[Swprograms] YES, the bias is obvious

[Joel Rubin <jmrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

YES is the NY Yankees cable TV network. But the theme of what you get
when the media doing the reporting is too closely controlled by the
object of the reporting is, alas, universal.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/story/300104p-256908c.html

Al-Yankzeera's decision to virtually black out the Red Sox's ring
ceremony Monday afternoon was certainly not surprising, but it finally
raised an essential question: Should we all have to pay to keep this
network in business?

For one of the few times in the brief history of Al-Yank, aka the
Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, the philosophy of the in-house
network clashed with two of its prominent residents - George
Steinbrenner and Joe Torre.

According to a variety of published reports, The Boss "suggested" to
GM Brian Cashman that it would be a "good idea" if Yankee players got
a very up-close and personal look at Boston players receiving their
World Series rings. Joe Torre was also a catalyst in getting some of
his players to watch from the top step of the dugout.

This clearly showed that what is good for Yankee players is not good
for YES viewers. Why else would YES suits not air any live shots of
either the ceremony, or the reaction of Yankee players?

The powers-that-be must believe Yankee fans are more fragile, and
definitely more thin-skinned, than Yankee players. The suits obviously
were concerned that the sight of Manny Ramirez getting his ring would
traumatize the entire YES audience.

This was reminiscent of that old movie "The Fly," a flick so scary you
had to sign a waiver before entering the theater. Signing the waiver
took theater owners off the hook if you freaked out and had to be
taken out in a straitjacket.

Considering how whacked some fans, and even some YES voices, got over
their brethren daring to boo Mariano Rivera, there might be something
to this Shock Theater theory. Perhaps this is what YES honcho John
Filippelli was thinking when he told the New York Times: "Our fans
went through enough pain last October. They don't want to relive it."

[...]

And please, stash the garbage about the percentage of YES' audience
who are diehard Yankee fans. Each and every time Filippelli and YES
boss Tracy Dolgin issue that line, they are forgetting how hard it was
to get YES (especially on Cablevision) onto basic cable.

In case anyone in the Yankee organization forgets, everybody - all
subscribers - whether they be in Time Warner Cable's 2.4 million home
universe or Cablevision's three million homes, had their cable bills
jacked up so YES could be on basic cable. Not everyone in that total
universe is a baseball fan. Some are Yankee fans. Some just want to
see quality baseball aired in an objective fashion.

By making YES a one-sided network, the suits in charge have only
themselves to blame for making this a content issue. And for anyone
who is saying, "If you are not a Yankee fan don't watch YES," I say
this: "If I'm getting a biased broadcast that doesn't totally cover
all elements of a Yankee game, why should I be forced to subsidize
it?"

If YES is programmed and produced only for diehard Yankee fans, put it
on a premium cable tier and let anyone who wants to subscribe pay $50
a month to watch Yankee games. Let's see how Yankee brass likes that?
Let's see how some vocal Yankee fans - who are now being financially
carried by all of us - like footing the TV bill alone and having their
monthly YES rate jacked up every season.

The same holds true for any other regional sports network - like MSG
or FSNY - that has decided to offer only home cooking on each and
every telecast. And the same will hold true for the new Mets Network.
If Fred Wilpon won't guarantee objective coverage that takes all
baseball fans into account, put the Mets Network on a premium tier,
too.

[...]


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