Elliotte Friedman on hockey blog/press box controversy

Elliotte - good post and your point at the end about if you are going to dish it out, you better be there to take it, is something that bloggers and people in talk radio should take to heart or stomach as the case might be.

 

And some newspaper columnists, too.

 

Excellent points, Elliotte.

Is there evidence this blogger was posting previous drivel like this in the past? If so, why was he allowed a credential in the first place? [sorry, I am not well aware of all the history here]

A random thought ... This issue begs the question if the every-day NHL fan can really differentiate or do they really care if it's a blogger who is "reporting" or a journalist who follows basic ethics and common sense? --- Either way, he or she is still receiving information. Not trying to downplay credibility or accountability, just more an afterthought.

P.S.: Defence, EF? Really?

 

I don't know how the guy can complain. You don't have to agree with the Oilers' reasoning, but if you're stupid enough to post crude and profane content you really don't have a leg to stand on. I had a credential revoked last season for far less.

 

Great piece by EF. And actually, I'm kind of surprised/impressed that a majority of the comments indicate that the readers got and understood the point.

 

My $.02

Elliotte does a great job in his piece and he is 100% spot on regarding Covered in Oil - my only minor criticism would be that he neglected to mention Eric McErlain and Off Wing Opinion.

http://www.ericmcerlain.com/offwingopinion/

Eric was the person most responsible for writing the rules for bloggers that the Capitols put in place which Elliotte references - Elliotte should have mentioned Off Wing (links are the lifeblood of bloggers). That ends my criticism.

I agree with Elliotte about space being a major factor and I agree that today it is THE major factor. With many papers cutting back on NHL coverage - many teams realize that they have to get coverage where they can. The "space" is available. Thus you have teams like the Capitols and Islanders giving credentials to bloggers that they feel are credible. However, I'd argue that perspective is also becoming more and more of an issue. The journalist who looks at the NHL beat as a stepping stone to bigger and better things isn't going to give the hardcore fan what he wants. The jaded reporter will not give the fan details about the "being at the game" experience that unfortunately because of ticket and other costs is getting beyond the means of the average fan. Bloggers can fill that void. They can be knowledgeable homers with a sense of wide-eyed wonder. That makes for interesting reading for many people.

Good bloggers can easily become THE go-to source for information for any team. Discount this possibility at your own peril (see The Big Lead as a prime example of people here poo-pooing something only to see that very thing get wildly popular and successful).

I agree with many posters that the minute by minute - play by play crap is crap. Boring and vapid. Just read one of the baseball threads here during the season for prime examples of brain dead people thinking that their comments on each pitch could possibly be interesting to others.

Having said that - I'd much rather wade through dozens of pages of in-game comments at Sons of Sam Horn than almost any columnist going if I really want nuggets (humorous, statistical and otherwise) of what really happened at any Red Sox game.

 

Elliotte does a great job with this.
I think the term "accountability" is insufficient, though. What we're really talking about is the difference between writing like a fan and writing like a journalist, and the extent to which organizations ought to provide access to people who demonstrate the passions and irrationalities of fans.
Guy writes, like this one does, of "players he'd like to spit in the face of," but wants to be treated professionally by the media relations people representing the team that employs those same figuratively spat upon players. I dunno. I do a beat blog, and I try to be snarky, but I don't think you can go where this guy went and still expect access, and civility.
It's almost like some bloggers don't expect their words to be taken seriously, or something, and they get all huffy when someone does so.