GunnerBill Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 3 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said: I'm no Tim Graham fan. I do find it hilarious that YOU are calling someone else a hack. Nor me. Have criticised him plenty of times. But I take each piece on its merits whereas some decide "oh Tim Graham... vendetta" which is foolish. 2
MJS Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 1 minute ago, GunnerBill said: No I think you did. When things aren't true people generally brush them off. It is when things are threatening to expose truth that the passive aggressive responses come. I've been a human for a long time and have not found that to be true at all.
jahnyc Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 I have been wondering when there would be some news about discussions among the Bills and McD/Beane about contract extensions (I believe they each signed five year deals). I hope that the stuff going on with PSE doesn't impact the interest of McD and Beane to re-up with the Bills (or serve as an excuse to not do so). If the Bills make the playoffs again this year and show further progress, McD and Beane would be hot commodities when their contacts end with the Bills. 2
GunnerBill Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 1 minute ago, Joe in Winslow said: I'll tell you this: if I owned a multi-billion dollar business, and some two-bit hack published garbage like this that wasn't true, I'd bury him. You should apply for a job with the Pegulas. 1 minute ago, MJS said: I've been a human for a long time and have not found that to be true at all. I was a journalist and found it almost always to be true. 1
MJS Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 3 minutes ago, Lurker said: Agreed. In my experience, people get most annoyed when their preconceptions and world view are challenged... Their preconceptions and worldview have nothing to do with this, so I don't see how that's relevant.
PromoTheRobot Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 1 minute ago, MJS said: There are a few very passionate, very pissed off reporters out there that have made it their life's work to tear down the Pegulas. They haven't had much success with McDermott and Beane given the rising success of the Bills, but they still try their best to tear even them down. We all know who these reporters are and everything that comes from them needs to be treated as what it is: extremely biased journalism. I have not forgotten the very first one-on-one the Pegulas had with the Buffalo News sports staff in 2014. The die was cast then. 1
MJS Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, GunnerBill said: You should apply for a job with the Pegulas. I was a journalist and found it almost always to be true. Being a journalist does not give you some special insight, in my opinion. You are just as liable to biases, misconceptions, and mistruths as everyone else. AND you have an agenda to be constantly telling a story even if there isn't one, because that's your job. Edited April 21, 2020 by MJS 2 1
Doc Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 12 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said: I’m trying to stay out of the conversation because I haven’t read the article yet. With that being said, I’ve heard a lot of this sentiment prior to this meeting in January. We are all grateful that the Pegula’s saved the teams and have invested in WNY. They also, aren’t good at running pro sports franchises. Both of those things are true. What's wrong with the way the Bills are being run?
GunnerBill Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 2 minutes ago, MJS said: Being a journalist does not give you some special insight, in my opinion. You are just a liable to biases, misconceptions, and mistruths as everyone else. AND you have an agenda to be constantly telling a story even if there isn't one, because that's your job. So it is no longer my job FWIW. But I think this response just sums up where perceptions of the media are in society. The media themselves are not blameless in this but it is a sad state of affairs. I never once went into a story with an agenda and the vast majority of journalists do not operate that way. 3 2
PromoTheRobot Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 Just now, GunnerBill said: So it is no longer my job FWIW. But I think this response just sums up where perceptions of the media are in society. The media themselves are not blameless in this but it is a sad state of affairs. I never once went into a story with an agenda and the vast majority of journalists do not operate that way. Well trust us old timers who know the history some local reporters have with the Pegulas.
SectionC3 Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 1 minute ago, GunnerBill said: So it is no longer my job FWIW. But I think this response just sums up where perceptions of the media are in society. The media themselves are not blameless in this but it is a sad state of affairs. I never once went into a story with an agenda and the vast majority of journalists do not operate that way. Well said. Today's society gravitates to sources that reinforce what the consumer wants to hear (in politics or civics, Fox or OAN on the right, MSNBC on the left). The trope that all reporters are biased simply is a way of dismissing a message that the consumer does not want to acknowledge. It's kind of sad, actually, the degree of mistrust that has infected so many parts of our society. 5 2
GunnerBill Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 (edited) 2 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said: Well trust us old timers who know the history some local reporters have with the Pegulas. So you don't think the story is true? Don't think that major cutbacks and the departure of numerous employees at all levels of the PSE business has caused mistrust and damaged morale? Or you don't believe that the Pegulas are tightening their belts as a result of liquidity issues? Edited April 20, 2020 by GunnerBill
apuszczalowski Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 37 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: Yep I wasn't commenting on their running of the Sabres - I don't follow it at all. Just that the Sabres are clearly making huge losses and in a time when the bottom is falling out of the oil market and they having to tighten their belts the Sabres feels like a luxury. Well as a former sports journalist I am telling you this is a good piece of journalism. He has spoken to plenty of people he isn't giving his opinion he is reporting. If you want to dismiss it as a "hack" fine. But people should be taking that article seriously. It is concerning. Are you sure about that? I thought I saw somewhere that they were at worse breaking even to a couple million profit? Sure its not much, but hardly making huge losses..... Plus the Sabres were TP's choice, he was a hockey fan who loved them. The Bills were more of a favor to the City to keep them there and it was Kim who was into football more then Terry. If they are struggling financially and looking to liquidate, selling the Bills might be easier and get them more money then the Sabres which may be much harder to sell and get less return. Plus if they sell the Bills, they can let someone else worry about building a new stadium/Renovate New Era.....
MJS Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: So it is no longer my job FWIW. But I think this response just sums up where perceptions of the media are in society. The media themselves are not blameless in this but it is a sad state of affairs. I never once went into a story with an agenda and the vast majority of journalists do not operate that way. Sounds like you were a good journalist, but you don't have insight into the brains of all journalists or even a tiny small percentage of all of them, so I don't believe you can accurately state that the vast majority of journalists do not operate that way. It's pretty easy to recognize that most media outlets are very politically partisan. So how can they not be agenda driven?
Lurker Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 10 minutes ago, Doc Brown said: -Graham was looking for disgruntled ex employees and found them I realize that not everyone has access to the article, but it's not just ex-employees who talked to Timmeh... "The Athletic interviewed 39 current and former full-time employees by telephone, text and verified direct message...." “I used to feel proud to tell people I worked for PSE,” said a current employee. “Then there was a point I just had to force a smile when talking about my job. Now, when people ask me about openings, I tell them not to apply.” “We always say winning fixes everything,” a current PSE employee said. “And I’m sure if the Sabres were successful some of these issues would be less infuriating on the surface." “I remember being underwhelmed,” said a current Sabres employee. 1 2
MJS Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 1 minute ago, Lurker said: I realize that not everyone has access to the article, but it's not just ex-employees who talked to Timmeh... "The Athletic interviewed 39 current and former full-time employees by telephone, text and verified direct message...." “I used to feel proud to tell people I worked for PSE,” said a current employee. “Then there was a point I just had to force a smile when talking about my job. Now, when people ask me about openings, I tell them not to apply.” “We always say winning fixes everything,” a current PSE employee said. “And I’m sure if the Sabres were successful some of these issues would be less infuriating on the surface." “I remember being underwhelmed,” said a current Sabres employee. So 3 of the 39 were current employees, haha.
Kirby Jackson Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Doc said: What's wrong with the way the Bills are being run? They hired McDermott and Beane and gave them power. They got it right after Marrone, Rex, Whaley, etc... The Bills are in fine shape now but they made multiple missteps to get there. If the right people are in charge things work fine. The less involved the Pegula’s are in the day-to-day the better. Hire the right people, give them the resources that they need and get out of the way. Edited April 20, 2020 by Kirby Jackson 5 1 1
GunnerBill Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 1 minute ago, MJS said: Sounds like you were a good journalist, but you don't have insight into the brains of all journalists or even a tiny small percentage of all of them, so I don't believe you can accurately state that the vast majority of journalists do not operate that way. It's pretty easy to recognize that most media outlets are very politically partisan. So how can they not be agenda driven? Because journalists don't drive the leanings of media outlets. Bosses do that. 4
Mr. WEO Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 (edited) 46 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said: Is it though? Lots of digruntled ex-employees. No mention of the crash in the energy markets that might have brought about this drastic action. Let's not forget John Vogl has been on the Pegulas case for weeks now. Why do people keep mentioning this? Pegula retains some small fracking company. He put 4.7 billion in the bank when he got out of the energy business for the most part years ago. Can no one entertain the possibility that, outside of the business he created in an industry he a while ago mostly cashed out of, he isn't a very good businessman when it comes to the hospitality and entertainment business? Edited April 20, 2020 by Mr. WEO 3
SectionC3 Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 Just now, Kirby Jackson said: They hired McDermott and Beane and gave them power. They got it right after Marrone, Rex, Whaley, etc... The Bills are in fine shape now but it isn’t because of them. If the right people are in charge things work fine. The less involved the Pegula’s are in the day-to-day the better. Hire the right people, give them the resources that they need and get out of the way. Well said. One of the smartest thing a leader can do is hire people smarter and more talented than him/her. 3 1
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