Sports Bloggers in the Press Box

These two might be the dumbest and most telling statements you've made to date. And further, both only go to prove the original point which is -- you have no business being in a press box because obviously your goal is to be an entrepreneur, which is fine, but a lot of people are starting businesses and still that doesn't get them a credential.......

Further, I'd say both people you have described are true professionals, the only difference is one has a legitimate reason to be in the press box and the other is screaming and crying and banging his shoe on the desk because he's not in there....

 

This from a guy whose magazine's political web is being run by a woman who got famous writing about ass-fucking, and whose print edition went out of its way to give a column to Bloody Bill Kristol, whose been wrong about more stuff than any journalist in modern history.
Fuckabuncha Schickel and his credentials.

 

Whaddya know -- I poke my head out from my parents' basement and find yet another discussion about my fellow ne'er-do-well sports bloggers.

Eric McErlain (who, by the by, doesn't live in his parents' basement) is the blogger whose efforts to gain access were at the center of last year's "should they or shouldn't they get access" thread here at SportsJournalists.com. He responds to the latest round of discussion here: http://www.ericmcerlain.com/offwingopinion/archives/007539.php

I'm sure he'll get panned here by virtue of his forum, but I think his thoughts are worth checking out.

And no, I'm not him. So save the witty "Thanks for stopping by, Eric" routine.

 

OK. I said it earlier: It's the NHL. And it's a struggling NHL franchise, to boot. They will take anything they can get south of the border at this point.

The NFL, MLB, NBA, PGA and NASCAR are all ahead of the NHL in any pecking order.

That said, he's a PAID JOURNALIST and not "just a blogger anymore."

"In October 2006 I was hired as a freelancer to write a weekly column on the NHL by NBC Sports.com."

So, he's OK to be accredited in my books.

 

I have done some work in radio and newspapers, but also run a sports media website that has many interviews.

I agree that the mainstream press will get the inside information most online outlets will never get because they are not there. Anyone who is disruptive to working journalists should be thrown out of any press box either way.

You have to appreciate when a professional team will work with you and set up an interview for an online outlet like mine. Being professional, patient, and saying thank you does go a long way.

The blogs that are reporting news or giving insightful information should be taken seriously. I have nothing against people giving opinions, but the public will decide what they want to read.

My site has given me the chance to cover many different subjects and work with publicists on a daily basis. It has also given me that media experience I can use when I hope to be working full time after college.

 

James Mirtle mentions this thread in his blog today.

http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2007/05/bloggers-in-press-box.html]http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2007/05/bloggers-in-press-box.html

Mirtle works for the Globe & Mail and has one of the most respected hockey blogs around.

And he links to a blog over at Off Wing Opinion, another first choice for hockey people.

http://www.ericmcerlain.com/offwingopinion/archives/007539.php#007539

 

The check matters that much?
That said, Eric's pretty selective in his quotation from the debate hereaboots.

 

Right, but he was "just a blogger" when he was first given his credentials. The "PAID JOURNALIST" part came about as a direct result as his efforts as "just a blogger."

The point that I've tried to make whenever the blogging issue comes up on this board is that there's some good stuff being done by sports bloggers. There's a ton of garbage, but there are some gems if you know where to look, and the constant chorus of "loser fanboy parents basement unprofessional hack wannabe jock sniffer jersey wearer" from certain factions of traditional journalists is every bit as trite as the venom spewed by certain factions of bloggers about the "mainstream media."

 

bacon, the only thing I want to know is how do you get away with writing for a big-city paper and running a blog on the side?

 

I'm curious about that, too. It seems like a conflict of interest --- one that would get you fired at 99 percent of the newspapers I know of.

 

Why is it a conflict of interest?

See the James Mirtle blog I posted above.

He works for the Globe & Mail and has a blog on the side.

 

Why is it a conflict of interest?[/quote]

Do you really need to ask to find out the answer????

Let's just recall that previously baconboy has stated he will be fighting the PRINT media with all his might for every advertising dollar he can take away from them for his own website and his own profit.

Sounds like a conflict of interest to me. Stealing/taking advertising from your own employer for your own website to put in your own pocket. That sort of thing gets you fired most places. Capice?