Re: USF football approved 10 years ago today!

[Guest Guest]

ITS ABOUT TIME!!! I guess 1 good article out of ten bad ones is better than no good ones! Have to admitt, as much dislike that I have towards the Oracle and a certain writer, I will admitt this was very well written and a pleasure to read. Please stick with more stories like this, they are more fun to read!

[smazza]

oracle was great in 70's

[bulls96go]

96 - 98 - 100 miles ... which is it !? !  >

8)

82 miles

[bulls96go]

great story!

oracle in '87 to '91 was very good

it seems that you guy's bash USF in all aspects for no apparent reason, sometimes even when it is not indicated

you do not have to promote usf, but negative for negative sake will get you the disdain of fairminded people who love this great university.

[JoeB]

Yep, I was there from '91-95 and it was Nationally ranked every year.  What happened after that??  Don't know, but hopefully Mike and crew will bring it back to prominence.  Show some love Oracle writers!

Go Bulls!

[Guest Mark Lennox]

While I think it's importatnt to try to live up to the accomplishments of our predecessors, I think we have to make our own way as well.  

Like Mike said, we were the #2 paper in the Southeast last year, and I had an opportunity to visit the University of Georgia's newspaper over the summer The Red and Black, and the pure fact that we tied them is a testament to the hard work and reporting that we do at the Oracle.  

As much as people bash us, it is our responsibility to report the bad with the good.  If someone gets arrested, we have to report it.  If someone saves a family from a burning vehicle, we'll report that too.  

We've been labeled a "liberal rag" by many, and I agree that if the plane tips any farther to the left we're going to fall off at time, but these things are being hashed out so we can protect our credibility.  

The Oracle has definatly had to go through some rebuilding in the last few years.  I take my job very seriously (between dodgeball and NCAA2K6) and I am trying, along with my staff, to improve the paper.  

So, for those harboring "past problems" with the paper, you have to understand that these are new faces with different goals.  We'll be the best in the southeast come next year.  

[Guest]

Mark,

The fact that you and Mike are here posting and reading the comments of students, alumni, and fans is a considerable mark in your favor.

I have been, at times, critical of the Oracle reporting -- and for the opinions of columnists -- primarily because the Oracle does represent my alma mater.

I understand that there are new staff; it happens every year as it should because y'all are students first, journalists second.

While I don't feel you should live up to the past's accomplishments -- although that is a position taken by a lot of sports fans -- I do believe USF's school of Mass Communications is good enough to live up to the standards set by those who came before.

[Guest BasketBull.]

Mark,

I appreciate the fact that Oracle staff takes interest what we fans think by visiting us on this forum. And I agree that as a newspaper the Oracle has to remain impartial to what is printed. But, the Oracle is still a part of USF, housed in a USF building. As such, there is a responsibility to uphold the integrity of the school and what the school represents. I'm not saying the Oracle should be a source of USF propaganda, far from it. But there is a line between trashing the school or aspects of the school (its programs, staff, connections, etc.) for the benefit of an article and publishing a good story that will attract readers. Facts are facts, but when facts are taken for a spin to weave a perspective to attract attention (bashing the school), I think that's crossing the line.

The bottom line is this. If the Oracle wants to be taken seriously by the students and the community, then it has to establish standards, even when it's an editorial. All of us Bulls fans are devoted to USF and when an internal source like the Oracle takes shots at our beloved institution, we simply don't like it.

That said, I consider this a new chapter in my dealings with the Oracle. I think Mike's article is quite good, and I appreciate your honesty, Mark. I will begin reading the Oracle again... I look forward to good journalism coming from the Oracle and its staff.

GO BULLS!

[USFFan]

While I think it's importatnt to try to live up to the accomplishments of our predecessors, I think we have to make our own way as well.  

Like Mike said, we were the #2 paper in the Southeast last year, and I had an opportunity to visit the University of Georgia's newspaper over the summer The Red and Black, and the pure fact that we tied them is a testament to the hard work and reporting that we do at the Oracle.  

As much as people bash us, it is our responsibility to report the bad with the good.  If someone gets arrested, we have to report it.  If someone saves a family from a burning vehicle, we'll report that too.  

We've been labeled a "liberal rag" by many, and I agree that if the plane tips any farther to the left we're going to fall off at time, but these things are being hashed out so we can protect our credibility.  

The Oracle has definatly had to go through some rebuilding in the last few years.  I take my job very seriously (between dodgeball and NCAA2K6) and I am trying, along with my staff, to improve the paper.  

So, for those harboring "past problems" with the paper, you have to understand that these are new faces with different goals.  We'll be the best in the southeast come next year.  

I don't think anybody expects you to be a shill for the university.  However, in the recent past there have been numerous articles as well as editorial columns that have been decidedly slanted to shed the athletic department in a negative light.  While some issues with the department have been deserved (e.g. the Jerry Winters fiasco), many have not.  Hell, you had an editor plead with the university community not to be too harsh on Xavier Betia for missing a FG FOR FLORIDA STATE'S FOOTBALL TEAM!!!!  The result is that most of us who are alumni have developed considerable disdain for what was once a great college newspaper.  For better or for worse, the stain of the last few years will take a long time to wash away.  

USFFan

[Guest USF JOU Student]

Wow.

Sounds to me like Mike Camunas needs to stop worrying about what is being written on these message boards and stick his nose in some books on grammar and AP style.

It seems like if Camunas doesn’t have his head up Jim Leavitt’s rear end it’s going to be up this MB’s ass.

Mike, stop worrying about the opinion of people who only want to hear good things about USF and work a little harder at not looking like a complete idiot – for the sake of The Oracle and the St. Petersburg Times (for which you have an obligation to act like a professional).

I know you feel a little tingle inside when you walk over the computer the day after you wrote a column that you knew the MB was just going to love. You see your little name in the title of a new thread and your pathetic life becomes complete.

Mike, report the news. Give the FACTS.