05/10/24
December 17, 2009
Madden's Keeping Busy Outside the Booth: The New York Times catches up with retired broadcaster and coach John Madden, whose most important game of the week is the Foothill High School freshman team coached by his sons Mike and Joe. "I get to go with the grandkids and say: 'Who wants hot dogs? Grandpa's buying.'"
If the corporate sponsors are a part of what is keeping John Madden busy now that he is no longer broadcasting, and that appears to be the part of the article, shouldnt the sponsors be mentioned?
posted by yzelda4045 at 01:20 PM on December 17, 2009
shouldnt the sponsors be mentioned?
I have no problem with the sponsors being mentioned, as long as it's accompanied by sufficient disclosure about the genesis of the piece. Reading between the lines, it appears that the NYT reporter got invited to the Madden Sunday flatscreenapalooza at the behest of the two sponsors who got, in return, nice juicy second-paragraph mentions. But that's never stated explicitly. So, it's nice to have an answer to "what's Madden up to these days?" But it's not exactly reporting.
posted by etagloh at 02:59 PM on December 17, 2009
"flatscreenapalooza"??? That's funny. Its definitely a fluff piece, I wasn't taking the article for a serious piece of journalism.
posted by yzelda4045 at 04:07 PM on December 17, 2009
"Who wants hot dogs? Grandpa's buying."
Can't have a Madden story that doesn't involve the food angle.
Sometimes when he was in the MNF booth with Michaels and the game they were working was slow or dead, the producer would cut to a live food prep shot, and Madden would wake up like a bear that had slept till April. The uptick in alertness and motivation was startling to behold.
If you need someone to telestrate a Primanti's all-cardio man-stack special with the fries piled on top like bonfire logs, Madden is your guy.
Nate Newton, put down that post-game turkey leg and give me a call. I can get you a hot dog anytime you want.
posted by beaverboard at 09:44 AM on December 18, 2009
How much money do think Madden has? Could he be worth $100 million? I figure that Madden game is worth a cook ten year over year, add in his salary from broadcasting (millions) and his investments and endorsements and I bet I'm not far off.
Not bad for guy most famous for explaining exactly what just happened.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:17 AM on December 18, 2009
A fun read, but it's rare to see a piece that was so clearly pitched and written according to the terms set by a bunch of corporate sponsors. When the time comes to write about Madden's legacy, that's going to be a big part of it.