MEDIA WATCH
Making front page news out of nothing
Greg Pearson

When the Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD) wants to create a story where none is, it can. And it did in its Jan. 31 front page, abovethe fold story, "Chesterfield may be seeking baseball team."

The story by Kiran Krishnamurthy and Will Jones cited comments by Chesterfield Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Warren and County Administrator Jay Stegmaier that left the impression the county is undercutting the region's efforts to keep the Richmond Braves in Richmond. The story had a common theme: Chesterfield isn't a team player.

"They asked me about the Braves at least 10 different ways, and each time I answered, 'No,'" said County Administrator Jay Stegmaier. "Then I was asked if Chesterfield was engaged in confidential meetings with the baseball team, and I answered 'if we were, I couldn't talk about it.' That's what was printed. There wasn't an ounce of evidence of any meetings in the article."

"I was simply interested in what made the county in Georgia attractive for the Braves to move there," explained Warren. "From that, the reporters interpreted that Chesterfield wanted the Braves. In recent years, we've had no discussions with the team."

"We've had no talks with the Braves in the two years I've been here," echoed Economic Development Director Will Davis.

Asked about the story, Chesterfield Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Dan Gecker chuckled at the possibility. "We don't have $65 million to build a stadium," he said.

Several years ago when there was indecision about a local site for a new stadium, Chesterfield talked with the Braves, and there was speculation about building a stadium to replace Cloverleaf Mall. But now a mixeduse redevelopment project is all but approved there. The story didn't report where Chesterfield would locate the stadium, nor how it could be funded. News stories are supposed to answer questions like where, how and how much.

Just two days later, the opinion writers set the record straight. "Chesterfield deserves not raspberries but cheers," read the RTD editorial. "It has stepped up to the plate regarding professional baseball in the region…" Retraction apparently not required.

The editorial went on to say: "Regionalism that focuses almost exclusively on the city does not qualify as true regionalism." Bravo! For some time now, many in Chesterfield have believed that regionalism means "how can we help Richmond?" (If you want to see the latest list of what the county has done for regional cooperation, go to www.chesterfieldobserver.com and click on "special.")

Now that the Braves' intentions are sealed, the blame game continues. But it should be acknowledged that professional baseball is not only a sport, it's a business. Making a profit is difficult when most of the seats are empty as they have been at Braves' games for years. Whether we didn't care enough to go or the Braves' organization didn't know how to market to us is conjecture.

But perhaps the Richmond media ought to come under some scrutiny in the area's effort to attract and retain professional sports franchises. In most markets there's a symbiotic relationship between the media and professional or college sports teams. So ask yourself, when was the last time someone at your office asked you if you read so-and-so's sports column or if you heard what a sportscaster said last night? Those conversations occur in other markets. Have you looked at the sports pages of the daily paper and wondered where the paid advertising is? That could be a hint.