I am a Cyclone fan. I am an employee of the Gazette. Candidly, the role I have here would allow me to dictate coverage if that is what I wanted to do. But that would be a bad idea for a variety of reasons.
To first address the market research, every three years we do a fairly significant market study. The study is conducted by personnel at a research firm that frankly don't really care what the outcomes are, they simply conduct the study and turn over the results. The study typically consists of the following: Three small in-person focus groups (10-12 each), one comprised of subscribers, one comprised of non-subscribers and one that is mixed. This is to get opinions and feedback about a wide variety of topics including content of all types, print layout, digital layout, community interaction and other things of the groups' choosing. That feedback is then taken and put into a "quant" study to get a statistically valid market sample of hundreds of people on those topics that were generated and discussed in the focus groups. The quant survey is completed by a balance of subscribers, occasional readers but not subscribers, and those who almost never consume our products. Decisions about the product are made off the resulting data. If there is a bias, it comes from our market - not from those inside the building.
Secondly, I actually had a hand in creating our Game Day and Final Score sections for Saturdays and Sundays in the fall. In fact, when we went to market to get our first sponsors over eight years ago, I personally reached out to over a dozen "pro-Cyclone" business owners. I also reached out directly to Jamie Pollard in an attempt to give someone, anyone who cared about Cyclone athletics to step up and establish a presence in Eastern Iowa. None wanted to play.
Prior to that, when we owned KCRG and purchased the rights to air a select number of Iowa State basketball games (Eustachy era), we put on a HUGE dog and pony show at the station. Food, drink, a sizzle reel of Iowa State, market research showing a significant number of ISU grads in our viewing area. We were the number one station in market. You know how many packages for those games were sold to advertisers: Exactly zero. You know why? Advertisers said the following: Cyclone fans don't spend money like Iowa fans do, and there are a lot more Hawk fans to market to.
So, between pro-Cyclone entities that choose not to play when we give them first look, and businesses that view us as "tight" or "cheap" (exhibit A to the poster earlier who bragged of spending less than $10 on his consumption of ISU news), profitably covering ISU is a non-starter. It is also the reason why I get much (nearly all, frankly) of my ISU information from this very website. I would prefer to get it from my own publication, but I also understand the economics involved. On that note, it would be my sincere hope that everyone in this thread who has lodged a complaint about coverage has made some sort of monetary donation to Chris to help fund his ongoing coverage of the Cyclones. If you haven't, then you really don't have anything to complain about.
