Taking advantage with press credentials

[Versatile]

I have no problem with the loafers as long as they leave the working media alone and can present some valid reason to be at the game. A talk radio guy who goes to the games is, in my opinion, better than one who doesn't (most who don't, really). I think sometimes those on the daily grind forget that there are other forms of media who have every right to those media passes. There is, after all, a reason many places call them "media passes" now.

 

[TigerVols]

When I was covering the Galaxy, there was a local radio host who was credentialed and had a spot in the press box. He used to have a regular weekday show on one of the all-sports stations, but had been demoted to fill-in host and update guy. When he did have a show, he was probably the only person in LA who would talk soccer occasionally. But without a show, I had no idea what he was doing there - he would show up, drink his free soda, watch the game and leave. He was very nice and unobtrusive, and most of the time we weren't hurting for spots along the rows at the Home Depot Center, but it was still a little weird and uncomfortable since he wasn't there to actually report on anything, and he didn't have a regular outlet by that point to talk about soccer.

He's now doing traffic on KNX.

 

[lone star scribe]

If I have a free night (admittedly, not many of those), I might go to a game I'm not assigned to cover to keep tabs on a team for future reference: pick up notes, talk to a player or two for a later story away from deadline pressures. I'll even offer to grab a few quotes in the other locker room for our overworked beat writer, who will probably be working solo and can't make it to both locker rooms.

I don't believe I have to file a story that day to justify my presence.

 

[Illino]

My uncle has been on me the past couple of years about getting him Indy 500 credentials, even though I work hundreds of miles away.

 

[BobSacamano]

My uncle has been on me the past couple of years about getting him Indy 500 credentials, even though I work hundreds of miles away.

Ha! Glad I'm not alone. My father asks me to get him credentials all the time. "Just tell them I'm your camera man or something," he says. Like he doesn't know I'm a writer with no need for a camera man. Used to be a joke, but starting to sound more serious over time. He even knows my process, in that credential requests come from a superior and not a friendly, high-five relationship with team PR.

 

[finishthehat]

Andy Rooney had a spot in the press area in the Super Bowl I covered a while back. Maybe he did a cranky piece on the experience, but I didn't see it.

 

[gravehunter]

Some organizations could do a better job at policing who gets credentialed and who doesn't, though it is easier said than done. A few years ago, a couple of guys who were Diamondbacks fans wrote a letter to the team's PR department asking for credentials. They claimed to be reporters from the paper I was working with at the time and signed our sports ed's name to the request. When playoff time rolled around, they figured they would try it again (still with the Diamondbacks). However, one of our columnists also submitted a request so the team got two requests from our paper (one from the columnist, the other from these two yahoos). Diamondbacks PR called our sports ed to find out if the paper had submitted two credential requests, thus busting the two dummies.

 

[HanSenSE]

Yes, the local preps association has been cracking down on this recently and it has gotten better, but 4-5 years ago you had all these small-town papers requesting credentials for parents who would submit photos and such. The worst would always be the wrestling tournament where all the classes in the state converge on the big stadium and there are 12 mats going at once. To walk around the ground media/coach area was getting to be a nightmare, as you'd see parent A from Podunk High climb into the bleachers and hand off the pass to parent B when their kid took the mat...not to mention trying to cover the tournament with yahoo mom screaming at the top of her lungs in your ear. After the crackdown on credentials for employed-media only, these parents seemed to be going to coaches for their special passes. That got cracked down on hard last year, at least it seemed to be that way.

I get those too, from coaches who know we won't be going to state and offer to send photos. Why do I suspect, since they haven't sent a photo all year, they just want another coach on the mats?

 

[TheHacker]

Some organizations could do a better job at policing who gets credentialed and who doesn't, though it is easier said than done. A few years ago, a couple of guys who were Diamondbacks fans wrote a letter to the team's PR department asking for credentials. They claimed to be reporters from the paper I was working with at the time and signed our sports ed's name to the request. When playoff time rolled around, they figured they would try it again (still with the Diamondbacks). However, one of our columnists also submitted a request so the team got two requests from our paper (one from the columnist, the other from these two yahoos). Diamondbacks PR called our sports ed to find out if the paper had submitted two credential requests, thus busting the two dummies.

I think that's the key here ... the PR/SID people being vigilant about who is on press row. If they see something out of whack, they should call the editor at the place in question and find out who was staffing the game. If freeloaders are in the way and causing a problem nobody should be shy about addressing it.

On the high school level, the state association where I am has gotten really good at weeding out the pretenders. There are still a few hangers on who know the state officials who end up on press row, but mostly they don't let people in unless they're legitimately working press.

 

[leo1]

What about the generic media types that cover the local teams in the loosest sense of the word? When I was still in the business 10 or so years ago, I'd see local radio guys at press boxes. These guys nominally discussed all the local teams on their radio shows so I could see the argument for why they'd be there, I guess. They're not doing hardcore reporting but if local afternoon drive time guy needs to be knowledgeable about all the local teams, it makes sense, right? If the team was willing to give them a credential and a spot in the box, I saw no reason to complain about them, other than the one obese dude who worked at a 1,000 watt, daytime only radio station that no one, and I mean no one, had ever heard of.

Because he ate all the food? Crowded you out of your seat?

the second one.

yeah he crowded everyone out of their seats and just was an annoying person in general. his obesity somehow made him more annoying. we're not talking about a fat guy or someone who meets the definition of obese just because. we're talking about a dude as big as one of those fake sumo suits. or maybe i'm biased against severely obese people but only if they're really annoying in the first place. he also continually mentioned his latest problems to everyone.

 

[SockPuppet]

I have a term for people who take up space for no reason: Swingin' dicks.

 

[crimsonace]

Used to have a guy who worked for me at a suburban daily who was the worst abuser of credentials.

He'd show up at the local NBA team's games, grab all of the swag (guides, any giveaways -- matter of fact, would DEMAND that he get a trinket or whatever giveaway they had that night), eat the food, whine & moan about his seat if it wasn't on the baseline and then get up and walk out before the buzzer.

He'd "write a column" that was really nothing more than what an ESPN flunkie would write for play-by-play with no quotes.

We eventually yanked his credential privileges, because I was worried he was going to get our publication blackballed.

 

[fossywriter8]

The Ohio High School Athletic Association has cracked down on these kind of things the past few years. In the case of newspapers, I know they've asked for copies of what was published after the event to make sure those who were there actually worked.
I've never actually witnessed abuses, but I've heard stories from other writers in the past.

 

[Flip Wilson]

Some organizations could do a better job at policing who gets credentialed and who doesn't, though it is easier said than done. A few years ago, a couple of guys who were Diamondbacks fans wrote a letter to the team's PR department asking for credentials. They claimed to be reporters from the paper I was working with at the time and signed our sports ed's name to the request. When playoff time rolled around, they figured they would try it again (still with the Diamondbacks). However, one of our columnists also submitted a request so the team got two requests from our paper (one from the columnist, the other from these two yahoos). Diamondbacks PR called our sports ed to find out if the paper had submitted two credential requests, thus busting the two dummies.

When I was SID-ing, I got tons of requests whenever we played our in-state rival. Very few requests for any other games. I got a request via fax (yeah, it was back in the day) that asked me to reply via fax, not by phone. That sounded fishy, so I called the paper and talked to the sports editor. Told him what I had gotten and the guy's name. His reply: "What's he done now?" I left the requesting guy an envelope at will call, looked just like the envelopes all the legit media got. Only in his was a one-page note telling him he'd been busted and he was welcome to purchase tickets at the ticket office. Never heard from him again.

 

[Raiders]

Some organizations could do a better job at policing who gets credentialed and who doesn't, though it is easier said than done. A few years ago, a couple of guys who were Diamondbacks fans wrote a letter to the team's PR department asking for credentials. They claimed to be reporters from the paper I was working with at the time and signed our sports ed's name to the request. When playoff time rolled around, they figured they would try it again (still with the Diamondbacks). However, one of our columnists also submitted a request so the team got two requests from our paper (one from the columnist, the other from these two yahoos). Diamondbacks PR called our sports ed to find out if the paper had submitted two credential requests, thus busting the two dummies.

When I was SID-ing, I got tons of requests whenever we played our in-state rival. Very few requests for any other games. I got a request via fax (yeah, it was back in the day) that asked me to reply via fax, not by phone. That sounded fishy, so I called the paper and talked to the sports editor. Told him what I had gotten and the guy's name. His reply: "What's he done now?" I left the requesting guy an envelope at will call, looked just like the envelopes all the legit media got. Only in his was a one-page note telling him he'd been busted and he was welcome to purchase tickets at the ticket office. Never heard from him again.

Here come de judge!

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

Some organizations could do a better job at policing who gets credentialed and who doesn't, though it is easier said than done. A few years ago, a couple of guys who were Diamondbacks fans wrote a letter to the team's PR department asking for credentials. They claimed to be reporters from the paper I was working with at the time and signed our sports ed's name to the request. When playoff time rolled around, they figured they would try it again (still with the Diamondbacks). However, one of our columnists also submitted a request so the team got two requests from our paper (one from the columnist, the other from these two yahoos). Diamondbacks PR called our sports ed to find out if the paper had submitted two credential requests, thus busting the two dummies.

When I was SID-ing, I got tons of requests whenever we played our in-state rival. Very few requests for any other games. I got a request via fax (yeah, it was back in the day) that asked me to reply via fax, not by phone. That sounded fishy, so I called the paper and talked to the sports editor. Told him what I had gotten and the guy's name. His reply: "What's he done now?" I left the requesting guy an envelope at will call, looked just like the envelopes all the legit media got. Only in his was a one-page note telling him he'd been busted and he was welcome to purchase tickets at the ticket office. Never heard from him again.

Awesome.

 

[flexmaster33]

Some organizations could do a better job at policing who gets credentialed and who doesn't, though it is easier said than done. A few years ago, a couple of guys who were Diamondbacks fans wrote a letter to the team's PR department asking for credentials. They claimed to be reporters from the paper I was working with at the time and signed our sports ed's name to the request. When playoff time rolled around, they figured they would try it again (still with the Diamondbacks). However, one of our columnists also submitted a request so the team got two requests from our paper (one from the columnist, the other from these two yahoos). Diamondbacks PR called our sports ed to find out if the paper had submitted two credential requests, thus busting the two dummies.

When I was SID-ing, I got tons of requests whenever we played our in-state rival. Very few requests for any other games. I got a request via fax (yeah, it was back in the day) that asked me to reply via fax, not by phone. That sounded fishy, so I called the paper and talked to the sports editor. Told him what I had gotten and the guy's name. His reply: "What's he done now?" I left the requesting guy an envelope at will call, looked just like the envelopes all the legit media got. Only in his was a one-page note telling him he'd been busted and he was welcome to purchase tickets at the ticket office. Never heard from him again.

good work Flip...love it

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Things used to be a lot worse when press box meals were free.

A lot of folks, especially TV reporters, would come just to eat.

Does any sport other than baseball charge for meals? I've been away for awhile...

My biggest issue was having non-media in a working press box. Covering the NFL, they frequently put the front office guys of the visiting team in the press box, sometimes right behind the beat writers. That was sometimes amusing, but sometimes led to some pretty awkward moments.

 

[lone star scribe]

Things used to be a lot worse when press box meals were free.

A lot of folks, especially TV reporters, would come just to eat.

Does any sport other than baseball charge for meals? I've been away for awhile...

My biggest issue was having non-media in a working press box. Covering the NFL, they frequently put the front office guys of the visiting team in the press box, sometimes right behind the beat writers. That was sometimes amusing, but sometimes led to some pretty awkward moments.

Many do now. I have no problem with it. I'll eat there because of the convenience, but it removes the ethical quandaries that many organizations have about freebies. Although if you think I can be swayed by a buffet meal, or a hot dog and chips, there's no convincing you anyway.

 

[Gator]

Things used to be a lot worse when press box meals were free.

A lot of folks, especially TV reporters, would come just to eat.

Does any sport other than baseball charge for meals? I've been away for awhile...

My biggest issue was having non-media in a working press box. Covering the NFL, they frequently put the front office guys of the visiting team in the press box, sometimes right behind the beat writers. That was sometimes amusing, but sometimes led to some pretty awkward moments.

That's how it is with the pro team I used to cover .... Three rows, and visiting team guys sat in the top row. Although I don't know why there would be awkward situations between writers and team employees.