Media Watch

WHERE TO PUT THE ‘CITIZEN’ ARCHIVES? PERHAPS NOT AT THE
HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Tucson Citizen served Arizona as a continuous
daily record for 138 years.

The Arizona Historical Society houses some of the world’s
most extensive collections relating to the growth, expansion and
lifestyles of the American Southwest.

So now that the Citizen doesn’t exist, it seems that
transferring the archives to a location known for maintaining material
of this magnitude would be an ideal fit. Indeed, that’s exactly what
former interim editor Jennifer Boice and other Citizen employees wanted to do. They posed the idea to parent-company
Gannett and the Arizona Historical Society earlier this year,
once Gannett set an anticipated end date for the newspaper to
close.

So what’s the snag? About $100,000.

Gannett, which initially appeared interested in the idea, seemed
significantly less interested once it received the Arizona Historical
Society’s initial June 18 proposal—asking for $99,224 to handle
the archives. It wasn’t until others got involved, including Pima
County Supervisor Sharon Bronson and state legislator Daniel Patterson
via e-mail, that Gannett acknowledged there was even an issue on the
table.

In correspondences to Bronson and Patterson acquired by the
Tucson Weekly, Kate Marymont, the person in charge
of the archive process for Gannett, indicated there were a number of
sticking points, including issues such as ongoing access, facilities,
republication rights, digital rights and other copyright concerns. One
other hang-up involved Gannett’s corporate structure: News,
information-technology, legal and digital teams are all involved in the
process.

But those are largely smoke screens, it seems.

“If there are issues with copyright and access, all of that can be
worked out,” said Anne Woosley, executive director of the
Arizona Historical Society. “We’ve done those kinds of things many
times.”

Indeed, Marymont all but said that back to Woosley in an Aug. 7
e-mail, which read in part: “We do not yet know what role the Arizona
Historical Society might play in the preservation of this valuable
content. The proposed charge to us of $99,224.00 is too steep for us to
consider you as the primary repository. We continue to review how we
might share some artifacts and archives.”

Woosley told the Weekly, “When the whole concept of whether
we would be interested in the whole archive was presented to us, it was
also presented with: ‘Give us a proposal for making this happen.’
Having dedicated staff for a six-month period to get the material
processed is the extent of the expenses. We did that. We were asked,
‘Do you want the collection?’ We said absolutely. ‘Give us a proposal
for what it would cost to make the whole transfer.’ That’s what we
did.

“What’s absolutely critical in the case of the Tucson Citizen is that the archive remains intact. Let us have the collection
accounted for. Right now, the collection is in an open area of the
Tucson Citizen newsroom. It’s open to anybody walking through.
In our experience, when collections are kind of put in the corner
somewhere, they start becoming scattered. We want the collection to be
safe. We want the collection to remain intact. We know we’re the best
organization to take it.”

MASTERMIND BEHIND UA SPORTS-BROADCAST DEAL LEAVES

Brent Seebohm didn’t even stay around long enough to see his
creation, the Arizona Wildcat Sports Network, produce its first
television broadcast.

Seebohm resigned Thursday, Aug. 13, from his post with IMG,
the organization that manages sports-broadcast rights for the UA.

Seebohm, who also served as an associate athletic director at the UA
and as the regional vice president of IMG College, likely took heat for
brokering a deal that many view with skepticism.

AWSN signed locally with the Journal Broadcast Group, meaning
the UA’s sports television outlets would be KWBA Channel 58/Cable
Channel 8 and KGUN Channel 9 for Wildcat sporting
events—mostly football and men’s basketball—that are not
picked up as part of the Pac-10’s other TV agreements.

The problem is that while the deal handles the issue of local
viewership and includes a statewide agreement with KAZT TV in Phoenix,
out-of-state alumni will have a tougher time finding games on
television. While the UA also offers an Internet option, that’s a
viewing technology that hasn’t been accepted by many sports
viewers.

The deal was cut after IMG couldn’t come to terms with Fox Sports
Arizona or other broadcast groups. However, AWSN has brokered deals
with California cable outlets in an effort to improve its coverage
range.

Seebohm, who did not return requests for comment before our press
deadline, arrived in Tucson in 2006 as part of Host
Communications. IMG acquired Host in 2008.

Meanwhile, the UA and IMG announced broadcast teams for the upcoming
season—and there are some changes to the vocal roster. Dave
Sitton stays on as television play-by-play voice for football and
men’s basketball. Former UA offensive lineman John Fina will
handle analyst duties for football games.

Bob Elliott is out of the mix as the men’s basketball
analyst; he’ll be replaced by Corey Williams, who played for the
UA in the ’90s, enjoyed a professional basketball stint in Europe and
currently operates the Tucson Summer Pro League.

Another former Wildcat player, Matt Muehlebach, will replace
analyst Ryan Hansen on radio broadcasts. Hansen—who, in my
opinion, was among the most insightful color commentators at the
college level, and brought great understanding behind the coaching
philosophies of Lute Olson, Kevin O’Neill and Russ Pennell to his
broadcasts—will place his entire work focus on university
fundraising endeavors. That said, if a change had to be made, the
decision to opt for Muehlebach is excellent. He will sit alongside
Brian Jeffries.

Glenn Howell will handle sideline reporting duties for the
football television broadcasts, while Dana Cooper will act as
sideline reporter for Wildcat football on the radio.

This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2009.