I'll give you the answer, Chip

Newspapers: They have a standard and expectation that their beat reporters break stories. They compete with the other papers in their market. Beat writers breaking stories, for the Bears especially, sells papers.

Radio: No expectations on their beat guys to do anything other than get the stupid sound bites. PDs and GMs don't demand that they break stories. Radio stations main money makers are their daypart shows. Sound bites for these shows is all they need. Should the reporters take it upon themselves to break stories even though their bosses don't demand it? Sure. But the Larrys, JDs and Zachs of the world don't want to go the extra mile if they don't have to do it. Or they don't want to compromise their relationship with the team and have players not talk to them. Going to Lake Forrest is just standing around and socializing with other media members until the planned press conference happens. Get the sound bite. Go home. Then just go on the air and talk about the Bears the same way you or I do. "Bears need to run more." "Lovie screwed up time management." "This is a big game." Blah, blah, blah, blah. Nothingness. People on this board actually have more insight on the Bears.

I'm not sure how talk shows would exist without columnists to beat up on. Boers and Bernstein show usually devote the opening of their show to reacting to a something someone wrote.

Reporters on the station, Holmes comes to mind, seem more interested in being liked by the players, and these guys also became reporters (or analsysts) after producing a radio show - they don't have much (or any) background in reporting a story. Zaidman reports the news of the day, and I think does his job fine - he's criticized unfairly, in my opinion, for not being negative, but that's not his job. Now, I know Holmes would disagree - he thinks he has the inside scoop on everything, knows where all the skelton's are buried, and has used the analogy that he knows how the sausage is made, but if this is all true, he seems to keep it to himself at the expense of keeping relationships with Bear players.

You're absolutly right. Every reporter at newspapers went to school to be a reporter and are properly trained. Not Larry. Went from answering the phones and then Mitch told him he was the Bears reporter. I don't think he even has a broadcast journalism degree.

For the love of God, the Score had fuckin' Drinky covering the Cubs for a couple of months before they realized how horrible he was. Goff was a producer one day and the next day he became an NBA expert. Then, drunk on his new found power, Goff tweeted to Chicago that Lebron James was a Bull.

Only at the Score. A complete circus.

As far as scoops, I think the national writers just have better lines of communication with the agents. I'm assuming that most of the stories that break come in some fashion from an agent who wants something out there. I just don't think that Holmes sucking up to Charles Tillman or Lance Briggs is going to get him any real information other than a funny story that displays his 15 second laugh because these guys simply are going to be tight lipped on sharing actual information. If I were Holmes or one of these other reporters, I'd be more interested in having an "in" with a few of these agents.

Yes, at the Score, a simple way of elevating the status of a producer is to simply make them an "expert" of a team, when, in reality, they are nothing more than fans of a sport.

Beardown, I think that you are correct about this. When I was taking broadcasting and journalism classes at SIU (class of 89) we were taught about working on and cultivating relationships with people who would be important sources to you. My broadcast newswriting teacher-who was a former news director for several stations-gave us his rolodex of numbers to copy so we had something to start with. That included numbers for politicians in Washington, government agencies, and, suprisingly, Don Shula's direct line to his office in Miami (this was when he was still coach). This instructor preached to us the importance of networking with people in order to break stories and get information that others may not have. This goes for both radio and television. While people at stations today may have "relationships" with players, coaches, etc. I don't think they do much in the way of working them to get different angles on stories. I agree wholeheartedly that many of the people working on the broadcast side of things are doing so because of the "celebrity" that comes with the job and the fact that they can say they know some players and coaches. Laurence can talk all he wants about his conversations with Peanut, Lance and his newfound friend Brandon, but it's not producing anything in the way of news.

Or something re-tweeted by Deadspin.

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Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way