Overheard in the press box

Yeah, but did you shoot the game, too?

 

I'll never forget getting the OK to make a one-day trip to regional girls basketball semifinals last year at a major Catholic school in Southern California. Called the AD the day before letting him know I'd be there and inquired about facilities. Got there the next day and was told I'd need to go to the ticket window first, despite the fact I had my credential from my paper and a credentiial from the state sportswriters association, and both got me funny looks from the ticket taker before being let in. As I was setting up courtside, someone told me the press wasn't allowed courtside and I'd have to work in the rafters. I told him I'd called the AD yesterday and I got the "I'm the athletic director and I didn't get a call" speech, which I knew was so much BS, but, I reminded myself, am I there for SportsJournalists.com man points, or serve my readers and cover a game? When I got down there, one of the local writers let me know the school enjoyed big-timing writers. Then the school offered to let us use their wifi free, but as soon as I saw it was unsecure, all I could say was screw that, I'll use the company's air card.

 

Sitting on press row at a mid-major D-I basketball game, the visiting team's beat writer, for a big-city paper, called her desk and exclaimed, "This was the most boringest game I've ever seen!"

I was stringing at the time, lamenting my lot in life.

 

Nope. Of all my (largely debatable) talents, the one thing I've learned with certainty over the years is that I am one suck-ass photographer.

 

I always make sure I have money in my pocket, pay for the seat and give my boss the invoice.

I have a job to do, whether or not they want to let me in free.

I'll pay for a program if they ask, too.

 

I don't mind paying for a program and buying my own hot dogs, but I draw the line at paying admission. I consider a stadium/ball park/gym my workplace and I don't pay to be admitted to the jobsite.

Fortunately, I've been doing this job in this area so long, just about everybody knows who I am and why I'm there.

 

"We've got a Division I kicker and we squib it. We lead the league in stupid."

 

Agree with you in concept, but just because you've been assigned by a newspaper to cover a ball game doesn't mean the stadium is your workplace. Your workplace is back at your office. The stadium happens to be the place your employer sent you to do something, and that doesn't imbue you with any special status. You're no more entitled to free admission or a workspace than anyone else attending that event. Those things are extended by the host as a courtesy, not an obligation. (I'll get to the caveat in a moment, because I really am on your side here.)

For the sake of argument, it's no different than if I were an insurance salesman, told by my boss to hand out business cards in the crowd. That's my job, and the bleachers are my job site, but I'm certainly not entitled to any courtesies, either. Yet we're both working for companies who have an interest in the event.

If you're not extended the customary courtesy of press admission, you can and should appeal to someone in charge and/or with a brain. But if that doesn't work, your only real choices are to (A) walk away and not cover the event or (B) pay for a ticket and seek reimbursement from your company later. The fact that you were assigned to cover the game by your newspaper is of no one's concern but yours and your newspaper's.

All of that said, any school official that doesn't extend a legitimate, working reporter free admission and proper workspace to do his/her job needs to be hit repeatedly in the head with a giant clue stick. On the flip side, any reporter who approaches his/her job with a dogmatic sense of entitlement helps drag public opinion of our profession just a little bit lower.

 

Not true, in Alabama, at least. AHSAA rules say if working media present credentials to an athletic venue in the regular season, they are entitled to free admission.

 

If that's the official, stated policy then, of course, it should be adhered to. Cite the policy. Find an administrator if you have to. But do it calmly and with a level head.

In many places and for many events, though, there are no stated policies. In those situations, I've witnessed far too many fellow scribes playing the "Maybe you don't know who I am, but I'm kind of a big deal" routine, and it's embarrassing for everyone.

 

I avoid buying programs if I can. You're lucky these days if the programs have both rosters -- even a visiting roster that is inserted. Never mind accuracy, including that of the home team. I try to find the 'other' roster on MaxPreps or some other site or call the school in advance and ask them to send me one.

More and more, programs are overpriced or inadequate or inaccurate or all three.

 

Overheard in one local pressbox on Friday night: "Hey, you're the guy who sent that e-mail, right? Thanks! You want a seat? We can move down! We've got sandwiches back there for the game crew. Want one?"

Backstory: A few weeks ago, I went to a high school for the first time to cover a game there. First time in a loooong while I really thought the game crew was top notch. Stats, done on a computer, were accurate as hell and printed in a flash (quarter, half and final stats - even PBP if requested). Had a question? They had an answer right away. PA guy was dead on, gave play, net gain, players (by number and name), down and distance every time. Sounds like the basics, but I've found few high schools that meet these basic needs. So, I sent an email to the AD telling him how professional his game crew was, and how I'd stack them up against college staffs I've dealt with. Evidently, he passed it along to his people.

I went back on Friday, and they treated me like royalty. A couple said they were turned on to our site by my email, have been frequenting it since.

Bottom line: A moment's kindness can go a long way.