Since '63, Little League baseball players "have been
brought to us on an ABC platter, their heroics and their
heartache, their successes and their shame," according to
Bill Plaschke of the L.A. TIMES. But noting coverage of the
event, Plaschke wrote, "At best, it's unsettling. At worst,
it's PG TV." Plaschke, after Venezuela defeated Bellaire,
TX, for this year's title: "It was nice seeing the happy
tears and prayers of a Venezuelan inner-city team that won
the title. But not at the expense of those close-up shots
of the Bellaire, Texas, kids weeping as they shook hands
afterward. ... Not at the expense of probing cameras and
microphones that treated them like adults." ABC Sports
VP/Media Relations Mark Mandel: "We've never had anyone
question whether this is appropriate programming. We
respect the competitors, and the fact that they are young
people leads us to give them more space." Little League Dir
of Media Relations Lance Van Auken said, "We look at TV as a
tool for getting the image out about Little League. The
kids here love TV. They eat it up. And the money allows us
to make Little League more affordable for everyone" (L.A.
TIMES, 8/27). In Dallas, Barry Horn, on the World Series:
"Such theater. Such exploitation. Tears have always been a
Little League staple. But why must the cameras be there to
catch them on national TV?" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 8/26).
ESPN's Bob Ley reported that the TX team "was fielding
telephone calls from the Letterman and Leno shows, ... this
is heady stuff for 11- and 12-year olds." Van Auken says
the media coverage of the kids has been fair: "Because of
the contract we have with ESPN and ABC, it helps us to
control what's done. We try to impress upon them not to
dwell on shots of the losing team crying" (ESPN, 8/27).
THE YOUTH EXPLOITED BY ESPN? In N.Y., Phil Mushnick:
"ESPN hit another new low last week when it slickly
exploited Little Leaguers" by asking each participant of
their "favorite X-Games performer" in their profile
graphics. Mushnick: "ESPN shamelessly used these Little
Leaguers to help peddle ABC/ESPN goods. ESPN took advantage
of a bunch of 11 - and 12-year-old boys, turned them into
billboards. How proud ESPN must be" (N.Y. POST, 8/27).
ATTENDANCE MARK: The Little League World Series set an
attendance record of 236,972 for the 13 games. That number
exceeded the previous mark of 202,000 in '98 when Toms
River, NJ, won the title (Williamsport SUN-GAZETTE, 8/27).
