Dave Kohl at Major League Programs Blog points out an interesting phenomenon of athletes bypassing newspapers for radio programs. The latest example: Chris Bosh talking directly to the people to Toronto in an effort to clear up some misconstrued comments.
It seems that last Tuesday in Boston Bosh commented to a Toronto Sun reporter to the effect of “It’s all about being on TV, and if a player has great statistics and you don’t see it, it doesn’t matter”. (Not exact quote.) It seems those comments were taken by Raptors fans as a slap against the Raptors, for which Bosh had been the marquee player until joining LeBron and the Heat this summer. Even though Bosh no longer plays for Toronto, he and his agent reportedly contacted Toronto’s FAN 590 and Bosh went on the air last Thursday (Oct. 28) to explain the comments to host Doug Farraway. Bosh indicated that his comments were not intended to be a reflection on the fans and media coverage in Toronto.
Do we have Curt Schilling to blame for this behavior?When he was a member of the Boston Red Sox, the pitcher would call WEEI and spar with the hosts. The people of Massachusetts loved him for it. They got to hear Schilling’s unvarnished words. In the Twitter age, that’s invaluable.
We’re used to hearing directly from athletes, movie stars, etc. on the Internet. But as Kohn astutely points out, radio has a distinct advantage: “[Bosh’s] voice could be heard addressing the situation.” The people of Toronto could not only get his words, but also listen to the cadence, intonation, what-have-you in his voice. Can a newspaper provide that? Nope.