The Problem With Press Credentials And Blogging
Posted by William Kristoph
First, some upfront facts about me here at ScalpEm.com:
- I have never applied for a press credential at FSU. I wouldn’t want one, because I like to be a fan and watch the game. I’m not here to be the news or the press release, not that there is anything wrong with that. So aside from maybe wanting to get an interview with FSU Softball Coach Lonnie Alameda since the press doesn’t cover them a lot, I have no use for a press credential.
- I understand the fear of issuing a press credential to “some guy off the street.”
- On the flip side of that athletic departments are missing out on a potentially good thing.
- I think many bloggers that want press credentials should just go into the press, or at the very least sign their names to their blogs.
Now that those thoughts are out of the way, here are the two issues I have with bloggers wanting press credentials. The first issue is that bloggers don’t answer to anybody (don’t get me wrong, I like that). They can smear, attack, cheer, chide or do whatever else they want. A blogger is a blogger’s own boss generally, and can choose to ignore facts or make things up (yes, I realize this happens in the press too, but it’s not supposed to and ultimately they answer to a boss). The second problem I have is that blogging is a useful tool for fans that want to honestly discuss their teams, and any athletic department worth a crap is going to put limitations on a press pass. In other words, if you write too much bad about the team, they’re all too happy to revoke your press pass.
The all too obvious site to point here is Warchant.com, which is the home of the newspaper The Osceola. They’re the granddaddy of FSU online sites, and have the largest community of users (and the largest subscription base, probably). The amount of censoring, moderating that goes on there on the message boards, and in their articles is understandable in a way. They don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them, and press passes at are the sole discretion of FSU. The Tallahassee Democrat Nolesports.com coverage is similar in that fact. Again, if you work with FSU coaches and athletes, you’re not going to needle them intentionally. Why risk your access? It’s not that there’s anything wrong with what they do either. Frankly, that coverage is good for 90% of the population that just wanted to check a score anyway.
On the flip side of that, we have a site like Tomahawk Nation. TN is near the top of my list of FSU sites, no matter how much they drive me nuts with their negativity at times. If you’ve ever watched Howard Stern: Private Parts, you’ll understand my feelings about it… they drive me nuts, but I read it partly because they drive me nuts and I’m interested to see what other crack they’ll make about FSU Coaches, etc. Part of what spurred this post was TN’s comment in today’s upate that they are still hoping for FSU to come around on the issue of bloggers. I understand SB Nation as a whole is going for the professional blogger thing. I understand TN seems to be going for that too, which is understandable, but in a way it saddens me. The appeal of good blogs is that they don’t seem to answer to a higher power, and they’re able to present a point or news item or joke that you’d never see in a traditional media. Blogs to me, were meant for the die hards that want something extra after hearing one too many Booyahs over the years. As the push by and for bloggers to become legitimate as “news” grows, we’ll lose the thing that makes blogs so great right now.
Thoughts? Comments? Would you want a press pass? Do you think I should want one? Leave a comment!
at work, so can’t comment fully right now
Just want to say that we don’t care about being in the press box. We just wanna be able to ask the coaches a few questions that some of the other media members don’t ask. Mostly things regarding trends. It seems that back when we had 7 or 8 beat guys, they’d all ask the same thing and get the same generic quote.
I want to ask something like “coach, did you know that you have the lightest front 7 in the ACC, and if so, does this concern you” “what will you to to scheme around it, if indeed you feel the need to scheme around it”
Anyways, I’ll link this in the morning. should make for some great discussion.
Whether or not you want in the press box wasn’t really my point. The questions you’d ask in that light would be great I’m sure, the sample provided is the kind of stuff that A) Would be interesting to hear an answer to and B) I’d love to know if they’d even answer the question or use the “we don’t want to give away our game plan” excuse.
My point is that at some point if that does happen for you guys, FSU takes a little bit of the freedom away, IF you want to continue to keep that press pass down the road. If not, then you can write some of the more controversial stuff that’s been posted (especially about Bowden, Martin, etc.) but if the press pass is a consistent want to ask questions like the above, then it seems to me it changes what you can and cannot write on a site, or at least HOW you write it.
It seems to come down to the battle of blogger vs. journalist. What are you and who are you? A lot of newspaper journalists seem to be against blogs and maybe it’s because they envy that type of freedom that is enjoyed by the anonymous bloggers out there who can write whatever they want under their handles while the newspapers require actual accountability. I’ll never get a press pass. I don’t want a press pass. I actually enjoy the small amount of anonymity that comes along with the writing. Plus, the censorship that would come with the press pass is not appealing at all.
It’s funny though, was talking to a friend of mine regarding football blogs and it ended with “If you want to learn about football, don’t watch ESPN and don’t read the newspaper. Read the blogs.” It’s within the blogs that you find the interesting pieces, the random opinions and even the trends that TN is so obsessed about. You can’t find that anywhere else than on the internet. And that, is was makes blogging so different than newspaper journalism.
What’s funny is that the FSView and Florida Flambeau suffers from the same thing. They can’t say what they want without losing access. When I wrote for them I wanted desperate to write a Fire Steve Robinson column, but I was denied because of possible repercussions.
Would I want a press pass? Not really. Sounds like too much work. But a little recognition, cooperation, and acknowledgment by those with press passes would be nice. It would be nice if some of the newspaper sites (Democrat, the Orlando Sentinel, etc) linked to the blogs and pointed their readers in our direction for those seeking additional analysis.
ESPN’s True Hoop is a perfect example of how a blog with a press pass should be run. ESPN’s Sweet Spot is also really good at throwing the amateur blogger a bone.
I hope Tomahawk Nation never gets a press pass because they would have to stop what makes them great and that is saying the obvious. It’s a fact that Mickey and Chuck are complete failures as coaches lately and are hurting the team big time. Everyone with brains knows that but no one “official” can say it. Same with Mike Martin. I’m surprised anyone even goes to those games because they know he’s going to choke again for what, year No. 30? In the twisted world of seminoles.com and warchant, everything is going just hunky dory and getting better every day. Then the games happen and prove otherwise. The guy reading Tomahawknation.com and any other blog that tells it like it really is will not be surprised when the defense gives up a ton of yards and points this year. They’ll know it’s coming.
In defense of Seminoles.com… that will never have a bad thing in it because it’s put out as the official word from the university. Warchant, in all fairness to them won’t bite the hand that feeds them generally, which I touched on in the article and the detriment to being a slave to the press pass.
I have to disagree with you about Mickey Andrews being a “complete failure” though. His recent teams have not been up to snuff, I agree, but overall Mickey had a great career.