Guidelines For Issuing Press Credentials To Bloggers

You know, there are some 21 year olds who have done more with their lives than a lot of people (including members of the media) who are twice and three times their age. Why not judge a blog on its content rather than the age of the person behind it?

 

Well, that's one scorer in one city. He played a few games on the road and a few in Boston when this guy wasn't the scorer.

 

Speaking as a blogger, I have zero interest in credentials. It'd be nice to have access to stats, press kits, etc., but I really don't have much of a problem finding what I need on the net.

 

Actually, I think the potential problem with credentialing bloggers (a term that seems to summarize just about all the new media) isn't that the teams will start giving them preferential access because they write copy that's fawningly positive to the home team. It's when these guys come into the press box and act like complete fucking fanboys rooting for the home team. Since most pro PR people (not all, but most) are by their very nature reluctant to help out unfamiliar faces/outlets, all it takes is one moron cheering in the press box to ruin it for everybody else.

 

One problem here: Said bloggers probably didn't attend J-school, didn't have a newspaper internship and certainly didn't bust ass covering preps on their way up the, so to say, ladder.

Mainstream medium or not, what makes them so deserving? I like blogs as much as the next guy/girl, but aren't these people essentially talk show callers with a clue?

 

Do we ever have high opinions of ourselves.

 

Because a blog is nothing but a forum with a person in charge and if the person in charge is 21 year old fan boy, what does it really have to say?

And no 21 year old who aspires to be a sports media person has really done much with his life.

 

I'm With Stupid.

 

I'm all for bloggers getting credentials for one reason. If you took their "game coverage" and put it next to mine, the comparison would show how relevant professional beat writers still are.
(And I realize I am speaking in generalities. Some bloggers are excellent writers.)

 

After bloggers get credentials, are podcasters next?

 

It's not much different from local radio guys, but has the potential for a larger audience. If Joey Podcast records something interesting, he can at least put it out without all the profanity bleeped.

 

Just as an example - Aaron Gleeman started his blog mostly about the Twins and Minnesota sports in general while a student at the U of Minn back in 2002. The blog got so popular that Gleeman got gigs writing for Fox Sports and other outlets. His gigs got so numberous that he quit school. All because of his blog. Aaron Gleeman is 22.

http://www.aarongleeman.com/

Not to be trite but Gleeman has had over 2 million visitors to his blog alone (never mind his Fox Sports pieces). How many people have read your stuff Stupid?