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CNN Live Sunday

Interview With David Arkin

Aired August 25, 2002 - 18:23   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: There is still no decision yet on whether there will in fact be a Major League Baseball World Series. A lot of people wondering as negotiations between team owners and the players union are ongoing. The strike deadline set by the players' union is Friday, not far away.
So you're out. That is what a Texas newspaper called "The Huntsville Item" is saying to Major League Baseball. Major development here. It's boycotting coverage of the national pastime. Editor David Arkin joins us now from Houston live to explain the reasons behind the decision. Mr. Arkin, how are you?

DAVID ARKIN, EDITOR, HUNTSVILLE ITEM: I'm doing good.

OSBORN: Well, I understand this came about as a poll from your readers, you'll have no Rangers, no Astros coverage?

ARKIN: That's right. We asked about 100 people, and 82 percent of them said that they do not want baseball in their newspaper for the next week. And so that's what we're going to do.

OSBORN: Well, you do have a new expansion football team there, football fans, I guess, fill in the blanks, right?

ARKIN: Oh yeah, we have no problem filling that space. We have the Texans, as you just said, and we do have high school football, and as you know, high school football rules in Texas, and our readers -- I've got to believe that they are going to be pretty excited that we're going to have more room to profile some of these upcoming high school football matches.

OSBORN: Yeah, big football state, Texas. You got some college football there, too. But I want to ask you about the classic, if you will, journalistic question, is the newspaper taking a position on a controversial news issue?

ARKIN: We're letting the readers take a position on a controversial news issue. I mean, we really thought about it. We thought it wasn't really fair for us to come out and say, we're going to pull these baseball stories, everything baseball out of the newspaper for a week. We thought that this decision needed to be left up to the readers, and those are the people who spoke and almost made the decision for us.

So are we pulling something out of the newspaper? Yes. But we're doing it because our readers have asked us to. OSBORN: Do you suspect or expect that other newspapers may follow suit?

ARKIN: I sure hope so. I think some newspapers need to really ask their readers what they think about this. I think sometimes we get confused about who we're doing this for -- we're doing it for the readers and not ourselves, and I think that question needs to be asked.

OSBORN: And what about the prospect of, well, negotiations working out and the strike being averted? What will you do then?

ARKIN: If that happens, let's say the strike, you know, they work a deal out, come Wednesday, we will reinstate our coverage on Wednesday. But until then, no transactions, no coverage of baseball, any sort of coverage will be in the newspaper, no photos, no coverage of the labor talks or anything like that will be in the newspaper.

OSBORN: Well, I wanted to ask you to compare this situation to, of course, the '94 strike. A lot of fan reaction, a 20 percent decline in attendance. Why now, though? Why are you responding to your readers on this issue this time around?

ARKIN: We just thought that -- you know, the '94 strike compared to this one is somewhat similar in ways. We just thought that there's a lot more, it seems, disgust and anger from people maybe this time around. You see so many more fans at stadiums holding up signs and such, and even locally speaking, we get e-mails and calls all the time about -- over the last month about -- you know, frustration with the baseball -- with how baseball players, their attitudes and how they're, you know, a lot of people refer to them as, you know, million-dollar whiny little boys.

And you know, because of that, we thought that we should really ask people if this is something they want in their newspaper, do they want to read about people that are, you know, acting this way? And our readers told us, you know, they don't want that.

OSBORN: Well, certainly a lot of people talk about how the sentiment on this issue could be shifting, certainly this time around. Some fans saying, hey, you know, the players, the owners, they're fighting over a pie, if you will, that we created.

ARKIN: Yeah. I mean, I can definitely, you know, understand that. But I think, you know, once again, it's important to recognize that the issue here is, what do our readers want in our newspaper? Should other newspapers look at possibly doing this? I think they should. And I think that even if you're a major metro newspaper, it doesn't matter. I mean, if your readers do not want that in the newspaper, and a poll indicates that 82 percent-wise, then that's a decision you have to make.

And are we a little -- some people might call this extreme, an extreme move. I don't necessarily agree with that. I agree this is what our readers asked for, and this is what we're providing them.

OSBORN: David Arkin, editor of "The Huntsville Item." Thanks for talking to us, and we appreciate your perspective.

ARKIN: All right, thank you.

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