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SMG interviews a blogger ... Al Yellon

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!, Nov 7, 2007.

  1. I'm not a fan of bloggers, so I don't think much of the interview.

    http://www.sportsmediaguide.com/20071102-AlYellon.asp

    Some of his points

    Q. Do you want a press credential?

    A. I've never felt compelled to have one. This is a source of disagreement among SB Nation bloggers - some want it - some don't. I never felt like I wanted to be up in the pressbox, or in the clubhouse. I'm not a reporter - I'm a fan. That's not my job. I haven't done interviews with baseball people - though I wouldn't mind sitting down with Jim Hendry or Piniella. I've never been one to actively seek a credential. In some ways not having one gives me more independence.

    Q. Are credentialed media constrained by credentials?

    A. In some ways. It's the nature of their job - they can't go off on tangents. And they have space limitations.

    Q. Is credentialed media less candid with its audience?

    A. I can't speak for them. It feels that way, but do I have specific instances of that - no. But it feels that way for me. Also, they are subject to being edited. I don't have that restriction.

    Q. Does being paid change the perspective of traditional media?

    A. It might. I go because I want to. The writers go because it's their job. Some have great passion for sports, which is why they go into it in the first place. I know Bruce Miles, the Cubs beat writer for the Daily Herald - he grew up a Cubs fan like any of us. So for him it's both. Would he be at the ballpark if not for his job - I think probably not every day. I don't know if that applies to everybody who is a sportswriter - for some I think it's just their job.

    Q. Should mainstream media be fans?

    A. I would like to think the mainstream beat writer for a team should be a fan of team or at least of the sport - if not why do the job?
     
  2. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Yeah, I rolled my eyes a bit too. But at least at the end the interviewer asked the guy if he writes on his couch. Funny.
     
  3. SixToe

    SixToe Well-Known Member

     
  4. Barsuk

    Barsuk Active Member

    See, I don't have a problem with that. I wish more bloggers realized they're not reporters. It's the ones who aren't reporters but think they are that are dangerous.

    Full disclosure: I read "Bleed Cubbie Blue" fairly regularly, and think Al Yellon runs a great fan blog. Doesn't mean I don't read about the Cubs from other (more credible) sources.
     
  5. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Very fine line here that the blogger oversteps. Beat writers must not ever be "fans" of their team, as that term is understood by most people. I'd say that many beat writers would privately admit to wanting their team to succeed, but that's miles away from "rooting."
     
  6. People who have never covered a team on a day to day basis don't understand how nearly impossible it is to be a "fan." It's not that you dislike the people you cover. You just don't want to put yourself in a fawning, subordinate role to men you realize are just regular guys just like you are. That's what people don't understand unless they've done it.
     
  7. henryhenry

    henryhenry Member

    who is the interviewer?
     
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