Having had access to the Blazers and other professional teams in the past I can say having access during practice/pre/post game is where you learn a lot about the players, coaches, and the front office. It makes writing articles with a different opinion a lot easier. Not that access is the end all be all but it makes creating content a lot easier and gives you greater ability to put your own slant on things. That is why traditional media has beat writers. Dave's article was pretty good in my opinion. Everyone draws their own line and props to them for standing up for what they believe in. I never read BE but I read that article. The Blazers get to choose who they give access to I just hope they outline how they will upgrade access for blogs and other media outlets.
The nice thing is that the Blazer Dancers are in a dressing room and not a locker room and as far as I know I will have dressing room access for opening night.
I sat with Dave for a game and can confirm this. He believes BlazersEdge is the best and there is no reason to post on another forum. BTW, he is also one of those guys that thinks the players can hear and see his coaching from the 300 level.
Weren't we supposed to have a press pass for a preseason game? What happened there? I never heard anything else about that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
im not sure why any sane person would say that having access to the players wouldnt yield more interesting information. its all about the little weird snippets guys get from the players themselves.
I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying if someone tells me I have to earn it, I'm not taking my ball and going home.
I've always been a big fan of Skeets and Melas from their early days doing a small article called the Basketball Jones on yahoo. Then they got the job with the Score in Toronto, then the job at NBA.com in Atlanta. These guys were just like many of us, writing their opinions from home on a laptop. They were never connected to the lockerrooms or teams, just passionate about the sport. Now they are called the Starters and have added two guys to the mix. I still prefer the old format they started with but just goes to show, all you have to do is start one and keep pushing the needle.
We asked too late to get it approved. Not only are press passes front and center with them, we'll likely get two for several games so new guys can learn the ropes from guys who've been there before. They've also delivered some seriously good swag for the Rippy's. It's up to us to make the most of this relationship. We've got plenty of time to figure it out.
You can't earn it if you have no idea how to earn it. It's the precedent that this sets. It's a step backward in terms of legitimacy for online journalists. I was one of the first online journalists credentialed by the Blazers. Before Blazers edge even existed. It was a struggle to gain legitimacy and acceptance. This seems like a huge step back in terms of policy and attitude by the organization. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What's odd is that BE isn't really a forum and isn't set up for a free flowing exchange of opinions and ideas like a traditional forum is.
I grant the point, but it's their access. Do you think that by boycotting the new step backwards they'll get what they want back? Or by taking what's given and making the best of it? I guess, frankly, that if there aren't many outside of the O that get "access", I'm in the same boat I was last season. Except that now there's at least a "case-by-case" basis to get some. Before Hollinger, used-to-be bloggers didn't get to be assistant GMs. Before Kaleb and Spoelstra, used-to-be interns didn't get to be NBA head coaches. Before Simmons, normal fans didn't get their own show/network. Maybe it'll be a big waste of time to take the best info we have and try to entertain, educate and stimulate Blazers fans. I've been doing it for years just because I enjoy it, and enjoy hearing others discuss it. If there's even a sliver of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, that's gravy (how's that for mixing metaphors?)
I hope they do lay out how to get access but it's clear why they are doing this. If you get hired by the O they assume you know what the hell you are doing. Because you made your own site doesn't mean you know what you are doing. My guess is that people/sites would be getting nothing if not for this and that's the choice everyone needs to make. Credentials traditionally have been for professional media, it's a new world with these 9-5ers.
In response to the Blazers changing media access, while I do not know if Dave is going about it correctly, I do think he has the right to be pissed that BE is lumped in with all of the other sites. They have put in the work. If they have not distinguished themselves from everyone else, what else do they have to do? If it was the Blazers questioning whether they would be as good without Ben they should have been given a chance to prove themselves instead of starting from scratch.
Dave rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Could be that the blazers just don't really care for the guy? He does seem quite brash and unable to take criticism
That we are going for a purpose, and the passes aren't just free tickets for clueless fans. That what we write after going is good content for this site and blazers.com.
for the record, dave is an asshat for refusing free season tickets to the blazers. even if there is no free beer.
