Almost as stupid as the LPGA

Go nuts, noted scribes.

Imagine working in this dreamy environment:

The PGA Tour is allowing fans to watch interviews in the media center at this week's event in St. Louis fron an ajoining room via one-way mirrors, with three rows of bleacher seats and full sound being piped in.

Better still, they did not inform media and players that they were being watched.

http://www.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/view/

 

It's pretty hard to believe that someone walking into the interview room didn't figure out that 10 floor-to-ceiling one-way glass windows weren't exactly that. These guys are supposed to be smart.
I do feel for the transcriber. But was anybody actually watching a pre-tournament interview when they could be walking around the golf course? Press tents are usually well out of the way.

 

Wait till it happens in other sports... it's a comin....

 

I'm not sure I get what the problem would be.

Don't scratch your nuts, scribes, would be my advice.

 

Great, this is going to foster more and more of those "Please identify yourself and your affiliation before you ask your question" instructions at post-game (post-tournament) pressers. For most of us trying to get our work done, that's a big waste of time and makes even the humble ones among us (8)) feel like we're dropping a bunch of "I's" into our work. Then there are the reporters who seem to enjoy saying their own names and affiliations (gag!).

So far, it has been done to put on the dog-and-pony show for televised press conferences and interview room situations. Now we'll be putting same show on for VIP fans, where we end up doing the work and providing the programming (asking the questions) in exchange for, what, a mention of our name and the place we work? Think it through, and you'll see that these set-ups encourage the various leagues and sports organizations to push for group media availability rather than individual access, so they can "sell" it as part of the package.

I would like to think that APSE might prefer that its reporters a) do their own work, and b) do the work for the good of the papers rather than the network TV cameras or the fat-cat sponsors sitting behind the glass. Perhaps APSE can either dicker with the sports leagues over this or at least encourage reporters not to give away the store by asking questions for other media's cameras and the league's own private audiences.

Here is another option: Let the LPGA, the NFL, the NBA, the NCAA, MLB and anyone else who wants to do this hire some out-of-work sports reporters to ask authentic questions. That way, all the media can be free-riders at the same time and a few folks who have gotten down-sized can pick up a few bucks. As late as the postgame periods get at a lot of these events, the working media often is too busy beating deadlines to linger and provide entertainment for VIPs.

 

I'm all for folks watching through one-way mirrors as we interview athletes. I think it's great.

One stipulation, though -- like in all the cop shows, I think we should be able to beat the hell out of and threaten folks who aren't giving us the answers we want.

I think it really will make our stories better and the lucky fans watching won't be bored to tears.

 

I like that idea. I've got dibs on the Yellow Pages, which inflicts maximum pain with minimal traceable wounds.

 

I'll have the tube sock with a bar of Ivory soap over the Yellow Pages.

Both hurt like shit, though, with a full swing.

Why is this such a "cool" thing for fans to do? Watching interviews behind mirrors? How fucking sad is your life that you give up part of it to sit there and watch other people ask and answer questions?

 

Wouldn't it be great to see the athletes/coaches sweating, hoping they can come up with a good answer?

"I didn't mean that! Ouch! ... Dammit! ... I didn't mean to say that he was a team player. ... Noooo. ... I meant that he's slow as hell and I don't know why the team is paying that jagoff. OK?"

 

And yet, if the fatcats can get to hear Rocco Mediate say " I hit driver, 4, wedge to 10 feet and canned the putt," they'll think it's the best fucking day of their lives.