Not too long ago we had the issue between TKP and Andy Bitter and then came his calling Buzz a jerk for taking so long to come out of the locker room postgame. Now it seems like Mark Berman may have also added a little to that unprofessionalism himself toward Va Tech. By the way, who is Mark Berman? It seems like all of a sudden, he arrived on the scene and is also covering the Hokies too. On the Times web page on the drop down under sports he isn't even listed. There is Bitter, McFarling and Doughty but no Berman. I know he's been with the Times like 18 years but doing what I don't profess to know. But I digress.
According to my #sauces (99.9% reliable) Berman attempted to interview some cross country track & field athletes after the disclosure that David Eisenhauer (who had about 2 minutes total on the team) had been arrested and charged with the murder of Nicole Lovell. It appears that no one want to talk to him so he contacted Administration and basically accused them of not allowing the student-athletes to talk to him. When he was told that the University in no way shape or form had anything to do with the refusal of the student-athletes to interview with him, he apparently got pretty nasty and accusatory. When he persisted, they just left it at that.
With the excitement that Whit, Buzz and Fuente have bestowed on Va Tech and the successes of some of the other teams like wrestling, it just seems to be a downer for these guys to bring negativity to the University. They don't have to be homers by any stretch of the imagination but objective and professional seems like it ought to be a prerequisite.
First Bitter, Now Berman??
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Isn't Berman the munchkin we always make fun of?
O yes.
maybe it just me, but he kinda looks like Brendan Dassey's old lawyer, Len Kachinsky
He'll be more mature when he hits puberty.
He's Captain of the Lollipop Guild.
That's being rude to the Lollipop Guild. They are up front guys!
via GIPHY
Those guys look way tougher than Berman and would kick his @$$.
My God what a sad little circlejerk this place has become. Rational thoughts and civilized discourse about Virginia Tech athletics? Nahhhh I have a better idea, lets make fun of the physical stature of a beat writer because we don't like the mean things he wrote about our school. You all sound like a bunch of 13 year olds.
I had to give you a leg for swimming against the tide. I will have to agree with you absolutely that the "physical stature" jokes and general denigration are, well, to me at least, petty and unseemly. Blood in the water is hard to resist, and I may have had a joke at his expense in the past, but I know it isn't right. Personally, I promise that from this moment forward, Berman will not suffer insult from my comments, unless I take particular issue with a particular issue with his writing. Maybe not worth much, but it's all I can do. Hope you avoid the wrath of the others here. I think most are just in the circlejerk for the off season relief, but, well, g'luck.
I have no problem with jokes if they aren't petty/unoriginal/unfunny. I just don't get the automatic hate that goes towards any writer who says something that goes against TKP narrative. Everyone has their opinions, sportswriters included. If you don't like it, don't follow them.
There is nothing Berman does that just "goes against narrative"; from complaining about losing his parking spot next to Cassell, to complaining about losing his court side seat to calling out VT softball for not leading their press release with the notice they got shut out. What exactly does he think VT is here for, his personal ease of life?
OK, agreed. But I think the jokes about his physical appearance are over the top.
Not too difficult when the top is so close to the ground.
My first and likely last comment on Mark Berman's stature, but with that set up, I really couldn't resist. Talk about low hanging fruit.
Talk about low hanging fruit.
I see what you did there. Twice in one thread, you filthy minx.
Would I be hypocritical if I were to laugh at those jokes?
Depends... How tall are you?
Thanks for the set-up, but I decline to participate.
I get it, Berman complains about the way VT treats him and it comes across as a bit petty. Does that mean the entire website should go up in arms against him? I remember how many compliments we got as a community from Ohio state fans in the months leading up to and after the game this year. Have we really regressed to the point where we feel the need to rip apart a guys character just because we don't like him? For Christ sakes I know it's the offseason and there's not much to talk about but there's got to be something better than this. This whole thread reminds me of the fans who tweet to herbstreet accusing him of "ALWAYS SAYING BAD THINGS ABOUT MY SCHOOL." It seems a bit silly to me is all I'm saying.
This isn't a guy who says things like "blank isn't a good coach" or blank player isn't that great" his sample of work calls VT as an institution into question every chance he gets.
My problem here is we are torching him for something he "may" have done. It's not like he wrote an article complaining the T&F student athletes were being uncooperative. We jump on these #sauces like they are the word of god especially because it's Berman. I get he doesn't like VT- since all he covers is the BB programs, I don't have to read him- I can get all my info from other sources. I like Andy Bitter and read him all year - I think he does a great job. Saying something was a "jerk move" doesn't warrant the vitriol in his direction. He paints a picture of the football program that is pretty accurate and balanced.
We arn't threatening the guy and his family for crying out loud.
As Fireman points out, this isn't about a guy saying negative things about VT sports directly related to results on the field. His comments lead one to feel as if he generally dislikes VT as an organization, from the administration to the teams to the fans.
Why does he deserve our respect when he gives none in return? When a guy acts like a jerk, and is called a jerk...that's not questioning his character, that's observing reality.
We shouldn't stoop to his level then; we only reflect poorly ourselves when do stoop down to someone else s level.. I'd hope that Tech fans are above the fray with respect to that. If he's as vitriolic and biased, then his own actions will be his (professional) demise. I'd rather not get into a mud-slinging war since there seems to be no point to it.
If the OP is to be believed (and I have no reason not to) then Berman literally tried to create a scandal simply because some student athletes didn't want to talk to him and the school wouldn't make them.
It's not AT ALL that he goes against the "TKP narrative" and, to me anyway, it's not even that he always presents a negative attitude towards VT (but, really, I've never seen a good word about our athletics from him). It's that at every opportunity he bitches/wines/complains about our coaches/department/school in the most hyperbolic fashion possible. Again, see the OP. He asked some students about a situation which is understandably very sensitive, they turned him down, he wen't to the university and ultimately levied accusations at the administration.
So we have someone who, in theory, is a journalist covering VT sports who constantly tries to belittle the team and university he's covering. Why then is it so surprising when a large percentage of people on a fan page for said team hate him? He wants to take every opportunity to shit on our university then turnabout is fair play.
EDIT: And I do try to avoid Berman as much as possible, it's not like I'm out there looking for something to be pissed off at the guy for. I don't like his style, I don't usually like what he has to say, so I try to avoid his articles. But, every once in a while, an article will slip into my facebook timeline or get referenced here and if it's something unnecessarily derogatory then I'll probably call it out as such when I see it.
Understand what you are saying....but you yourself are stereotyping.
"You all sound like a bunch of 13 year olds."
If I am not mistaken it was probably just a few people complaining.
I don't give a crap what some writer says...
Who?
he frequents his douche canoe when it comes to anything VT.
Lead Complainer about VT moving media back from courtside and takes plenty of jabs at VT on twitter.
Hokies shouldn't concern themselves with the opinions of the lollipop guild.
This type of behavior is nothing new for Berman, just par for the course. No one, except for a few fellow journalists, likes or respects him. He thinks and acts as though being a journalist is somehow sacrosanct and should grant him all access to whatever he wants, then pitches hissy-fits when he doesn't get his way. Just a sad, little man all around.
Is Berman a "journalist"?
A lot seems to pass as journalism these days.
Absolutely NOT.
wow, we're worse than Russia?
hah
I'd say the high count of "too scared to reply" makes them worse. But it's way too close
Fuck Berman. That is all.
I don't blame Bitter for no longer contributing to TKP. Why would you help a rival succeed?
Dumb question, been busy and haven't been around a ton recently. What exactly did Bitter do to inspire people's frustration? He has always seemed like a class act to me and seems to do things the right way.
Tweeted that Buzz keeping the media waiting for nearly 2 hours after a game (loss to WVU, I believe) was a "jerk move." Other beat writers were more vocal. Berman tweeted every few minutes about he was still waiting at [insert time here], in addition to all the other trollish crap we're used to seeing from him.
To me, the title of this thread is backwards. Berman has been a jerk towards VT for a long time and never has anything good to say. Basically comes off as "you should be thankful that I am doing this job because it's so awful and hard to do." Bitter made one comment, though I agree it was unnecessary and he was not at all involved in the situation, but his colleagues were.
Got it. Thanks for the update.
Didn't Bitter also apologize for his comment?
He also tweeted that Buzz "is the only coach in the country that doesn't understand it (professionalism)," and then told a fan that he'd been watching too many movies if he thought Buzz's post-game team meeting would spark a turnaround for the season. Which turned out to be the best part because of how ironic/wrong it turned out to be.
I've never had a problem with Bitter at all, but that crap made me go back think about how much better quality K.Tucker's work was... just talent wise. He was destined to keep moving up
Andy used to post his articles daily over here, but at some point he tried to arrange an interview with a Purdue fan site only to find out TKP had already set something up with them. He fired off some things about if TKP was going to encroach on his territory he would have to treat it like a competitor and that's what he did. No more Bitter posts.
Maybe the culture come from that paper itself, not too long ago they had to fire a lot of employees. Maybe these guys that are left have some ego. Another issue with the times sports people is that they want to conduct chats, mailbags, etc but they never give an opinion or have anything new to add...just keep saying they "don't know" or "too early to tell" seems like its the same answer. Why are they hosting chats and mailbags if they can't answer any questions? Makes no sense, either be a sports news caster or an opinionated journalist. Can't mix up both. I would rather read French any day on film breakdown where he actually explains what's going on with a play, where it broke down and then makes informed suggestions on what our team could do to improve. We get way better information here at TKP and much quicker.
Also I think TKP was doing a lot for Bitter, especially having him post his links, asking questions on the chats but I didn't find it the same coming back our way.
I never read Berman and i'm not much into basketball but something about it tells me that he is following the newspaper culture.
I think your summation of what occurs in Andy Bitter's chats and mailbags is misplaced. There are certain topics that he responds with the uncertain answers but gives his takes on the vast majority of questions.
Mark Berman is a manhole cover for a dick hole
Berman has aspired to the ranks of a sudo reporter for Roanoke Times. The huge paper located in the SW mountains of Virginia that once had a picture of cows on the front page of the newspaper during a world crisis. That may or may not be true but you get their relevance in the world. ZIPPO, NADA!
Yeah if you spend enough time around the peripherals of Virginia Tech news you quickly come to find out exactly what everyone thinks of him. Dude is a black mark on the journalistic profession. This doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Seems to be his general attitude towards everything.
Speaking of Andy Bitter, I miss Kyle Tucker. Bitter has never come close to what we had before with our beat writer. And Mark Berman has never been worth my time - or Buzz's, evidently.
Meh, I like bitter a lot more than Tucker.
Agree, Andy's always been a class act when Ive interacted with him and he seemed to get along with Beamer really well, so if Beamer likes/liked (sad face) I like him.
I dont really understand the bitter-ness. Ill see myself out...
I am interested to see Bitter called out for his Jerk comment about Buzz because I thought he got a pass for that? I would like to see the post about that? I am and never have been a Berman fan for a lot of reasons beyond his obvious hatred for VT. But I use to read and respect Bitter although I agree with the poster above, he is not as good as the man he replaced in Kyle. But when he posted in the MEDIA FOR EVERYONE TO SEE, I personally emailed him and called him on it and his Jerk response was, " I stand by my post about Buzz and I can tell you, his boss, WB was not to happy either ". I told him how classless his post was and Buzz was not accountable to him but his kids and their families and his boss BW and even if BW was unhappy with Buzz, at least he handled it with class and not in the media like his classless rant and name calling. I hope he goes back to his home in Milwaukee where he belongs and takes Berman with him. Done with both of them and stopped following both of them. Bitter is a big step backward from Kyle IMHO.
http://www.thekeyplay.com/virginia-tech-basketball/2016/01/11356/buzz-wi...
I keep pressing "t" for next top comment, but it's only going down one post at a time...
/s
Is this douche nozzle 12 yet?
I am not a big Berman fan but I do like Andy Bitter. I appreciate his unique takes on Virginia Tech Football.
I disagree that writers have to be objective. I think if they are subjective it adds something to their writing to an extent.
There's a distinction to be made in the types of writing we're talking about. Professional journalists are supposed to present facts in an objective manner to inform the public. And sure, they can write things in a way that may try to subtly steer perception, but overt subjectivity has no place in that business. That's what Bleacher Report and editorial pages are for.
Facts are always objective. Regardless I think there is a way to write in a subjective manner and still be professional. Bleacher Report thrives because of it's casual style.
A reporter's job is do that just that: Report.
This is just Berman being an asshole. Is the way he's trying to get information unprofessional? Of course, but if there is something bad that happens we can't just let it go unreported solely because it would "look bad for the University." The University is doing the right thing here by protecting the cross-country team members, but we can't set a precedent of only the good things coming out to the media.
EDIT: This is in no way me implicating anything wrong on the University's part, and it's not defending Berman. I'm just simply talking about the precedent of protecting against bad news
Berman is an ass and has always been an ass and he will always be an ass. What did he do this time?
He was being an ass.
Yeah I'm sure but did he call out TKP? I assumed he did.
That would make no sense, but then again he doesn't come across as the most sensible person.
Somewhere, Bill Brill is smiling......
Agree. Every time I see Berman's name, I think Bill Brill. Two peas in a pod...
Sorry to disagree, but I disagree. Brill was on record as disliking VT and was unabashed about it, even to the point of reveling in needling the Hokie fan base. To me, Berman is a shadow of Brill in that regard. I still read Bitter, and while he makes no bones about not being a fan, I don't sense the antagonism that Brill was famous for gleefully creating. Brill was a world class jerk, Berman's just a twit, Andy's just doing a job of work.
Berman wants us to be more like LOLUVA. I want him to be more invisible.
To me, Bitter is innocuous. However Berman, would be removed from the journalistic equation altogether if a VT fan could do so. He brings nothing of value. JMO as a VT fan.
Wow, let's put in the brakes here. Why the rant? So a journalist covering our coveted Hokies shows signs of dislike...why all the hate? Using this forum to pound Berman seems out of taste.
And Bitter? Let's show the guy some respect! Like him or leave him, the man is THE BEAT WRITER for VT football. His very job entails covering our favorite sport, our favorite team. Chillax already. Show these guys some respect, they're doing their job as best they can, for that I'm certain. If you don't like their angle, then go read another article. But dudes, this public stoning is senseless.
I agree 100%. I get he's immature and not beloved, but at the end of the day the dudes just trying to do his job.
If your job is covering college sports for print media, and a specific team at that...and you are immature and hated...then you are bad at your job.
No one needs him to kiss VT's ass. But creating false transgressions in your mind is inexcusable as well.
i definitely get that. but i dont think getting into what seems like weekly rants about how bad reporters/journalists are at their job is gonna help things either. i used to read andy's stuff a lot more but its decreased greatly over the last year or so. never have read berman. i guess i just stay away beause i dont value their opinions as much? takes away page views from them and my day isnt affected by whatever they spout
anyway not trying to argue either way, but i just dont see the point in getting consistently angry or offended whenever someone does something to "wrong" us or VT. he's going to keep his job and in less than 24 hours someone else will say something else to stir the pot and the world moves onto that subject. super depressing (i know) but its how the world operates right now.
It's not that Berman is "showing signs of dislike" against the Hokies, it's that he's consistently had a negative view towards us since he started covering VT and always seems to slide in snide comments to paint VT in a bad light. On top of that, his writing just comes off as the ramblings of an angry little man who wants to convince the world he's 6'5". So he can get in his douche canoe and paddle off a waterfall for all I care.
I think it's more about the way he goes about his job and he seems to always take the angle that VT is doing things the wrong way or that VT is up to no good. He just seems to have a negative outlook and when you consider the likely audience of his reporting, he needs to be a reporter who collects all the facts before spouting off. Twitter is his worst enemy as it allows his true nature to shine through.
Everyone has their right to their opinion based on what they see and hear. I don't like what I see from Bitter or Berman when they attack good coaches and my school for no reason other than they can.
If you don't enjoy Mark Berman's work, don't read or follow him. There are plenty of other sources for comprehensive coverage of Virginia Tech athletics.
If you do enjoy his work, read everything the man writes.
I want two things out of writers like Berman and Bitter.
The first is to keep me informed in an accurate way about news surrounding Virginia Tech sports. The second is to do it in a way that doesn't aggravate me. That's all I really request of them.
Bitter provides an enlightened perspective. I often get something out of his reports that I didn't know previously. Also, he generally writes in a way that doesn't infuriate me as a Virginia Tech fan. So, mission accomplished. I don't necessarily always agree with him, but I'll continue to read his columns and posts. I think it's unfortunate that he got into a disagreement with TKP, as I liked reading his posts here as well.
Berman, on the other hand, doesn't generally tell me anything I didn't already know, and he covers VT sports in a way that makes me feel like he put a handful of wet sand down my back. I can find other sources of information for VT sports.
I used to get some information from the Washington Post, but their coverage has dropped off. Their previous beat reporter, Mark Giannotto, was reasonably informative, but was at best neutral in his coverage. He clearly wasn't a huge fan, so I found his coverage sort of annoying at times. Isabelle Khurshudyan was an improvement in that regard as she managed to write articles that didn't annoy me, but the Washington Post doesn't publish as many VT football or basketball articles as they did in the past. I'd like to see more coverage from them.
Which brings me to TKP, which has become my "goto" source for information regarding Virginia Tech. It's a lot quicker as a news source, and the community is really well-informed.
I also think TKP brings a juicy-ness that cant withstand professional journalism, in the sense of the forums.
ie, crazy coach Torrain Gray stories, or which players are 'reportedly' in the dog house, or class act Ford/Rogers stories...
We certainly have a lot more fun with it, and everyone can participate in the fun.
Berman has Never reported a fair thing about VT. He came on the heels of Bill Brill . I live in the NRV and have seen the articles he puts out. I called him once, about five years ago, to ask why such negative reporting . He got very uptight and mad. I just told him, I pay for his service and was asking a fair question and if he couldn't understand that from a person that has bought the paper since the 60's. Then I need to quit and let the editor know why. Which I did do. He is a little man living in a life protected by his job. And Bitter has turned out to be a reporter that IF he works at The Roanoke Times, he will have to follow suit. I don't follow Bitter or the paper anymore. And will drop TSL because he uses it for his articles. That's my choice... Berman is a Little Prick !! But at the right place to be One !!
Berman is an ass, yes. We all know this. And well....that'll occasionally happen in journalism (as it does all professions.) What I don't understand is the level of entitlement that Berman has. A few athletes don't want to talk to you? Better go whine to the university's administration about it! A head coach runs late for a post conference presser because he's still coaching his team? Better bitch and whine go on a twitter tirade about it! You have a job, dude. An awesome job at that. I'm not saying to be a homer for the university you report on, I'm just saying that Berman needs to appreciate what he has and work hard to do it well instead of being a douchenozzle of negativity. /rant over.
Berman crossed the line when he went ballistic on the School Administration folks. It wasnt the AD administration, it was the Burress folks. He made unfounded accusations saying the University had issued gag orders on the track student-athletes. When he was informed that that wasn't factual, he got a little nasty with them.
Berman can say whatever he wants. And we can trash him if we like, or defend him, or whatever we want. Free speech goes both ways (within the defined bounds set by the SCOTUS).
We hold ourselves to a higher standard b/c we're the greatest group of college football fans ever to roam the earth. That being said, if he's being big meanie, HE'S A WITCH! BURN HIM!
*He
"Whore jazz!"
Soooo people can trash journalists over their opinions and then use the defense that everyone has a right to their own opinion? Seems a little on the hypocritical side. I also am not sure everyone here knows that Twitter isn't an "objective" media platform. If you follow a journalist on Twitter, you are following the person. They are not required to talk VT 24/7 or be objective on their Twitter account. If you do not like their personal thoughts on the world, I suggest you go to the newspaper website when you want to read the objective Hokie material.
I personally enjoy visiting this site to get away from the daily grind which includes hearing my fianc and other women complain nonstop about people based on their social media opinions. I say that because that's what this turns into occasionally... A group of women gossiping about their disdain of a specific person or topic. I take pride in the fact that other fans compliment our fan base on our respect for others and I personally would like to see that take precedence over discussions like these. And yes, I do realize that if I don't like the opinions in these forums, I should take my own advice and go elsewhere. I am in no way free of guilt and in a way I'm lecturing myself about being the bigger person, but I just would like to see these forums remain the standard for good, clean hokie talk.
I agree with the sentiment, but the punch would've landed better without the gender stereotype.
I wrote this in another thread, if you're unhappy with the quality of what's being discussed, then change the conversation for the better.
All you did was complain about complaining, which in the end is more noise.
Was referring to my fiance and the women she congregates with during their gossip sessions... Not a generalization for an entire population. My apologies for not specifying.
*fiance stumbles across this post*
*Mdbarria no longer has fiance*
Hahaha bingo. I was thinking that as I typed it. She's a UK fan so I'm hoping if/when she googles my username she ignores the VT sites.
May we talk about what it's like being in a relationship with a UK fan during basketball season?
Congrats on your engagement too.
Thanks. And it's not as bad as you would think. Her family is from Kentucky and her dad is a diehard UK fan, a knowledgable one at that, so I try and enjoy bball season with them... Got to go to a few games with them last year and had a great time. I'll rock a UK shirt to the gym to support her and she'll rock a hokie shirt for me... Her dad also humors my VT bball talk, tries not to complain about their recruiting "misses," and even listens to my VT 757 recruiting frustrations.
Bottom line for me, my raison d'etre for being a subscriber to TKP & soon-to-be Key Play Club member is the theme of All Things Hokie. While we predominantly go with football & basketball, we still have openings for the other sports & especially when those teams are enjoying a modicum of success. Also, we have analysts that are second to none. I've learned more about the "in the trenches", X's & O's ( I get high, and I love to get low
So the hearts keep breaking, and the heads just roll
You know that's how the story goes) & have learned to respect those who have a different opinion or see things at an angle I wasn't thinking about. To me, All Things Hokies include anything & everything and there isn't much that's off limits. We have the administrators here to keep us in line if we go off the chain. So, having said that, if we collectively or individually talk about a sports analyst/journalist that has a burr under his/her saddle against the Hokies to include the University, then we have a forum here to do that.
I like Andy Bitter and enjoy his articles. But I, personally, will not stand by if he and others (Berman) unfairly (IMHO) attacks the Hokie Nation.
Well this says a lot ABOUT how Buzz feels about the media. All of them including Berman and Bitter. Good for him.
Buzz lost respect for members of the local media because they accused him of certain things last year. Thus, they aren't getting any intel from him, and they aren't getting inside the circle.
I don't agree with Berman and Bitter. But I don't care to attack them in any sort of way / manner. I simply don't follow / subscribe to them. Anything more than that seems excessive and petty.
There are bigger issues / problems in life people - not only that affect the general public, but we each have our own specific ones. Whit / Buzz / Justin will be just fine, they don't need us brandishing our pitch forks for them.
To be clear, Berman and Bitter aren't the same entity.
Haha I know - did the post come off that I thought they were? Berman and Bitter sound more like a law firm to me.
they should launch a chain of Bed & Breakfast places. the B&B B&Bs
That also sell small arms.
"Come get your all-new B&B B&B BBs"