No Tweeting during practice: Redskins

[Flash]

This means you, the media.

You could have your access revoked.

Is this a big deal to you? It wasn't so long ago that Twitter wasn't a part of your job function.

http://sportsjournalism.org/sports-media-news/washington-redskins-latest-team-to-ban-twittering-from-practice-fields/

 

[Sports_Scribe]

I'm not sure if practice fields fall under private property, but wouldn't the First Amendment prohibit the ban? I doubt it would, but just a thought.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I don't think the First Amendment would apply here. It's a private business. I'd think it would be similar to a factory telling a newspaper photog they can't shoot certain parts of the building.

The story said that the Redskins are trying to work with the beat reporters on the policy. I hope the reporters are telling the Redskins to go F themselves.

 

[playthrough]

Same thing at Colts training camp. If you so much as pulled your phone out of your pocket, some eagle-eyed PR guy would tell you to put it back. I could understand (though still not agree with) the policy at a closed practice as opposed to open-to-the-public camps.

 

[Flash]

Same thing at Colts training camp. If you so much as pulled your phone out of your pocket, some eagle-eyed PR guy would tell you to put it back. I could understand (though still not agree with) the policy at a closed practice as opposed to open-to-the-public camps.

Isn't that kinda not his business? What if you were checking an email from the editor or taking a call from the wife?

 

[JackReacher]

Skins had this policy last year, too. This ain't new.

 

[Stitch]

Why would anyone bring up the First Amendment? If anyone says the Redskins don't have to the right to ban Tweeting, they need to take media law again. And who cares if your wife calls. I don't answer the phone if I'm busy.

 

[daemon]

Something our newspaper editors should have done already. Now, not only are we giving away the fruits of our labor/access for free, we're giving it away on somebody else's platform so that they reap the benefits.

 

[Moderator1]

Yeah, this is not a 2010 thing. The Redskins were one of "my" teams in my work for CBS last year and they put something like this in place. Only thing was, they let the guy from their flagship station continue to tweet. So what my guy and some others did was tweet what he was tweeting. Full attribution and everything. "Clinton Portis this or that or whatever, Station WXXX tweeted from practice."

Skins went ape**** over it but there wasn't much they could do about that. You can sit in the media room and re-tweet whatever you want.

 

[playthrough]

Same thing at Colts training camp. If you so much as pulled your phone out of your pocket, some eagle-eyed PR guy would tell you to put it back. I could understand (though still not agree with) the policy at a closed practice as opposed to open-to-the-public camps.

Isn't that kinda not his business? What if you were checking an email from the editor or taking a call from the wife?

Well jeez, my wife knows better than to not call during training camp.

 

[Moderator1]

Something our newspaper editors should have done already. Now, not only are we giving away the fruits of our labor/access for free, we're giving it away on somebody else's platform so that they reap the benefits.

Good point there. Last football season, my old paper was updating a game I was interested in on its Facebook page. Scores kept coming in and I'm thinking sweet. Just freshen my Facebook page. Didn't even have to go to their site.

I'm trying to think of a valid comparison of how badly newspapers whiffed on the Internet and I can't come up with one. So many are still playing catchup. A few have figured it out and created a good marriage. Are they making any money?

 

[Flash]

Same thing at Colts training camp. If you so much as pulled your phone out of your pocket, some eagle-eyed PR guy would tell you to put it back. I could understand (though still not agree with) the policy at a closed practice as opposed to open-to-the-public camps.

Isn't that kinda not his business? What if you were checking an email from the editor or taking a call from the wife?

Well jeez, my wife knows better than to not call during training camp.

Maybe yours does. :P

 

[Bubbler]

Same thing at Colts training camp. If you so much as pulled your phone out of your pocket, some eagle-eyed PR guy would tell you to put it back. I could understand (though still not agree with) the policy at a closed practice as opposed to open-to-the-public camps.

Since training camp moved away from my environs, it was so nice not to have to deal with that paranoic bull**** this August.

"Hey, you MUST stand in that end zone to watch practice! And TV stations ... no filming! And you can only watch the first team On the 8s! Otherwise, you must turn your dirty media face around, look towards Indianapolis and genuflect reverently in honor of the grand and glorious Bill Polian!"

I made some of that **** up, but a **** off applies just the same.

I have a ton of respect for NFL writers. The day-to-day garbage they have to deal with alone is worth the respect.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I think it was the Colts a few years back who wouldn't let reporters bring pens or notebooks to an open practice. I'm not sure if that was the regular policy or a one-time thing.

 

[daemon]

Something our newspaper editors should have done already. Now, not only are we giving away the fruits of our labor/access for free, we're giving it away on somebody else's platform so that they reap the benefits.

Good point there. Last football season, my old paper was updating a game I was interested in on its Facebook page. Scores kept coming in and I'm thinking sweet. Just freshen my Facebook page. Didn't even have to go to their site.

I'm trying to think of a valid comparison of how badly newspapers whiffed on the Internet and I can't come up with one. So many are still playing catchup. A few have figured it out and created a good marriage. Are they making any money?

The frustrating thing isn't that newspapers whiffed on the Internet. A lot of industries whiffed on the Internet. The problem is, we continue to whiff, making putrid decision after putrid decision with little acknowledgment of how important these decisions are, even though we should know full well how important they are because of how badly our putrid decisions 15-20 years ago have hurt us.

I mean, we're talking Business 101 here. I can't tell you how many people have told me that they pretty much rely on Twitter for all of their news. On my beat, we have three traveling writers, and as soon as a piece of news happens all three of us are scrambling to post it as fast as we can via Twitter. People log onto our site and it's not there. But it's on Twitter. Say what you will about ESPN, but they make sound business decisions. And ESPN has a well thought out, unequivocal Twitter policy.

Most papers still treat the Internet like some neat-o, keen fad that is cool to experiment with. Start Twittering! Blog! Live blog this game! Set up a Facebook page! Yet there is no top-down, big-picture strategy that spells out why we are doing all of this, and how we can best use these tools together to make the company money.

 

[Sports_Scribe]

Why would anyone bring up the First Amendment? If anyone says the Redskins don't have to the right to ban Tweeting, they need to take media law again. And who cares if your wife calls. I don't answer the phone if I'm busy.

Yeah. I'll call the fault on myself. No idea on why I mentioned that.

 

[NightHawk112005]

Actually, I like that the Redskins are doing this, mainly because I want to see the death of Twitter. It's not required at my paper, and I hope the fad is gone by the time I'm ready to move up.

 

[Bubbler]

I think it was the Colts a few years back who wouldn't let reporters bring pens or notebooks to an open practice. I'm not sure if that was the regular policy or a one-time thing.

It turned out to be a one-time thing, but they wanted it to be policy.

 

[BYH]

O noez.

RedskinsWriter: Albert Haynesworth is still a fat load sitting on the bike.

RedskinsWriter: Donovan McNabb just took 10 5-step drops.

RedskinsWriter: Clinton Portis showed up looking like a jackass.

There is nothing in major sports less important and more boring than an NFL practice. If I were a Redskins beat guy (pause for laughter to subside) I'd be thrilled with this edict.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

O noez.

RedskinsWriter: Albert Haynesworth is still a fat load sitting on the bike.

RedskinsWriter: Donovan McNabb just took 10 5-step drops.

RedskinsWriter: Clinton Portis showed up looking like a jackass.

There is nothing in major sports less important and more boring than an NFL practice. If I were a Redskins beat guy (pause for laughter to subside) I'd be thrilled with this edict.

Boring? Absolutely. But the fans and readers freak out over **** like which players missed practice and **** like that.