This Blog Thing Here

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OK, this looks better.  I’ve been planning to move my blog from Tumblr to WordPress for a while, and I have set up this blog, thanks to help from Rachel Pipan.  I’m easily impressed — most Auburn students know WordPress more than I do — but Rachel is wicked smart and talented.

(I’m also in the process of migrating my old stuff here. It’s a tedious process, but check back from time to time to check out the goods.)

To christen this new venture, I thought I would set down some thoughts on why I blog, why I tweet and from time to time, why I embarrass myself on sports talk radio.  I bring more to this process than a craving for attention — though I admit that, like every journalist, I love it when my stuff is read. Commented on. RT’ed. Linked to. You get the idea.

But how does it relate to my work as an associate professor of journalism for Auburn?  As we learn to always say in class with a smile, good question!  And this time I have an answer for it.

It is crucial that those of us involved in profession-related academic programs (education, business, pharmacy, yadda yadda yadda) engage with our profession.  The ivory tower is real to some folks both on and off campus, but we’re not compelled to keep office hours there.

I have found that Twitter in particular gives me an opportunity to engage — not only with professionals who are kind to respond, but also with sports media audience members, including my students.  Sports media as a research stream draws a little more interest than 18th Century Latvian poets.  I’d like to think that I have something to offer both in terms of insight and observation, from both my professional (15 years) and academic (21 years) experiences.

So what does this contribute to my academic career?  Directly, I would estimate somewhere around, ah, maybe, nothing.  None of it goes on my annual report or my CV. Which is fine.  Indirectly, of course, it adds a lot — to the classroom, to my research and to me personally.  Trying to word that last component sounded too California, so you’ll have to get it from that.

That said, let me quickly add that I have nothing wrong with the official stuff — the research that got me tenure and promotion (i.e., job security) in the first place.  At the risk of being celebrated as Captain Cool or Mr. Fun, I will confess that I enjoy my research into the history of sports media.

My blogging has slowed because I am currently gutting out a biography on Ford Frick, baseball commissioner from 1951-1965.  But when it comes to reading the old Sporting News editions online, I’m a geek and I can deal with it.

But I don’t want it to stop there.  When it does, academics are just talking and writing to each other at conferences and in journals, and rewarding themselves for it.  I enjoy the conferences and the journals, but there has to be more to the life of the mind.

If this is your first time at one of my blogs, you might notice that much of my stuff is based on academic research — my own and others.  The Bill Tilden piece for OutSports started as a journal article.  The ViceSports essay on racism in sports broadcasting summarizes the readings for a class lecture on the topic.  The BINGing and CORFing piece applied others’ research on social identity theory to the Auburn-Alabama rivalry in a football game weekend lecture — the Immaculate Reception of 2013, to be precise.

As I relate particularly the work of colleagues, it’s well-received, because it’s like an untapped treasure; many sports fans are not aware of the great media research that has been going on.

I always argue that the most important product of a college/university is not students — it’s knowledge.  We exist as a place where new ideas are tested that will benefit society.  In the social sciences, our mission is to help society understand the processes that affect everyone.

So to me, when I share it through my blogs, it’s an easy sell. There is some good product out there.

Yes, we then impart this knowledge to students, and I will also admit to loving the classroom too.  Teaching is like journalism to me — lecture prep is info gathering, lecturing is article presentation, and grading is editing.  I mean, what’s not to love?

My personal perspective in the classroom and on social media is old school in origin — having transitioned from typewriter to VDT to command-based PC to Mac to networks to Internet to social media.  I struggle to keep up with the tools, as demonstrated by the foray into Tumblr that Rachel had to rescue me from, but the principles still work.

So basically, I love everything about being a college professor (except the endless meetings, of course), and I love reading and writing, particularly as both relate to sports and the pros who write what I read.

I hope that shows through here, and that you enjoy what you read here. If it doesn’t, and you don’t, I can’t blame Rachel.

Cole Position: Former Auburn center is on the verge of breaking it big in sports media

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First published in The War Eagle Reader.  Find it here.

It’s been said that you shouldn’t find a career — a career should find you.  If that’s the case, opportunity is chasing down Cole Cubelic on many fronts.

The former Auburn football player is on the verge. Through his daily radio show, his appearances on Paul Finebaum, his far-too-sporadic live game broadcasts, his football analysis for al.com, and countless other media pops, Cubelic is increasing both his visibility and his credibility.

Disclosure: I consider Cole a friend, professionally.  We have talked about profession-related issues, and he has been kind enough to include me as a guest on several occasions (including a tribute to Philip Lutzenkirchen that I was honored to participate in).

As the 2014 season finishes, however, even in the face of a major setback (the loss of his Sun Belt gig via the end of the CSS network), Cubelic has as much reason to be optimistic about next season as Muschamp-obsessed Auburn fans do.

Several factors work in his favor.  From Twitter to Finebaum to al.com, he combines solid x’s and o’s (particularly analyzing offensive/defensive line play) with neutrality and an engaging on-air manner that is not Millen-esque hyperactive.

He learned the football side as a center and team captain for Auburn from 1997-2000.  Soon after graduating, he and former teammate Ben Leard started an Auburn pre-game show for a Huntsville station, which led to weekly appearances on WJOX. And the ride started.

Among his most recent high-profile opportunities was to join Paul Finebaum’s panel for a live combination of game analysis and annoying callers during the Iron Bowl.  Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, Marcus Spears and Booger McFarland also participated.

For all the unknowns going in, Cubelic thinks it worked well.  While national media were, as usual, fascinated with the Tammys and Phyllises, he was impressed with how Finebaum managed a live machine with an excess of moving parts — even when the phone system crashed.

“One thing about Paul is he knows how to delegate: how to get more out of somebody, how to cut someone off,” he said.  ”Maybe there was mystery as far as direction and where the game was going to go, but not about content.”

The broadcast also provided Cubelic with his first visit to the SEC Network studios in Charlotte, and he came away impressed with the technology (“like a kid in Toys R Us”) and grateful for the interaction with other former players turned broadcasters.  ”It was the closest thing to a locker room,” he said.

He was referring to media talk more than locker-room banter, of course.  Even away from sports, Cubelic shows a personal media-centrism that fits his career’s choice. His Twitter followers, along with Birmingham residents, remember how he became an instant on-the-scene reporter during the Birmingham icestorm of late January.

Driving from Huntsville to Auburn, Cubelic found himself caught in Birmingham just as the weather turned Shrek-ugly.  He ended up overnighting as his mother’s house, which allowed him to chronicle from Ground Zero for those two days.

On Instagram and Twitter, garnering hundreds of RTs and “likes,” he provided updates to residents whose family members remained stranded. “You feel obligated to continue to document it, and how you made it from Point A to Point B,” he said.  “It was all real time. I know people would be interested in it.”

Such is Cole’s presence on Twitter that his friends even dared him to tweet his own wedding. Which no one would do. But he did, sort of. As his bride, Katherine, entered, and everyone turned to look, Cole pulled his phone from his tux pocket and snapped a photo into a ready-made tweet and sent it off before anyone knew (including her, or worse, his grandmothers). It was almost the perfect crime. As he recalls, “My sister-in-law saw me and gave me the death stare.”

But of course it’s the TV and radio appearances, not the storm or wedding tweets, that build his reputation, and he is doing just that, according to his former broadcast partner, Joe Davis.

Davis has seen Cubelic grow from more of a smart football approach to a relaxed balance.  “When we start out, we want to be perfect, so we start thinking about how we’re supposed to sound,” Davis said.  ”As time goes on, you realize the importance of being yourself and letting your personality show through.”

For Davis, Cubelic’s sports talk radio experience has helped there. “It’s a rare to have the guy who has the combination of being a game analyst and hosting his own show,” he said.

That show, on Huntsville’s WUMP from 6-10 a.m., gives him yet more valuable on-air experience. Balancing guests, callers and commentaries against the need to fill four hours of airtime is a challenge.  But it gives him the opportunity “to get back in front of a listener base that is already familiar to me,” along with the chance to show his stuff.

Throw in a weekly gig on ESPN Pensacola 101.1, from 1-2 p.m. Tuesdays (his only Auburn-centric project), and it’s obvious Cubelic has his bases covered, along with a few outfield spots.

Yes, he has faced disappointments.  Even with the excess of bowl games, he was not able to pick up an analyst’s gig.  And a 2012 DUI arrest (all charges were dropped) provides sporadic social media harassment.

All that, plus he lacks the name recognition of a former national championship QB or a long-time NFL player.  “For him to get the national opportunity that he deserves, he has to fight that,” Davis said.  ”To get those top-level jobs is going to take people taking a chance on him, more than just him being a name.”

But looking ahead and not behind, Cubelic knows that he is building a portfolio that will provide a solid foundation for the sports media roller coaster ride that has found him.

Confidence in a Process, Not a President

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First published by al.com.  You can link to that here.

As the UAB Faculty Senate Tuesday announced a no-confidence motion in President Ray Watts to be debated at a special meeting in January, my mind went back to a similar mess at Auburn my first year on faculty: the 2003 Jetgate scandal that resulted in the resignation of President William Walker (among others) — and a no-confidence vote from the faculty.

For Watts, trouble emerged from his decision to eliminate the UAB football program — a decision made without faculty input and based on a flimsy consultant’s report that seemed to confirm a decision already made.

For Walker, trouble emerged when he led a November 2003 secret trip to Louisville to talk to then-head coach Bobby Petrino about replacing then-head coach Tommy Tuberville.  The story on the trip was broken by Jay Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser, and likewise shattered Walker’s presidency.

Much has been written about the Jetgate situation.  One parallel between Auburn and the UAB situation is that in both cases, the Faculty Senate would convene to consider a vote of no-confidence against the president.

The Auburn faculty senate met fairly quickly, on Thursday, Dec. 11, to debate a motion demanding Walker’s resignation in view of the embarrassing news reports.  In this case, the meeting was open to the public and the media, and Walker answered questions publicly. Complete minutes for the Dec. 11, 2003 meeting are still available — yet another testament to the openness of the process.

Watts, on the other hand, has been spared a public Faculty Senate grilling so far — instead, he apparently met with faculty members Monday in an “impromptu” meeting that was closed to the public.  My hope is that the meeting in January will be open to all interested members of the UAB community.

I still remember hanging out in the sound room in December 2003; it was about the only place left.  Faculty, students, and staff, in questioning Walker, would make statements, often savage, in advance of their questions.

In some cases, the speakers would return to their seats even as Walker was answering, as if the statement and not the question was the focus.

Two days before the meeting, Auburn’s accrediting agency, SACS, had placed the school on probation for excessive trustee influence in day-to-day university matters, particularly athletics.  Many felt that Walker had forfeited moral authority in leading the university through such a crucial process.

In the end, urged by Faculty Senate chairman John Mouton, the faculty voted 42-27 against calling for Walker’s resignation.  They did, however, vote in favor of a no-confidence motion by a 37-31 vote (a move Mouton also spoke out against), with five abstentions.  A motion to censure passed unanimously.

By the next month, however, Walker would resign on Jan. 16, 2004, two days after meeting with Gov. Bob Riley, who also acted as chairman of the Auburn Board of Trustees. Dr. Ed Richardson, former state superintendent of education, would come in on an interim basis until a presidential search could be conducted.

Granted, what happened at UAB is far more tragic: the loss of a football program and the effects it has on not only the university community, but also the individual athletes and coaches who find their lives turned upside down.

That a university president like Watts would make the decision in the way that he did — Faculty Athletics Representative Frank Mussina was not even consulted — is truly an indictment of his leadership style and deserves more than the glossing-over apology he offered in his statement.  No university president should ever make such an important decision in such a unilateral manner.

It would seem insincere and definitely appear glib and flippant to assure the UAB community that everything will turn out OK by using Auburn as a parallel.

Things did get better for Auburn: Less than a year after almost being fired, Tuberville led his team to an undefeated season, though Auburn was deprived of a chance for a national championship.

However, in late 2003 we did not face the elimination of our football program, and that is a huge difference.  If the football team cannot be restored, perhaps faith in UAB’s leadership can.

Whether this can happen under Watts — whose actions in this process show decision making skill far below his position and pay grade — is doubtful.

Still, the process of debating this needs to happen in a more open and candid manner than Watts provided UAB with his football decision.  Let’s hope this happens in January, as it did in Auburn in December 2003.