I get that the Courant may be pressed for space given the precarious position of the print media today. However, there is no reason that they cannot have a larger electronic footprint through twitter, blogs, etc. The capacity is there and the desire is there.
At the risk of sounding like a certain poster to this site, if I were running the Courant football blog, I would:
find a way to do a short bio on each incoming frosh. There are about what, 28 true freshmen? So for 28 days before camp, I'd put a post about 1 per day. I'd also have a post on red shirts, one per day for about 18 or so days ahead of camp. Or, I could do that for an astounding 46 days before camp, one day for frosh and then one day for red shirt frosh. That would back us up to early June and let the readership know what to expect, if anything, from these guys.
At this time of year, I'd do a daily post on each of the following:
[ ]A look at each of UConn's 12 opponents, in order. A brief paragraph or two on offense, defense, special teams, coaching, past meetings, and of course a quick mention about where and when the games with a link to the ticket site.
[ ]A breakdown of the coaching staff on each side of the ball. Brief bios, mentions of responsibilities, and what to look for on the field from the players at their positions.
[ ]One post per day on one of UConn players in the NFL and his prospects entering camp.
[ ]Days after the CFL and Arena league play, updates on any UConn players there.
Other things I'd post include:
[ ]A weekly look at the program, the AAC, and college football in general. Notes type of column on Saturday's, year round, with at least 5 items each week. Here is where you could include info on other programs within New England as well. Look at some of the 1-AA, D2 and D3 programs. Heck, include high schools if you need to.
[ ]Updates on visits, even if it is just a name.
[ ]Updates on local players, with a focus on UConn's targets, as they play their high school games, 7 on 7 camps/tourneys, etc.
[ ]Links to and/or summaries of articles from around the web on the program. Keep the people talking.
[ ]A weekly (or bi-weekly) mailbag and/or chat with fans.
[ ]Calendar reminders with events (signing day event, open practices, night with PP, games, as well as events that are not UConn specific but rather those on a national scale).
[ ]Copies of UConn press releases with my own thoughts afterwards.
A lot of the above would be brief entries and could easily be collected and crafted into articles for the paper. No need to double up the work.
Someone once posted here that the Courant (and other local media) do not put as much effort into producing content for UConn football because of the lack of interest. Well, this is a chance for the media to create interest. It goes back to what Drew just posted. Create buzz.
Find stories,
find news. It doesn't all have to be hard hitting football stuff. Get people who are just reading the paper or visiting the site to read about UConn football to get them to watch or listen to a game and then, maybe they attend a game. Perhaps they get hooked. Maybe they never come back, but at least you are putting the program out there and perhaps increasing traffic to your site and adding subscriptions.
Too many in the media today want the stories handed to them instead of going out and finding something to write about. Like Edsall, PP does not throw a ton out there for the media to devour. They need to work for it and most are just not willing to do so.
