $700,000 a year, among others. [Luck’s salary is not relevant to the fact that a lawsuit was filed.]
The partnership with IMG College is paying the university slightly more than $6 million annually than it previously had been receiving.
As far as radio coverage, WVU had received some 70 years of excellent and high profile exposure from the longtime provider originated by Greer Industries, now WVRC, still part of Greer Industries. [Great. They used to broadcast the games. But the previous sentence says that IMG is now paying WVU $6 million more per year to do what Greer was doing.]
Yet Morgantown’s radio affiliate WAJR, whose signal carries as far as the Greater Pittsburgh area, was reportedly deprived of carrying broadcasts of WVU football and basketball for 2013-14.
Why? That’s a question raised by many that is yet to be answered. Nobody at WVU has seen fit to offer answers. Some feel it could be out of spite because of the litigation between the WVRC and WVU officials.
I don’t know. I am just asking. But I am told that IMG College claims WAJR rejected an offer for broadcasts. [Why do you repeatedly put the phrase “I am told” in your articles? As a journalist you should be looking these things up yourself. Just read the answer filed by the defendants to see what IMG is claiming.] But an attorney for WVRC denied that emphatically. [Oh. Raese’s attorney says it!!! It must be true!!!]
With that said, I challenge anyone to find another major university in the United States that does not have an AM radio station at its location carrying its game broadcasts. [Doesn’t your old timey radio have an FM setting? AM radio is dying. Too much interference.]
Because WAJR was denied game broadcast rights [A couple of sentences ago it you said that WAJR claimed it was denied broadcast rights. IMG says WAJR not denied. But you have now come to the conclusion that Raese is right and IMG is wrong. Based on what. Two paragraphs ago you stated and I quote “I don’t know. I am just asking.”], the owners decided that the broadcasts would not go on any of their other 40 radio stations in West Virginia towns and Cumberland, Md., area. [So you are saying because Raese was denied one media area he threw a hissy fit and decided not to broadcast any games.]
Obviously, this means that thousands of WVU alumni are unable to receive game broadcasts. [Wouldn’t that be Raese’s fault? He could have bid more or agreed to broadcast on his other 39 stations.] What’s more, some viewers must pay extra to receive football telecasts on Fox Sports 1. [I don’t. Part of my regular cable.]
Before WVU joined the Big 12 Conference, a majority of its football and basketball games were televised by ESPN and ESPN2, and Mountaineer fans could tune in from coast to coast. That was when WVU was still a member of the Big East Conference. [I cannot argue that we were in the Big East prior to being in the Big 12. But to say the majority of our games were on ESPN or ESPN 2 is a lie. From my fact checking I saw that about half the football and basketball games from 2009-2011 were on ESPN affiliates. Yet, you would need to pay extra to watch our games on ESPNU, ESPN3.com, ESPN 360. And Mickey doesn’t want to pay extra.]
However, if you have Internet service, perhaps you might want to thank IMG College for credit in establishing WVUSports.com. [First, this a poorly worded sentence. Second, wvusports.com has been around for awhile. It was called msnsportsnet.com until the name of the website changed. However, the website sucked. IMG was able to make the website more user friendly and it is updated more often.]
Last Saturday afternoon you could have sat and watched the WVU women’s basketball team defeat Fairleigh Dickinson, 94-47, at the WVU Coliseum. [Ok. Again, I cannot argue with this fact. Did you have a word limit that you needed to meet and just decided to throw this sentence in?]
sooooo true
