split the pot nights

If you're a reporter covering smalltime h.s. sports somewhere, don't worry about it. If you want to play, play. No one's calling Poynter on you. It's a raffle for the school, for chrissakes. It's like buying a slice of pizza at the concession stand, except a raffle ticket won't make you sick. And so what if you win? You're probably making $20,000. There are a lot of worse problems to worry about.

The first hockey game I ever covered in college, this was high-level club, I won it, but only about $30. still, as a poor student, I was happy.

 

It's not the same as concessions. When you give out $ to concessions, you're getting something in return.
50/50s are a straight donation. Unless, of course, you win.
Then, you're right, mikey, that could look bad, too.

Yeah, it's stupid. But so is not wearing a certain color shirt to avoid the appearance of bias.
We still do it, though.

 

I was asked to buy a ticket one time three years ago, and I looked at the guy and said, "Do you know how much money I make? I need this dollar more than you know."

He never asked me again.

 

You pays your money you takes your chances. What could possibly be wrong about buying a raffle ticket no matter where? It's legal and you're taking a chance on winning something. You win, you win. You lose, you lose. It's got nothing to do with journalistic ethics. Why would buying a raffle ticket at something you're covering be different than buying a raffle ticket somewhere else?

 

Because if you win, and they announce your name, everyone else who bought a ticket and didn't win is going to assume they let you win to make sure they got good pub. Even if you know you wouldn't do that, someone else might not.

It's not the existence of bias here; it's the appearance of it.

That's why I never bought one when I was covering HS sports. I was tempted to, but I knew there was no way I could take the money, so there was no point.

 

Not arguing for or against it, but how is it different from horse racing writers betting the ponies at an event they're covering? That seems to be an accepted practice and, from what I hear, they often have a betting window inside the press box.

 

So, should I stop listing the 50/50 winner in my game stories?

 

No, but you should probably stop putting it in the lede.

 

The other thing is -- and I know it doesn't really matter -- is that these things are illegal in some states, including New York, where I live.

Does that stop it? No.

 

Well, I'm not sure where else to put it...since my stories are 28 inches of running play-by-play. It would just look awkward in the middle. And, the "notes" section is where I give special shout outs to my favorite players.

 

Well, shit. Party at your place. Meet you there LiesIn.