Radio-TV Coverage Of Mets Called "Refreshing"

From David Kohl Sports Media Blog....

For all of the reporting of rumors, speculation, and marketing instead of sports news, it was refreshing to see the coverage of true breaking sports news on Monday in New York City.

While the Yankees prepare for their 2010 post-season run, it was the Mets who made news by making it official that Omar Minaya would not return as General Manager and that Jerry Manuel would not be back as Manager on the day after their season ended.

WFAN Radio provided solid coverage of the announcement, as did SNY on the TV side.

SNY went with a 2-hour block including coverage of the press conference and then some exclusive interviews. Anchor Chris Carlin and analyst Bob Ojeda gave viewers detailed input, along with showing the entire statement made by Minaya upon his ouster. (A class move by Minaya to even address the media under the circumstances.) The telecast also included highlights packages showing clips important to Jerry Manuel's managing tenure and recapping the seasons under both Manuel and Minaya. I was also impressed with their one-on-one interviews with members of the Wilpon family (team owners) and how the Wilpons were shown accepting the blame for the Mets' failure to advance in the post-season over the last few years.

SNY also knew to replay the 2-hour block into prime-time, a no brainer to replace the lesser programming originally scheduled. They also replayed the Daily News Round Table show discussing the same topics.

Into the next morning, WFAN also addressed the Wilpon family acknowledging that the family did lose money in the Madoff scandal last year. Sister station WCBS also provided additional coverage of that aspect of the story.

This probably added to TV rival YES Network's frustration, as YES is not able to televise the game action of the Yankees in the post-season, while SNY was bringing fresh and topical programming to its viewers on Monday night.

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