OF3-04/05/10 8:25 AM
TIGER WOODS PREPARES TO FACE THE MEDIA.
The Osgood File. I'm Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network.
At two o'clock this afternoon, for the first time since the public learned of his marital infidelities, Tiger Woods will face the media.
There are 207 seats in The Masters' Press Center, and Augusta National has asked media outlets to send only one reporter --- to make sure that every accredited media organization has a chance to be represented --- and to ask questions.
SOT - Kathleen Hessert
"A lot of people are talking about Augusta being the safest place for him to start. But until he can get beyond answering some questions that everybody wants to ask, I don't think that he's going to get past anything."
Media consultant Kathleen Hessert, president of Sports Media Challenge.
Her advice to Tiger Woods on his news conference challenge after this...
After all that's happened, Tiger Woods' re-entry into golf at The Masters is in itself a challenge, says Kathleen Hessert.
SOT - Kathleen Hessert
"Obviously, people are waiting for him to play golf. They want to see him play at the highest possible level. Some are betting on him winning Augusta and the Masters. But first, he's got to answer questions."
Her advice on how to best do that?
SOT - Kathleen Hessert
"Answer the questions as they come. The reporters are going to ask that they wouldn't have asked before, because they feel like they were left out when he had his first comeback and making his first statement..."
The tough questions won't be about golf.
SOT - Kathleen Hessert
"There is no doubt that golf reporters and people who would typically cover the Masters have been left out. I don't think that they will be able to hold back..."
There are more seats there than there are golf reporters in the world.
SOT - Kathleen Hessert
"The golf media has been shrinking dramatically. There are a handful of national golf writers. If they don't ask the hard questions, there's no reason for them to exist."
So, it's not only a time of testing for Tiger Woods --- but for them, too.
SOT - Kathleen Hessert
"I think for their credibility, for the sake of the credibility of the journalists, they're going to have to ask tough questions."
So, when they ask today about Woods' drive, his swing, approach, putts --- all those terms will be fraught with different meaning. Especially putts.
The Osgood File. Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network.
The Osgood File. April 5th, 2010. |
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