College football access

I think the most frustrating thing, from a writer's standpoint, is how limiting that the access can be to the kinds of stories you can write. You get such brief interactions with the kids - coaches and SIDs limit things to such a degree. And I don't think it's necessarily because they are afraid of anything as much as they just are so tunnel-visioned when it comes to daily beat coverage that they just don't speak the language of an enterprise or feature-oriented writer. When you say you need more time with someone, need to hang with them away from the interview room or talk about their upbringing, etc., etc. I don't think it so much sets off alarm bells as it sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher talking to them. They just don't get that because they think of sports journalism as gathering quotes and writing a story for the next day's paper.

 

On the flip-side, Knute:
If you're on a beat where there are 8-10 regular print beat reporters, what if they all want this extra access? How can an SID grant one and not another (except if it's ESPN)? I hate limited access. But it exists for a reason, too.

 

I think it is a clear deal -- the less access, the less we abide by your rules about contacting players. And the more your restrict our access, the less you need to ask us to write those stupid blow-job stories about your academic All-Americans and your players who are going to the local nursing home to sing to the old people. That's the deal.

I have excellent access, so it is not an issue for me but some of the other college beats in our area have very limited access and as a result, all bets are off for the guys/woman who cover those beats. They do whatever they need to, within the boundaries of ethics and the legal system obviously, to get what they need information wise.

 

Oh, totally. That's why you can't pester them every single day to get five guys one-on-one for hours at a time. I totally get that. For beat coverage, the setup that most schools have is logistically necessary.

I'm just saying strictly from a feature writer's standpoint, it can be rough.

That's why I'm not really beat writer material, though. Some people aren't neurotic like me. They don't necessarily have to spend two hours asking a guy about his first day of kindergarten and the neighborhood he grew up in.

 

It's also no coincidence that Saban cut his coaching teeth under George Perles and Bill Belicheck, two of the world's all-time champions of acting like complete paranoid dicks to the media. Like fathers, like son.

Plus, now, as he was at LSU, Saban is in a situation where 87% of the media will be planted firmly in his hip pocket or in the pouch of his jockey shorts, so what happens to the other 13%, well, who gives a shit?

 

SIDs limit access for a reason. They don't want us having extra time with a player or coach. They believe if we get extra time that's going open up the can of worms to something in the kid's background which they don't want getting out. Limit writers to five minutes, we get nothing. That's the way they like it.

 

Jambalaya, you really think SIDs want our stories to be worse? In my experience, which I think is pretty good, SIDs want player profiles more than anything, since those are the articles they give to TV, etc. I'm not buying it.
Also, won't many SIDs make exceptions for features guy once in a while? Most do. They like these features. It's for the random Tuesday article on the role of the fullback they won't make time for.

 

I've gone behind the university's back and contacted players for stories before. 99 percent of the time, I've gotten the same response.

"You're supposed to go through the SID office, you know. Everything's gotta go through Jim Stickupass"

The players are well aware of the rules, thanks to the paranoia and dicatorship above them. And thanks to the coaches putting the fear of god in them, most of these players have no interest in helping or interacting with the media outside of those five cliche-filled minutes.

 

Generally, SIDs limit access because they are being told to limit access. The coaches control the whole show and if the coach only wants players to talk for five minutes, then that is what the coach is telling the SID to do. A good SID will do what he/she can, especially for feature stories.

 

There are many players, I have found who are all too happy to speak to you about stuff -- especially if you tell them they won't be quoted. You just need to know the ones who have something to grind, are disgruntled and/or don't give a shit what the SID told them and that takes a little work.

 

And, in the case on my beat, a chance to talk with them privately. There is always an SID staffer within earshot. The players' daily routines are so regimented, you'd have to practically camp outside their classrooms to get a private minute with them, and their class schedules are confidential information.

 

Yes. I tried to contact a freshman who was redshirting at Virginia once because I was doing a story on his best friend who was a receiver at one of the state's FCS (I-AA) schools. The receiver gave me his friend's cell number, I called, and the UVa. kid freaked and stuttered about how I had to go through sports information and that he would get in trouble if he talked to me. So yeah, the athletes know the score.