Credentials for a news conference

How common is it now that credentials are being issued for news conferences?

A second-tier professional team in these parts sent out an advisory Wednesday about an off-season introductory news conference Thursday where two newsworthy figures with the team would be introduced and made available to answer questions. (The news about them had already broken.)

The advisory gave the time for the news conference and the time the "credentials desk" would open.

In my many years of covering sports news conferences in this market, this is the first time I've heard of a "credentials desk" opening and there being credential pick up for a news conference. (The advisory declared "your ID will be checked.")

Part of me is wondering why this is being done? As said, this is a secondary professional team -- not in the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball or the NHL. This is a team that over the years has complained about the lack of coverage it feels it receives.

I doubt many fans would know about this news conference and I doubt anyone who shouldn't be there would be there. It doesn't appear that any food is being served, so it can't be an effort to keep away freeloaders.

This seems like a lot of unnecessary work. I wonder what the credentials will be like? I would imagine they would be stickers, to minimize the amount of work.

 

They are probably just trying to act big time but don't know how.

However, it's not a bad thing to keep bums off the street from attending, I guess.

 

I've never seen credentials passed out at a news conference. The assumption is (correctly) that if you got wind of it in the short amount of lead time they give you, you must belong there. I've never seen anyone who wasn't supposed to be there show up either.

 

Last year, the college team I cover had announced its head coach at a press conference where you had to pick up credentials. My SE, who didn't have a regular season credential (long story, but I was using one in his name), came to the press conference to write the front page story and ended up haggling with the will call people and forcing them to call up a member of the SID staff and have the assistant SID come up and vouch for him.

 

Maybe they wanted to make sure those freeloading media types left plenty of seats for the hangers-on and boosters. ;D

 

I've seen it plenty of times. Of course, most of the time, it's been a press conference directed by the biggest, dumbest, babblingest buffoon in all of sports. So take of that what you will.