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Does it actually matter where NBA writers sit?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by sirvaliantbrown, Jan 20, 2007.

  1. Norman Stansfield

    Norman Stansfield Active Member

    I stick to my original point. I understand that teams make money from those seats. And I've sat up high for hoops games (I cover high-major DI, and I've been around) and don't necessarily mind it all that much. But the more control teams exert over the media, the worse it's going to get in the long run.

    What if teams decide five years from now the little revenue they can make from those same seats in the upper deck is worth kicking the media out again? Then what? Every reporter could wind up being forced into watching from the media room, on TV monitors. An extreme scenario, yes, but who'd have thought 10 years ago there would be a point when media members wouldn't have the best seats? When media members would have to pay for pre-game meals? Etc., etc.

    And I know this has been discussed before, but don't discount the possibility that someday ALL media access could be severely limited or even eliminated altogether as teams continue to figure out that their websites and "reporters" can convey "their" message a lot more effectively than the mainstream.

    That's why the media's got to keep fighting the good fight, even if it is in vain.
     
  2. patchs

    patchs Active Member

    The only good thing about press row moving from the floor up to a higher spot is you don't have to fear for yourself and your laptop when the students decide to mob the court.
     
  3. scribe21

    scribe21 Member

    Fans DO NOT belong on press row. NO matter how much money they throw out there. I hate them with a passion. Most of them are sitting there the whole game taking pictues with their camera phones and chatting, not watching the game.
     
  4. Norman Stansfield

    Norman Stansfield Active Member

    Amen. It's happened to me before, and it's not fun.
     
  5. awriter

    awriter Active Member

    The NBA team I used to cover had us at the scorer's table, near the team's bench. I'm in a different city now, and the team has us on the baseline. It's better than being upstairs but nowhere near as good as being at the scorers table. Hearing the dialog between the players and coaches and refs was invaluable. Those comments may not have made it into print, but they definitely shaped the questions I asked.
     
  6. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Baseline seats suck...

    A player I covered a few years ago tore his ACL. It happened about five feet from where I was working. I heard it pop and I heard the head coach gasp as it happened.

    Think that helped my gamer? Think I was able to be a little more descriptive as a result, rather than sitting in a luxury box half way up? To be able to say that a pop could be heard from the scorer's table is a little better than just being able to say he was carried off the court...

    We can hear what's said in huddles. We can hear when a player screams an expletive at a ref or another player.

    Player X: I was just questioning the call. Then the guy T-d me up?
    Me: Was that before or after you called him a motherfucker?
    Player X: Who told you that?
    Me: I heard you say it.
     
  7. Montezuma's Revenge

    Montezuma's Revenge Active Member

    People who question whether where you sit makes any difference have absolutely no understanding of the business.

    Amazing how many of them post around here.
     
  8. jambalaya

    jambalaya Member

    Almost every major program I've been to in the last few years has abandoned courtside. It's getting pretty bad.

    Maryland and Pitt have you along baseline AND up. It's simply the worst place to cover a game.

    Michigan and UCLA have you halfway up the bowl but it's at least at midcourt. That, while still bad, is significantly better than the former.
     
  9. henryhenry

    henryhenry Member

    might that have something to do with the game itself? something has gone dramatically wrong with basketball - and i'm talking nba and d-1.
     
  10. boots

    boots New Member

    Location matters greatly. If you have ever covered an event from an auxillary press box, then you would know you don't get the same feel for an event.
     
  11. That's an excellent point.
     
  12. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    In the NBA, better to be on the floor. It's a sport of personalities, individualism, and certain moments that benefit from being seen up close.

    College? Could go either way. So many college games - including many in the NCAA Tournament - are determined by how a game is played, not the who, and it's not always easy to see the how courtside.
     
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