From The Washington Post: Amid layoffs and furloughs, sportswriters wonder what will be left of a st

For what it's worth (not much), the NHL has said it would welcome writers back in the locker room as soon as this passes. Of course, that was the first weekend of March, and if this never passes, well, then you can never have writers back in the locker room. That said, the NHL has by far the smallest media following, and I would lean more towards them opening the rooms up again than not.

Locker room access for media is written into the MLB CBA, but that expires next year and we all know there's much bigger fish to fry and that agreeing to close the locker rooms entirely might be the one thing the players and owners can agree upon. It'll be real interesting to see what happens if there is an MLB season this year. Much like the players with the owners' proposal of a "one-year-only" salary cap-like apparatus, nobody in the BBWAA trusts the players to stick with a "one-year-only" locker room ban. I would bet my evaporating salary, though, that the day passers are done forever.

 

I'm getting a big kick out of their BUY LOCAL schtick during all this. Sure is cute coming from a company that wants to put newspapers out of business (thanks, they were doing that just fine w/o your help) and wasted literally zero time dumping its freelancers, who are not even a rounding error on the budget, once the pandemic slammed on to these shores.

 

Let's not get too bent out-of-shape with the access problems. Good reporters will still find a way to get it done.

Look at the EPL/UK. I've read some stuff on The Athletic where disgruntled players speak out to the media because they feel their side of the story isn't out there. And those writers/outlets have massive readership despite ridiculous restrictions. We'll be fine.

 

Seriously, where do you guys think that kind of coverage is coming from now?

I subscribe to the Arizona Republic. Based on their work, Sean Miller at U of A is bravely fighting off all the haters and the QB at ASU is a Heisman front-runner. Herm Edwards could murder someone with an axe and they would write about what an inspirational axe attack it was and how it was bound to help recruiting.

 

For what it's worth, I doubt we'll be seeing theathletic.com/cheboygan at any point.

The major metros have more to fear and some have stepped up, others not so much.

 

With NASCAR one of the first major sports back this weekend, in-person coverage is limited to four writers, including AP. One local reporter per race. We'll get to have a staffer at the Wednesday race in Darlington, and the Florence, S.C., paper will be at Sunday's. Our NASCAR reporter will be there the next week in Charlotte. All in the press box, no infield media center/garage access. All interviews on teleconference after the race, regardless of whether you're there in person. We successfully argued to get an independent pool photographer (AP, local outlet, etc.) in addition to Getty, which has a contract for NASCAR.

The hope is media rules will become less strict as the resumed season goes on -- especially come playoffs -- but we'll see.

 

Hello? You swing the axe to kill!

 

It's crazy how fast it happened. Teams started closing their rooms on a Saturday, I believe. I remember wondering if it was possible to be both freaked out by the coronavirus and cynical about the desires to close the rooms. Took five days for that take to look terrible.

 

Here's a radical statement by Fredrick that was laughed at by the EXPERTS, the CONSULTANS, who were not experts and had no business being consultants: The print product should never have been abandoned. Advertising salespeople should have been TALENTED like the newsroom and DONE THEIR JOBS to keep newspapers profitable.
Caveat: the above is describing life before the owners sold to the hedge funders who have been trying to bleed the newspapers, sell the property and buildings, then shutter the doors. There was time to save the PRINT PRODUCT (when it was excellent and had something for everybody in its four sections daily) before the hedge funders smelled blood. Guess what? The print product could have survived. Right now??? It's better to read comic books than the trash, OLD NEWS, being put out by 5 p.m. deadline newspapers. Please tell me I'm right. Because I know more than any lol consultants.

 

Locker room access is important to build relationships, but the absence of it does not stop a journalist from still doing good work.

A lot of colleges severely restrict access to players and assistant coaches. Getting a one-on-one with a player is like requesting an audience with the Pope.

In those cases, it becomes more imperative for writers to stray from the pack. Dig into analysis and film review. Plan further in advance for features. Use the group interviews to ask specific questions to augment that analysis or for those features.

It's easy to get caught in the day-to-day grind and lose sight of big picture stories on any beat. When access is limited, you've got to stay even more focused.