Sports Bloggers in the Press Box

Baconboy has answered the question I've had: Whatever happened to A_F? First of all, Almost_Bacon should dump his old-media gig posthaste, if for no other reason (the blatant conflict of interest aside) that the loathing and nausea he surely feels sitting among the fetid dinosaurs in the newsroom aren't worth it.

Second of all, the comfort food about ads flocking to the Internet is a buncha crap. People go out of their way to ignore and block Internet ads. If display ads were a moneymaker, don't you think that newspapers would have long ago beaten their printing presses into plowshares?

Third of all, page hits as a measure of credibility can so be skewed. A few strategically placed NSFW pics on your site, or some other provocative feature, and you get hits whether you're a true journalistic enterprise or not. And who you get lucky enough to exchange links with can bump up your hits beyond merit.


Bottom line: A very limited number of bloggers should get press credentials, and the standards should be strict, and should not be based on commentary. You'd have a blogger in every arena or stadium seat if commentary were the standard. It has to be sites that actually interview the subjects of coverage, or interview sources close to them that provide stories that pan out.

 

And there's the rub. You can't get a job without the experience and you can't get the experience without the job. You also can't get the sources and interviews without the press box/room access and (under your proposal) you can't get the access without the sources and interviews.

 

Well, join a company with resources (there are a few of them online, if that's your inclination) that can cover the news in a responsible, thorough way. Start out at whatever level you're qualified for and work your way up. Which is the way it has worked for hundreds of years here through various economic models. Starting a blog shouldn't be a lottery ticket.

 

Zag, when did I ever claim to be an expert in blogging?? Please do tell. I don't know much more than what a Glad sandwich bag can hold about the Internet. I'm a newspaper writer not a blogger.

I just think there are certain people who are a voice of reason and baconboy seems to have some insight into this. While you are being difficult, I'm listening to what he has to say and trying to learn a thing or two. I want to still be in this business 10-15 years from now and by the looks of things, newspapers are dying, and since that's my bread and butter, I might want to be aware as to what's effecting it and how I can adapt.

 

If all newspapers would go to Internet only tomorrow, I would still have a job, as the Net, as we have painfully seen, will still need copy editors. It's just funny, tho; it's as if we have forgotten stuff like flooze.com and pets.com when people were talking about the Net putting retail out of business. Didn't happen; actually going to a store is still an integral part of the American experience. As is reading printed material.

 

You mean the end isn't near ?? ;D

 

Of course it is easy for you to pay attention to Baconboy -- you are typing his posts!!! ;D

 

Do you think there will ever be a day where the printed edition is totally extinct? How about magazines?

 

So, don't go into the biz thinking you should start by covering for the Dodgers for the LA Times.

Start your career in Podunk, covering preps and work your way up.

THAT'S how you get experience.

You don't get experience by registering at blogger.com, typing up rants about the Lakers and then demanding a) credentials to the games and b) a well-paying job in print.

 

Dools, do some research on online spending patterns and you'll find that not everyone believes that "actually going to a store is still an integral part of the American experience."

http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1166

Meanwhile, at daily newspapers the hits keep coming:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/19/BUGK0PTP8V1.DTL
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003590597
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-ctbriefs0525.artmay25,0,4171434.story?coll=hc-headlines-business
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=local&id=5291940

 

This is an important point, which brings us back to whether bloggers can be part of the working media. If a blogger has a credential and is producing the same coverage he or she could produce watching the game at home, what's the point in going? But if the blogger is clearly using this access to add exclusive postgame (or pregame) coverage of an event to their normal coverage, then they are a member of the working media and deserve consideration for access (provided they pass this "FanBoy" litmus test).