Below are excerpts from a live chat hosted by Penn State University's John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, which is part of PSU's College of Communications.
Marie Hardin, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research at the Curley Center for Sports Journalism, led a recent online chat on sports journalism and social media. She moderated the chat with the following guests:
-
Malcolm Moran, Penn State Knight Chair for Sports Journalism and Society
-
Michael Signora, VP of communications for the NFL
- Jerry Micco, Sports AME (assistant managing editor) for
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Cheryl Coward, owner and author at
Hoopfeed.com
Past & Upcoming Live Chats from the Curley Center:
July 22, 2010-
Sports & Social Media: Issues & Predictions
Nov. 15, 2010-
The Intersection Between Sports Coverage and Fantasy Sports: Implications for Journalists and Predictions for Media Organizations
Live Chat Replay: Credentialing- Who should be in the press box and why?
View the chat it its entirety here:
http://comm.psu.edu/about/centers/john-curley-center-for-sports-journalism/live-chats
CHAT EXCERPTS
MHardin: Visitors will be coming and going with their own questions, but I'd like to throw out the first question for everyone: How has the issue of credentialing affected your day-to-day work?
Jerry Micco: It depends on the team and the situation, Marie. For instance, I can't seem to get enough Steelers credentials, but they work very well with me to accommodate what they can. I really don't have a difficult time getting credentials with most of the teams we cover, acutally. We don't do as much national stuff as we used to, so when I need the occasional, I can get it.
Cheryl Coward: Obtaining credentials from some leagues/teams has been easy because they already know about hoopfeed.com or want to increase their coverage. In other case, an uphill battle.
Michael Signora: In my role as Vice President of Football Communications, my team is responsible for accreditation decisions for NFL events, everything from Super Bowl, Championship Games, Pro Bowl, Scouting Combine, International Series game, NFL Draft, etc. It's an important part of what we do. We are also a resource for NFL clubs, who make those decisions for regular-season and early-round playoff games.
Malcolm Moran: Mike, as a resource for the clubs, does the league offer any guidelines or suggestions.
Michael Signora: We urge clubs to consider the reach of the applying entity, as opposed to how that group would classify themselves. We want to be where our fans are. So if they consider a blog important, we should too.
[Question from chat participant Devon]
As we transition to a post-newspaper world, what's the argument against credentialing independent bloggers and providing access by proxy for the "average fan?"
Jerry Micco: Devon, I think it'll be quite some time before we are in the post-newspaper era. Advertisers still pour much more money into the print product than they do the Web. I think if we want the average fan in the press box, then why not ask Mike if he's ready to have his clubs credential every fan at Heinz Field who writes a blog or has a message board? Who do you keep out?
MHardin: Jerry's comment goes to a wider question I want to ask of all the panelists: Who belongs in the press box at a sports event? And – just as importantly – who doesn’t belong?
Cheryl Coward: As far as bloggers and online outlets, I think teams/leagues should have guidelines. However, with women's basketball, they also need to recognize who fans and players are paying attention to and the downside of granting access to print outlets who send reporters that are completely ignorant of the game.
[Questions from chat participant Matt Fortuna ]
Hi all. I was wondering what sports information departments have to gain by credentialing anyone who applies. Shouldn't they be more cautious of situations like two years ago, when Jim Calhoun was grilled about his salary by a freelance reporter who looked to get nothing but a rise out of Calhoun?
Jerry Micco: Matt, it depends on who that freelancer was working for. Was he there representing a newspaper or Web site? And Jim Calhoun is a grown up. He can answer or decline to answer a question. I had no problem with the question.
Michael Signora: We try to take out the personal element from the equation. So if an organization reaches a large or growing audience, it's a group we will certainly consider credentialing.
[Comment From Malcolm Moran ]
Under the old model, newspapers could be classified by circulation level. Does a figure such as "monthly uniques" adequately measure a website or blog?
[Question from chat participant Erin Prah]
How important are page views/established blog visitors in decided who should be credentialed?
Jerry Micco: Anyone who works for a broad-based media organization should be in a press box if their role is to deliver news and opinion to their customers. When I attend a Steelers game, there are probably 120 people in the press box. Some of them are Web-based (ESPN.com, etc.) most are newspaper based. Some are special interest (Steelers.com or Steelers Digest). So the teams have a lot of leeway. I think as Web sites grow, teams will have to decide what impact they have and how many actual readers they bring to the table. Good luck with that, by the way, Mike.
Cheryl Coward - to Malcolm: No it doesn't. The NCAA has guidelines for online outlets that they must have 1 million unique views to cover the women's basketball Final Four. For niche sports, with a concentration of dedicated fans who pay attention to Twitter and blogs, that is really ridiculous.
MHardin: Cheryl, what do you think should be the NCAA guideline? Just curious. Can or should we expect sports organizations/leagues/teams to increase the size of their press boxes/credentials?
Michael Signora: I think any objective measure of the audience of an organization is important. The key is that it's an objective measure.
Jerry Micco: If you use that, Mike, newspapers are more powerful than ever and I could argue need even more credentials. Adding circulation with unique viewers, and using Cheryl's argument of blogs and Tweets, we probably reach more people now than ever before. It's odd that way. Our demise is actually hardly that when you add in all the other elements of our reach.
Cheryl Coward: I think the "unique views" should not be used. They should take a look at the overall quality and content of a site, who the audience is plus social media metrics. The number of print reporters in the WBB press boxes is dwindling each year. There were empty tables on press row during the women's WBB Final Four.
Michael Signora: That's one reason why I think you do not see a de-emphasis of credential numbers for newspapers.
[Comment from participant Devon]
But, Jerry, I feel like the importance of newspapers are diminishing--for an average fan, it may be where you get your news, but you'll go over to a blog or message board to talk about it.
Jerry Micco: Devon, newspapers now have bloggers and message boards galore. One stop shop is how we approach it.
[Comment From Malcolm Moran ]
So is it a matter of the figures being revised, or are there other ways that sites can demonstrate that they represent a significant audience?
[Question from participant Tim ]
To anyone who cares to take a crack at this: Would revenues generated have a place in the discussion at all?
Cheryl Coward: The NCAA does not take into account social media. I asked them.
Jerry Micco: Cheryl, then you're substituting your metrics for someone else's and is that fair? And whether a site overall quality is "good" is a very subjective thing. I think it's better for those sites to put as many metrics into the equation as possible to make their point.
[Comment From Devon]
Yes, but Jerry, don't kid yourself. I'm pretty sure there are more fans going to BlackShoeDiaries and FightonState than PennLive. This is where I think newspapers get it wrong--fans read blogs because they want the bias. They want to be with fans. It's community more than anything else, and a newspaper blog will never replicate that.
Jerry Micco: I don't see it as substitution but more as a realistic view of where fans are getting their information. Yahoo Sports may have one million unique view but they don't run original content for WBB. They run an AP feed. By quality, well, I don't think that's hard to figure out. Well-researched, accurate, original content. Not all blogs are will make the cut, but some newspapers print incorrect facts and mistakes all the time for WBB. And reporters from print publications who have no interest in WBB ask offensive questions.
Cheryl Coward: Devon: Not all blogs are biased. And not all print is unbiased. :)
Jerry Micco: I have no doubt Devon that many more people use fan sites. But the question is: do you believe those fan sites are more independent than a newspaper site? I can only speak for the Post-Gazette, but our Pitt blog has very nice numbers and our Pirates blog, which is on our paysite, does tremendous traffic.
Jerry Micco: So what's the point Cheryl and who judges if something is "offensive?" No doubt, we make mistakes. Our corrections column is well-read. But I don't think anyone can say they are flawless in the mistake area. I've never known anyone to be in my experience. I've seen many blogs make errors and not correct them.
[Question from participant Matt Fortuna ]
I'm curious to get the moderators' takes on the Ines Sainz situation, and how it fits into the bigger picture of who does and does not belong in the press box/locker room?
MHardin: Matt and Jerry both raise an interesting question:
Should teams/leagues use type of of coverage and "quality" of a reporter's work or news organization in considering credentialing?
Malcolm Moran: The issue of quality as a determining factor becomes complicated when sites, depending on the philosophy of their leadership, may engage in acts that run contrary to any accepted journalism ethics. I'm talking about paying for information, among other issues.
Jerry Micco: Marie, that might help us to answer the Sainz question. Her reporting and what she's doing is vastly different from what a other folks do. I've never dealt with her or her organization, but I'm sure Mike has. I do recall at a Super Bowl she had photos of her taken raised up on a couple of Colts' offensive linemen. I'd say our Steelers guy Ed Bouchette wouldn't do that. Just a guess. It's a tough question to answer using the Super Bowl as an example. The SB is something everyone seems to cover and they are all there.
Michael Signora: Quality of coverage is debatable, and we probably have some coaches that would pressure the PR Directors on that point, if it ever was a criteria! But you do know quality when you see it, even if you might not agree with the perspective.
Cheryl Coward: (Poor journalism): If you come to a WNBA game and ask who Donna Orender is. If you ask if women are allowed to dunk. This has happened. If you spend the entire time you are "on assignment" watching football in the press room instead of coverage a women's college game.
Jerry Micco: But Cheryl, you're judging an entire medium on a couple of dumb questions. If we eliminated the all who ask dumb questions, we'd have no one left to cover teams. But I do see what you are saying. But who then decides which niche sites are the best niche sites? That is more difficult.
Malcolm Moran: Cheryl- The first time I covered the Indianapolis 500, about all I knew was that left turns were highly encouraged. I learned the rest as I went along. I don't think the base of knowledge has anything to do with whether a credential is warranted.
Cheryl Coward: I'm not judging an entire medium. I was a printer reporter for years. I'm talking about teams recognizing the need to expand their credentialing process. If you don't know something that's fine. I've no problem with that. I do have a problem when bloggers who have well-respected sites are denied credentials and have a wealth of knowledge that fans, coaches and players respect.
[Question from participant Alison ]
Do you think that in some press boxes, journalists should get special treatment, such as food and drinks provided? They're there to reports on a game, not to eat.
Malcolm Moran: [During my time as a sports reporter], my expectation was a chair, an outlet for my computer, and access to the participants afterward. That's it.
Michael Signora: Alison, I think most of the media are focused on what is important. As Malcolm notes, it's access to the players and coaches, a reasonable place from which to work, etc. But food service is a courtesy we have extended for years, and I don't see that changing.
MHardin: Do sports leagues/teams have an ethical obligation to credential certain journalists or bloggers? What do sports leagues/teams owe -- if anything -- to fans when it comes to press box access?
Malcolm Moran: At the college level, there is another issue: Is the operator of a blog -- on recruiting, for instance -- considered a representative of the university's athletic interests in the language of the NCAA. If you are a season-ticket holder, and you ask Johnny Jones if he is considering Institution X for your blog, that could be considered a violation of NCAA rules.
Michael Signora: We always say we want to be where our fans are. And if our fans flock to a website or blog, and that website or blog requests access, we will try to work with them.
Malcolm Moran: Mike, what if a site has demonstrated that it has achieved an audience, but its approach raises serious issues of professionalism. How do you balance those issues? Mike, on a practical level, could a Super Bowl in Arlington allow the league to provide an auxiliary press box for every blogger in America?
[Comment from participant Erin Prah]
This came up with NHL credentials, how does the NFL handle this situation: Say the Saints deny a blogger credentials, but give the same blogger credentials to the Steelers. So when the Steelers visit the Saints, does that blogger have access to the Saints lockerroom?
MHardin: The comment from Erin and others points to another question:
How much leeway should sports orgs have to use credentials to curb or encourage certain types of behavior by journalists or bloggers? I'm thinking, for instance, about the SEC rules that were revised after an outcry last year, or curbs on the use of Twitter by reporters at practices.
Jerry Micco: That's a tough one, Marie. Credentials come with rules. We respect the rules and if we have an issue, we bring it up and discuss it. And any club, I guess, and deny a credential based on anything they want to use, but in my 21 years of running sports departments all over the country, I've never had one denied because they didn't like what we wrote. To me, that's part of the business.
[Comment from Erin Prah]
Running off of Marie's point, what about in the case of the earlier drafts of those SEC rules, where the fans themselves in the stands taking photos of the field and posting them to social media sites was not permissable
Jerry Micco: Fans getting involved in covering a team will hamper more media outlets than you can ever know, Erin. That gets into rights teams have to their product; what rights TV and radio have. The teams would have a very tough time dealing with all of that.
MHardin: Mike, how do you decide what "conditions" you'll attach to credentialing of journalists and bloggers once you establish that they quaiify? I'm wondering if you all see sports leagues/teams as competitors for providing coverage. After all, teams and leagues all have their own web sites and some have networks. How does that -- if at all -- impact what happens in the press box or locker room?
Jerry Micco: TV pays a lot of money for those rights fees. That's why we in the newspaper business cry foul when they seem to get preferential treatment from the leagues and the teams. But I guess when you pay money, you get to make some calls. That's how things generally work.
MHardin: Jerry -- does that fact ever put your reporters/bloggers at a serious disadvantage when it comes to access?
Malcolm Moran: Marie, the impact could be traced to access issues, if the team or league-based website is granted more access than other credential holders. But that is little different than a team's radio network access to a coach prior to a post-game press conference.
Jerry Micco: Every year since 2005, I've applied for a credential for our online sports editor for Steelers home games. They give us six already and deny us the extra one for an online editor. Even though we now essentially all use the Web to post Tweets, breaking news, etc. The Steelers answer was if they credentialed our online editor, they'd have to do all of them. Only one other paper has one. But as I explained to Dave Lockett, their head PR guy and a guy I like, it's odd: we now compete with our sources for news. That's very different from how it has been for years.
Jerry Micco: When Ben Roethlisberger gave his first 2 "exlcusive" interviews after his March through Georgia, the local ABC and CBS affiliates got time with him, but not newspapers. That said, just before camp, we got a lot longer with him and then other print outlets go time with him. But TV was first.
Cheryl Coward: Personally, I know that some reporters from print and online outlets see teams/leagues as competition. The team's stories are considered to be fluff pieces but they may be able to reach more people because of their website/twitter/facebook following.
Michael Signora: That's a delicate balance between "team/league" media and other non-partner entities. I imagine it will continue to be a developing issue.
Jerry Micco: Mike, that's the big issue between newspaper Web sites and the NFL, isn't it? Both are new, valuable revenue streams for both entities. And both want to be able to control who can do what.
MHardin: Mike and Jerry -- How will this inevitable tension be resolved?
Michael Signora: Marie, Once we establish that will credential an entity, there are not specific restrictions that are not applied to all media, in general. We would not say to a group, you represent non-traditional media, and as a result, you do not have locker room access. That is a practice we have not engaged in at the league-level.
MHardin: Cheryl: Do you think fans differentiate between team-generated "fluff" and the coverage on your site, for instance? To any or all of our panelists: Are their some sports where press-box access is easier than for others -- and why?
Cheryl Coward: Yes, they do. Fans can enjoy both. The teams are doing their job when they're pushing out content. On the other hand, there is the concern that it drowns out coverage from other places that is unbiased and comprehensive.
Malcolm Moran: One of the most important outlooks a student can develop is one of discernment. Regardless of the source of the information -- mainstream media, non-mainstream, team or league -- is the information credible?
Jerry Micco: Marie: I think fans can figure it out after a short while. Cheryl's site obviously is a news site that follows WBB and takes it seriously. The good and the bad is reported there. People will figure out that's far different than a team site and gravitate there.
Jerry Micco: Marie: As I've said, I've not had many problems getting all, or nearly all the credentials we seek. Adding photo and print together for the past 2 Super Bowls involving the Steelers, we had in the mid-20s. Stanley Cup Final, maybe 8-10 per home game and 5-6 on the road. I think if you don't pad numbers and work with the league, you can get what you want. And as much as I sometimes chide the NFL for it's stance on Web sites, they have always worked with us on big game credentialing.
Malcolm Moran: The recruiting sites are a major issue, because of the potential of NCAA violations and the fact that fans can become involved in the recruitment of an athlete.
Michael Signora: We strive to treat all media equally. We also leave credential decisions as much as possible in the hands of the entities. So if we grant USA Today 10 working press credentials for the Super Bowl, it's up to them if they would like to use one or two for an online editor, a columnist, an NFL beat writer, etc.
MHardin: Malcolm, you bring up a good point about the recruiting sites: What's the solution? Mike, have you seen the number of credential requests climb for the Super Bowl or have they leveled off with the recession?
Malcolm Moran: Schools have to get into the detective business in order to protect themselves. Who's running the site? What's the agenda? If a compliance office is unaware of what is going on, there could be a major problem.
Michael Signora: For Super Bowl XLIV this past season in South Florida, we accredited more than 4,700 media. It's still a focal point of interest, thankfully!
Jerry Micco: One of the trickiest items to deal with for credentials is the Olympics. I'm on the APSE Olympics committee and we are the recommending body to the USOC for credentials. And we have set number, especially for non-North American Olympics. But our committee represents all, and we all have assignments to call people on our list to gauge their interest and to check out their sites/publications. We want to represent everyone, but at some point, someone's going to lose out. We try to get more organizations credentials, and have done so, than giving one group 30 and closing out 10 smaller organizations.
MHardin: Jerry, it sounds extremely time consuming -- and, again, you're back in the business of judging sites/publications by a set of standards that may involve quality or circulation/impact, right?
MHardin: Jerry and others: How is credentialing different when working with college teams as opposed to pro teams?
MHardin: Time is winding down, and I have two final questions about which I'd like to get our panelists' views. I'll put them both here:
* What is most important for students to know about the issue of press box access?
* What will the press box look like in 5 to 10 years? How will it be different?
Malcolm Moran: The most important thing to know is that policies are constantly evolving. It was not long ago that the NCAA Men's Final Four would not give a credential to a freelance reporter assigned by a news organization. Now that happens every year. And in five to ten years, the occupants will be even more overworked than they are now.
Jerry Micco: Marie:
1. Press box access is a privledge the teams give you. And you are there to work. Don't let the fact that a team has given you a credential make you feel beholden in how you cover that team. Be fair and honest, and you'll never have a problem. Your readers are your ultimate deciders on how you do a job.
2. Press boxes in 5-10 years will be just as busy, or busier than they are now. The days are longer because of all reporters are asked to do for the Web and print products. And, unfortunately, there will likely be fewer persons doing it.
Cheryl Coward: 1. Things are changing, slowly but surely to include more outlets that are producing content that fans enjoy. 2. It will be more mixed. Great points Jerry.
Michael Signora: From an NFL perspective, if your organization reaches our fans in large numbers, you would have every opportunity to be accredited. Thanks everyone. I enjoyed our discussion.
[Comment from participant Tara Polen ]
My experience of students in press boxes is mostly with those working from their school papers and I have to say they behave very professionally for the most part.
Malcolm Moran: Thanks, everyone, for taking so much time.
Jerry Micco: Thanks for the invite Marie. See you soon I hope. Cheryl and Mike, thanks for the comments. Helps to educate me.
MHardin: Thanks, everyone, for your participation -- and thanks to our panelists, who've provided tremendous insight!
Please join us next month for a discussion about fantasy sports and the role of journalists.