There’s a pretty interesting debate ongoing in the hockey community having to do with bloggers and press passes. To me this is a perfect example of an establishment unwilling to modify a long-standing policy despite operating in a environment going through big changes and a neglected, newly formed subset wanting more, going about it the wrong way, and worst of all, not fully understanding their role. It’s a mess as these transitions usually are. Lately I’ve made an effort to try and stay out of conversations of this sort because inevitably someone speaking on behalf of the slow-moving establishment in question tells me that I’m too young, inexperienced, whatever, to know anything. I’m not interested in inducing an early onset of hypertension. In this case however I feel compelled to get involved. This particular policy affects me. I realize though before I go down this road that my motives will be questioned. That’s fair; I just don’t want readers to think I’m writing this for the wrong reasons.
I read a small, eclectic collection of weblogs. Not surprisingly, some of my favorites are Sabres blogs. It’s very clear to me why each author is blogging even if they have never openly explained. Some are just expressing themselves on a topic they enjoy in a fun and interesting way as a leisure activity. Then there are others who blog as a means to prepare for a career in journalism or literature. My intentions at the moment I realize may be unclear to some readers and to that end I will attempt now to make them clear.
I write this place to practice going through the process of creating something of substance with the hope that people will enjoy it. There’s a process: drafting, editing, publishing. The publishing part is what makes this place special. Having people read what I produce is cool and important but even beyond that the real value in publishing is my giving a draft the stamp of approval and saying yes, this is finished.
Do I want to be a journalist? Not really — definitely not in the conventional sense. Humbly, I just think it’s a very limited industry. The traditional platforms are shrinking. I have really high expectations for myself and though I think I’m doing a good job keeping things in perspective, there is a very small pool of journalists that have enviable jobs at least in my opinion.
Do I want to be a professional writer? Of course. What do you think I’m doing here? I’m writing about a subject that I think I’m fairly proficient in. This website is practice. Call it blogging if you want. WordPress is the platform I use here so technically this is a blog. I really don’t care to get caught up in the nomenclature. I just know I’m writing; I do so publicly and for no pay. This makes me an amateur writer. I try to write in a way that’s clear, unique, creative and interesting. I take it seriously but not serious enough to where I feel uncomfortable trying new things. I’m always looking for ways to make what I produce here better (which explains why I greatly, greatly, appreciate feedback of any kind). So any discussion having to do with the content focused around the National Hockey League is sure to grab my attention.
It would appear that some NHL teams are interested in denying access to any and all hockey bloggers unsupported by a mainstream media institution. To my knowledge the Sabres have yet to make a statement that outlines their position but that’s sort of telling in and of itself. There’s obviously a bunch of angles to approach this topic. I’ll lay out my personal thoughts first and then react to the teams’ position after.
First of all, I have only a minimal interest in watching games from the press box. I am interested but not quite enough to advocate, strongly at least. On average, I attend only about one Sabres game a month during the regular season. I like drinking beer at the arena and I like being close to the ice. I like the sounds and I like the atmosphere. I would prefer not to give any of that up when I’m walking into HSBC Arena on the night of a Sabres game. It’s all important to me. I’m very conflicted with the idea of sitting in the HSBC Arena press box for those reasons and also because…
Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to do if I spent the night with the press. My understanding is that the columnists and beat reporters craft the meat of their stories during the game. The TV/radio guys make brief notes. I’m not sure if I would really want to work if I were up there. I would just like to watch and experience the game. I wouldn’t want to ever feel obligated to produce a post-game piece. At the moment, I’m just not that eager to collect quotes either. Eventually, this might change but quotes don’t exactly fit in any of the entries I publish here.
I can totally understand some of the concerns NHL teams have by the way. Everyone surely remembers the incident involving Mike Milbury that took place in the Capitals press box last season. For some teams, the fear of having an uncomfortable situation like that occur in their building outweighs the potential value of allowing independent bloggers the opportunity to work amongst the mainstream types. They probably struggle to see the benefit when the conventional believe is that mainstream journalists report with a greater accuracy and professionalism. This sentiment is amplified by the cloudy motives of many bloggers. They’re all fans even the ones interested in journalism. They want to watch the games and doing so free of charge is appealing to any fan. Most teams I suspect are grappling with whether bloggers want to gain entrance into the press box just to enjoy the game without having to pay or to seriously use the extra opportunity to see live game action so as to create better content.
That’s really the crux of the matter and I really haven’t seen enough people bring this point up. Do the bloggers who are interested in getting their hands on a press pass believe that doing so would improve their content? Most teams do not appear to be convinced.
It seems quite clear though that the unwillingness of most NHL teams to acknowledge and support competent bloggers is extremely short-sighted. Blogs are the origin for some of the most thoughtful dialog that takes place in the sports world. They’re also the source of some of the most thoughtless dialog too but that’s what makes this discussion so interesting. Regardless of what people think of the quality of content on the Internet, there is no greater medium for fans to converse about specific sports teams. Lots of fans use the Internet as a way to express their thoughts and blogs are conversation starters. A general point: An educated consumer base is among the most valuable things a company can develop. Smart businesses are more than accommodating to anyone willing to spread information pertaining to that which the business produces. I would expect that in the next five years there could be as many as a hundred blogs writing primarily on the Sabres. The numbers are only going to grow. Allow these sources to produce the best, most informed content possible. The future question will be how exactly teams are supposed to judge which bloggers are worth admitting into the press box and not whether teams should even let bloggers into the press box.
I must stop and admit though, I sometimes roll my eyes at this argument because the Sabres home games I don’t attend, I watch in high definition. The food and drink is better in my living room and so is the company. My life always seems to stay pretty busy and I’ve always associated Sabres games as a casual, loosening of the tie experience. As I said earlier, I’m a bit conflicted on this whole issue.
With that said however, if the Sabres were to announce a policy that permits bloggers to apply for press passes to particular games, I would apply. I do think attending more games would improve the content here — not by much but this site would definitely grow. I don’t think I could pay any closer attention than what I do at home (maybe so in comparison to my level of attention I typically have while watching from a bar) but I would definitely approach games with a more professional attitude and I would probably come up with a few more ideas. Who knows? I’d be open to trying but it’s not that important to me.
Apropos to this discussion, I’ll sloppily close with two simple remarks. Bloggers — don’t whine so much, reflect on what exactly you do for a bit and maybe you’ll get your way. Teams — get smart; you’re in control of the whole process and ignoring these people who promote your product is incredibly foolish.