Those "Storied" Cubs
Tribune reporter Susan Chandler writes today about groups trying to buy the Cubs from Tribune: "Tribune Co. hasn't said whether the Chicago Cubs are for sale, but that isn't stopping local businessmen from putting together groups to bid for the storied North Side franchise."
This is precisely the sort of occasion in which Tribune journalists subtly build a profitable mystique around the Cubs. If you call the Cubs "storied" but do not apply that adjective to any other team, then the Cubs acquire another increment of mystique, which plays quite happily into the marketing strategy that makes so much money for Tribune. Yet we can hardly quibble with the adjective itself. Storied is exactly what the Cubs are. The vital question is, who storied them?
We were recently contacted by a graduate student who is studying the Cubune bias. We warned him it might be difficult to document the bias numerically, since so much of it slips into print in the form of attitudes, assumptions, and adjectives like storied. But perhaps we spoke too soon. Lately we've been having fun with the Tribune archive and the amazing statistics it can produce.
For example, during the White Sox championship season, a season in which they held first place from opening day until the last game of the World Series, how many stories did the Tribune publish that mention the Sox, and how many did it publish that mention the Cubs? It's a fair question with an unfair answer. During the 2005 regular season, roughly April 1- Oct. 1, the Tribune published almost 800 more stories that mention the Cubs:
2005 Season
Cubs: 2,824 Tribune stories
White Sox: 2,047 Tribune stories
Okay, what about 2006? In 2006 the White Sox were baseball's reigning champions, and they remained in contention until the final week of the season. The Cubs, meanwhile, slipped securely into last place. Last place. But during the 2006 regular season, the Tribune published almost 600 more stories that mention the Cubs:
2006 Season
Cubs: 2,556 Tribune stories
White Sox: 1,975 Tribune stories
More people watched the White Sox on television in 2006. Numerous polls showed the White Sox to be equal or superior to the Cubs in popularity in 2006. Yet the Tribune wrote much more about the Cubs, and much of what it wrote described the Cubs as more popular, more lovable, or bigger. I think that's called lying. But, as you can see, the Cubs truly are more "storied."
But this is not just about steering fans toward a certain team. It's also about steering fans, tourists, and other spectators toward a certain Tribune-owned stadium. During the entire period described above, a period during which the White Sox won a World Series Championship and fought ably to defend it, the Tribune published almost 400 more stories that mention Wrigley:
April 2005-October 2006
Wrigley Field: 1,835 Tribune stories
U.S. Cellular Field: 1,442 Tribune stories
Don't take our word for it. You can do these searches of the Tribune archive yourself. And then, we ask, what more proof do we need?
This is precisely the sort of occasion in which Tribune journalists subtly build a profitable mystique around the Cubs. If you call the Cubs "storied" but do not apply that adjective to any other team, then the Cubs acquire another increment of mystique, which plays quite happily into the marketing strategy that makes so much money for Tribune. Yet we can hardly quibble with the adjective itself. Storied is exactly what the Cubs are. The vital question is, who storied them?
We were recently contacted by a graduate student who is studying the Cubune bias. We warned him it might be difficult to document the bias numerically, since so much of it slips into print in the form of attitudes, assumptions, and adjectives like storied. But perhaps we spoke too soon. Lately we've been having fun with the Tribune archive and the amazing statistics it can produce.
For example, during the White Sox championship season, a season in which they held first place from opening day until the last game of the World Series, how many stories did the Tribune publish that mention the Sox, and how many did it publish that mention the Cubs? It's a fair question with an unfair answer. During the 2005 regular season, roughly April 1- Oct. 1, the Tribune published almost 800 more stories that mention the Cubs:
2005 Season
Cubs: 2,824 Tribune stories
White Sox: 2,047 Tribune stories
Okay, what about 2006? In 2006 the White Sox were baseball's reigning champions, and they remained in contention until the final week of the season. The Cubs, meanwhile, slipped securely into last place. Last place. But during the 2006 regular season, the Tribune published almost 600 more stories that mention the Cubs:
2006 Season
Cubs: 2,556 Tribune stories
White Sox: 1,975 Tribune stories
More people watched the White Sox on television in 2006. Numerous polls showed the White Sox to be equal or superior to the Cubs in popularity in 2006. Yet the Tribune wrote much more about the Cubs, and much of what it wrote described the Cubs as more popular, more lovable, or bigger. I think that's called lying. But, as you can see, the Cubs truly are more "storied."
But this is not just about steering fans toward a certain team. It's also about steering fans, tourists, and other spectators toward a certain Tribune-owned stadium. During the entire period described above, a period during which the White Sox won a World Series Championship and fought ably to defend it, the Tribune published almost 400 more stories that mention Wrigley:
April 2005-October 2006
Wrigley Field: 1,835 Tribune stories
U.S. Cellular Field: 1,442 Tribune stories
Don't take our word for it. You can do these searches of the Tribune archive yourself. And then, we ask, what more proof do we need?
posted by Chicago Cubune Watch permalink
