It happens at every sports press conference, says former Sacramento Bee sports editor Bill Bradley. “That’s not a question; that’s a statement you’re hoping someone comments on,” he writes. “It’s as if the athlete is a push-button doll and you’re hitting the remote control for them respond.”
The best I can tell, it’s a byproduct of the sports-talk radio proliferation. Somehow, sports-talk show hosts started doing this and guests started responding rather than leaving silence on the other end. It has bled into one-on-one, in-person interviews. Now it’s part of every press conferences. And you hear it from more than radio reporters these days as trained print and web journalists are doing the same thing.
The next time I hear a so-called reporter saying, “Talk about (the game or play or your feelings), I would love to hear a coach respond with, “What is your question. Ask me a question and I’ll be happy to answer.”
* NBA, NHL Playoffs Bring Out Worst in Push-Button Media [27×7.com]
* Also: Miami Herald’s Le Batard set to host fall show on ESPN2
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