NCAA Tournament and the Media

Just got back from California. I work for a media entity that we are at every game home and away and we probably break 65% of all stories on our beat. Well respected. Not sure how many of you cover the tournament anymore, but I was stunned how most media are regulated way upstairs if you aren't a national outlet. I understand letting one reporter from each major nation organization, but 3 for ESPN and all the others? Insulting that we as media who are there for everything get treated this way. Talked with seating coordinator at the site who told me that is the trend for the entire tournament and not just Cali. Also said no pushback from schools at all.

I can live with that, but they bitch for lack of coverage, or the more the schools become contrarian I can see us having to I]dig harder for more content and how many major schools want that. Thoughts?

 

So sad.

Why don't you understand that they don't give a shit about you?

The tournament is run by the NCAA. It's a national tournament and they NCAA is looking to get the most coverage, from the biggest outlets. Why wouldn't they cater to them?

You haven't earned anything by covering the team all year. The NCAA owes you nothing. They are serving their best interests.

 

Media from my city/state covering NCAA teams were seated in different ways: print were courtside, TV in the boonies. So I don't think it's necessarily national media that gets courtside access.

 

How much did you pay for broadcast rights? That will determine where you sit.

 

Where'd the bloggers get to sit?

 

In their cars in the parking lot after paying $10 to get in the lot.

Or, you know, at home in front of their TVs.

 

There used to be a deal where each school got two seats for beat writers. The last school I covered gave those two seats to the writers who traveled the most during the regular season, which I thought was a pretty cool way to do it.

 

It's possible the seating coordinator gave you a line.

I'd pushback on the NCAA, and I'd tell the team you cover, too. This doesn't hit me as a universal experience.

Let me add this: I know they've moved seats away from the floor. I don't know that, universally, "ESPN writer 4" automatically gets a seat on the floor while hometown beat writer X automatically gets the hose.

One more thing: There's no delicate way to say it, but, when it comes right down to it, boosters and others who put pressure on the local don't really give a shit what ESPN says about the coach. It's always the local journalists who have more to do with a coach being embattled than the national folks. So it makes sense to take care of the local folks.

 

I've seen enough newspaper writers who I recognize during games who are sitting right behind the broadcast team that I don't think this is really happening that much...

 

It's been a few years since I covered the NCAA tournament. Do you still have to pay for Internet access?

Now THAT's an argument worth having.

 

When the first two rounds were in RI, I was just an in-state doing features for our chain with no team to cover and I was behind the team bench. No issue with seating at all. Does it change the deeper into the tourney you go?

 

Let me put it this way: The local/regional media still has the occasional ability to put the brakes on a movement to roast a guy. The national media can't, because every coach short of an ax murderer is a great guy to them.