Daily Bruin Editor: No Policy Against Publishing DumpDorrell.com Ad
We received an email response from the editor of the Daily Bruin, Saba Riazati. You might recall that we emailed Saba on Friday after we received word from the group whose ad got killed (see the killed ad below) that they were told by Daily Bruin staff that DD ads were banned. We asked Saba whether the Daily Bruin had a policy of prohibiting ads from DumpDorrell.com. Saba has informed us that there is no policy prohibiting DumpDorrell.com from placing an ad in the newspaper. Saba then referred us to a staffer to work with and we will contact the staffer on Monday morning and go from there.
DD and BruinsNation readers demanded that we move on the billboard idea. We think raising over $2,000 is a great effort, especially considering that we’ve had 2 horrible losses since we initiated the campaign leaving many people to believe that it’s obvious that Dorrell will be fired and no billboard is needed. That might be a reason for the stall in donations. We believe that Dorrell’s firing is not yet a lock and we cannot take this for granted. In fact, now more than ever is the time to apply pressure. We need to make it so REAL that it becomes conventional wisdom for the common Bruin that we will have a new coach next season. We need the common Bruin that surrounds the VIP donors and decision makers to believe that it is a fait accompli so that the decision makers and those who have their ear believe this too. Seeing it on a billboard or in a paper makes it REAL.
Once we get it clear what we need from the Daily Bruin, we will post some ideas on copy for the ad. We will ask all 47 donors for their permission to use the funds they donated to the billboard for the paper ad. If any one of them do not want to go forward with it we will simply return their donation. We have read some of your Daily Bruin ad ideas here on DD and through email. We have to say that we like the simple big lettering message best, so that everyone see it and reads it. But fire away with your thoughts on what we should put in the ad.
In case you were wondering, here is the ad that was killed by the Daily Bruin last week, sent to us by a person with the group that placed the ad (we have taken out all references to the website which were at the bottom and top of the ad). While we wouldn’t go with this ad, notice they went with one of the themes we worked with, commitment to excellence. We would still like to remind DB readers that Dorrell must go, but pushing the excellence idea is important as well so that Guerrero knows Bruin Nation wants him to hire a proven winning experienced head coach.
November 4th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
I think the reason that the billboard donations have stalled is pretty simple. Compare to the u$c board a couple of years ago. They had a major amount of press coverage. Everyone who reads this site on a regular basis and wants to contribute has probably contributed already. You need to create a campaign with the central idea being the billboard. Write a press release, try to get a story in the local media… Generate buzz that will get new people interested in coming to this site and possibly donating to the billboard. Get the word out to other blogs. I would much rather see that happen than a DB ad.
-Current student/billboard contributer
November 4th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Michael, actually, we sent out a press release to all media outlets on our list, we went on 2 local radio programs (ESPN & Fox) and talked about it, we went on 1 internet radio program and talked about it, and we were interviewed by an Arkansas paper that wrote an article about it. So, we did put it out there …
November 4th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
You need to send this letter to the UCLA’s Chancellor Gene Block. He is Dan Guerrero’s boss…so you need to get to the top!
November 5th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Daily Bruin ad suggestion: http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t17/Grok451/ADText.gif
November 5th, 2007 at 12:10 am
Maybe the Bruins Nation guys would be willing to put the ChipIn script on the side bar on their page?
November 5th, 2007 at 1:46 am
It’s been on BruinsNation in a diary and referenced a couple of times on the front page. Other Bruin sites have also had posts on it. There has been widespread publicity … that’s not the issue.
November 5th, 2007 at 1:51 am
Just wanted to let you guys know about two things that happened in Tucson at the game this weekend. My girlfriend and I were wearing our “Save football, Dump Dorrell” T-shirts. Priory to the game we were sitting outside the stadium with a group of other UCLA fans. Two Fox Sports cameramen came up and asked everyone to do an 8-clap on camera (I’m guessing for “Bruin Rewind” since the game was on ABC). They told both of us that we could not be in the shot due to the shirts we were wearing. We explained that we were UCLA fans, just not Dorrell fans but they would not let us in the shot.
The second thing that happened is we were walking by the buses right as Dan Guerrero was outside of them. I was right next to him and looked at him, he looked at me, he looked at my Dump Dorrell t-shirt and I smiled. He gave me a nod and we both went on our way. I didn’t think it was the time or place to start any kind of banter with him. He definitely saw the shirt though.
I kept explaining to Arizona fans that with Dorrell as our coach we never expect to win games. We want to win games, we hope to win games, but never can we expect a win. In any case, Go Bruins!
November 5th, 2007 at 3:15 am
If we’re trying to influence the “VIP donors and decision makers”, is the Daily Bruin really the best medium to reach that audience? I just can’t see these VIPs reading a student newspaper. If you’re trying to target these VIPs, shouldn’t you put the ad in something like the LATimes or the Wall Street Journal? How many of us read the DB, and how many UCLA students read the DB anyways? It seems that the most we can hope for is that the media picks up the story like Dohn did but the media is probably going to be gun-shy after the embarrasement of the first aborted ad.
But, I do agree that we need to put more public pressure that the adminstration simply cannot ignore. Daniel Loeb, the hedge fund manager, has made a fortune with his public, social pressure that has forced a number of CEOs to step down. Loeb feels that if he can embarass these CEOs in front of their friends at the country club and maket the CEOs feel everybody is talking about them, he can push for changes.
November 5th, 2007 at 3:27 am
I still think Dorrell has no realistic chance of staying, and that we should make the ad less about firing Dorrell and more about excellence in the next HC. We would have won the battle, but lost the war if Dorrell ends up getting fired only to be replaced with somebody like DW. Would we have enough funds to run both a dump dorrell ad and a ad about the next HC?
You could make the argument that we’ve been down this road before when we took a chance on somebody with no head coaching experience, and transition that to show how poorly Dorrell has performed.
November 5th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Dewayne Walker has proved to be an inconsistent DC. He and everyone else on this staff of losers need to go. We don’t need him as our Head Coach. Please! give me a break!
November 5th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Give DW a break. For those who have ever played football know, the team always feeds off the character and emotion of the HC. They also take on the HC’s personality, NO matter who the OC & DC are. Nick Saban could be the DC and Mike Belloti the OC and the team would still be who they are becuz of KD. Remember basic physic’s- the BODY can only go where the HEAD allows it……
November 5th, 2007 at 10:53 am
No e40Wada; we should not give Dewayne Walker a break. The defense has improved but it has not been all that good this year.Have you been paying attention? He still hasn’t figured out how his team should defend against the spread offense which many teams employ and the mere thought of this clown being our next coach should be enough to give all Bruin fans nightmares. Common wake up e40wada! Give no one on this staff of losers who allow many of their player’s to not practice hard and get away with it, a break as you put it. The next coach absouletly cannot be from this miserable staff of losers. The new head coach hopefully cleans house and instills discipline and conditioning with the player’s. Two things woefully lacking with this team.
November 5th, 2007 at 11:36 am
e40wada, you’re right in that KD’s mediocrity affects the effectiveness of DW. There is not enough information to know whether DW would be a good head coach IN A FEW YEARS. However, there is enough information to be reasonably sure that he would NOT be a good head coach now.
November 5th, 2007 at 11:52 am
We need a proven head coach, no matter race,clor or religion. As long he has a proven track record and isn’t so old he is just here long enough to get a paycheck and move on to the NFL first chance he gets. Too much talk today about Dewayne Walker. He is not the answer. As Micheal said, he would not be a good coach right now. I don’t even want him or anyone else on this staff as a interim coach or the idiots in charge may think to remove the interim label and make him the new head coach. UCLA is better off letting Dorrell finish the year and then promptly firing him after the SC game. Enough already. Dorrell and his staff have infected Bruins football long enough. Wipe the slate clean and begin the search for a proven coach to heal and take the program to heights it has never reached. A National Championship!
November 5th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
It’s time for Karl to go….5 years…the teams never get better, year in and year out. The West Coast offense at this level is a bust. Now we have ASU, Oregon, and SC…huge dogs in all 3. It’s a shame that we are so beat up becuase now it’s an excuse. It is what it is. I will always love KD for the way he played, the way he represented the scholl, the style, the class the sportsmanship and the example he set for the players….He’s just in over his head….AN OC or a Wide Receiver coach is more in his nature. TOo bad, it would have been great to see him succeed but we wasted a lot of years and let SC clean up in this town while we struggled year in and year out. Even the 10-2 season we got murdered by Az. and SC so ba it left a bitter bitter taste in his best season..
November 5th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
I am a huge UCLA fan living in Lexington, Ky. I’ve followed the football team as well as the bball team for the past 12 years and I believe firmly that 5 years is plenty of time to see change. Like many fans, I have backed KD in the past, but not now. Honestly, I felt going into the season that anything less than a BCS game would be considered disappointing. It has pains me to watch this team struggle to move the ball. High school football in California is a major hotbed for skilled offensive players and there’s absoltely no reason why this team shouldn’t put points on the board. Finally, I would prefer to see UCLA hire a coach with experience. We’ve been down that road before and it’s just too risky when your a major program that can attract so many capable suitors. Thanks.
November 5th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
I agree with Dana: The Daily Bruin isn’t the best venue for this ad. Might as well put the message on the biggest stage possible. I think the L.A. Times is the way to go.
November 5th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
The LA Times is the correct place for an ad because it will reach such a broad audience. Any UCLA student who reads the DB knows about the discontent for KD and has probably already seen this website through Bruinsnation.com. LA Times should be given preference.
On a side note, I have spoken with KD on a handful of occasions and he is really a very nice and genuine guy. Just because we would like a new coach doesn’t mean that he and his family shouldn’t be given our respect. Despite UCLA’s shortcomings this season on the FB field, he is extremely classy and is a UCLA Alum. He should always be given our respect.