Mark Cuban gets it

http://www.blogmaverick.com/2006/10/05/sports-teams-and-local-media/

Say what you want about him, but he understands to what extent money (i.e. costs) rule print media right now.

 

I think he has a general point -- good that recognizes the impact of the DMN cuts on the biz --but he takes it too far. I doubt seriously a NBA beat writer is out covering prep lacrosse, for example.

And assuming that rat I smell is just my paranoia, it is good that Cuban expresses a willingness to be accomodating to the media.

 

it'll be interesting to see what he actually does. better food in the media room? plush seats on press row?will he return calls more often?

that line tells me that maybe cuban doesn't quite get it.

 

Cuban does get it. Anybody on this board could email him and I would say that there is a 90 percent chance that if you ask a legitimate question that pertains to the Mavericks or the NBA, he would email you back within a day. It wouldn't surprise me if he emailed you back within an hour or two...

Does he go nuts occasionally? Of course... But you'd be hard pressed to find another NBA owner, or any sports owner for that matter, who is that accessible.

 

Leo,

Cuban may be right about newspapers changing policies about flying on the team planes. Personally, I hate it. After a game, the last person the players want to see is me, and quite frankly, I don't want to see them, either.

But, if the choice is go on the team plane or don't travel at all, well, that's an easy decision. I may lose my hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer points, but I'm still doing the best job I possibly can. Certainly, we'll be seated away from the players, and maybe food & beverage service will be off-limits to us (bring your own).

It's the lesser of two evils.

 

It's not like reporters haven't flown with teams before. Used to be fairly standard - hence those awful getaways when you had 30 minutes to file your replate story.

But newspapers switched to commercial planes because it was generally cheaper than the prices charged on a team charter. My interpretation is that Cuban would subsidize the flight costs and make them reasonable. That's fine in Cuban's case, who seems prepared to take the good with the bad.
But what happens if, like the beat reporters in KC who had their credentials revoked, a team doesn't like a particular reporter's coverage. Is that reporter then denied access to the plane?
By extension, is that reporter then denied a spot on the beat because his bosses know he can't fly on the team plane and therefore will cost more?
Rhetorical questions to be sure, but it's part of the slippery slope toward symbiotic relationships that I think Sports sections moved away from in the past 20 years.
For the better I would add.

 

When it comes to economics, Cuban is usually right on the money. Read what he writes about the future of movie theaters and movie advertising in papers. I have no doubt he is sincere on this topic, but he is alone.

This year the NBA owners bumped most writers out of their courtside seats. The cooling off periods have been extended. No one gets to watch practice anymore. But as long as we're being honest, I'll bet the Mavs advertise in the Morning News, money that indirectly pays for travel costs. Perhaps even the Morning News has a suite at the American Airlines Center.

No way writers fly with teams anymore. Not only don't they want them around, they leave the arena right after the games and there is no time and they ain't waiting. Nice thought, though.

 

No workout to cover on Steak & BJ Day!

 

True story. I told my wife that we e-mailed Cuban for a request at work and he replied really fast. I told her he's not just like that with media, but with pretty much everyone because he's always plugged into the Internet somewhere. She didn't believe me and bet me that he wouldn't reply to an e-mail from her within 15 minutes.

So she sends an e-mail to him, saying that she bet her husband that he wouldn't e-mail her back within 15 minutes. Less than two minutes later, an e-mail arrives from Cuban. The message reads: ``You lose.''

 

i agree and i understand why beat writers would do it. i also understand why it's undesirable and unless they reimburse the team i think the potential for conflict of interest is too high. and i don't really understand how it works logistically when you have to file and the team is leaving for the airport 45 minutes after the final buzzer.

 

Reminds me of the time I lost a bet with Calvin Coolidge.

 

Excellent reference.