The least trusted sports media seem to be independent bloggers. When it comes to obtaining a press pass they are usually rejected. The most trust is earned by traditional media outlets such as local radio, newspapers, and TV stations and national sports newspapers and magazines. The following trusted media outlets normally gain press passes and access for their journalists and photographers. Bloggers associated with credible companies such as ESPN.com, Sport Blog, LA Times Sport blog and so on earn less trust as well, but gain more trust than the independent ones.
Independent bloggers tend to be on the lower end of the scale when it comes to trust in media coverage, because sports organizers like to control what is published about their events. Since corporations tend to own stadiums and teams, they want to make sure that what is media said is up to par. They do not like to be seen in a negative light, and like to control the copyright aspect of the coverage. A lot of independent bloggers tend to seem to have added their bias opinions. According to Dereck Hacket, former Sports Media specialist as Southern University and A & M College, “Independent bloggers want advance their careers by gaining media access, and they tend to stop at nothing to do so. However, they are least trusted because they tend to be there for themselves and not the game. They tend to add an extra flair that isn’t necessary in sports coverage. A lot of them add bias opinions, when in sports you’re just supposed to be covering the facts. And even if a blogger is covering the facts, they are still not trusted, because sometimes the facts do not make the sports organizations or the players look good.”
As a formal college sports journalist during my undergrad, I was taught that sports journalist cover the facts. However, this was during a time when social media was not as popular. Now social media is a popular concept and shapes the way that the media is viewed. A lot of the new-age journalists tend to forget to analyze the game accurately, and leave out their opinions. However, in the world of blogging, opinions are open to write about. However, if an independent blogger want’s access to specific events, I believe that they should follow the traditional writing style of traditional media which is to cover the facts only.
Hacket said, “If a Blogger wants to cover a sporting event and add their own opinion, then they need to buy a ticket and sit in the bleachers like everyone else. Most of them are just fans anyway who want free access into the game.”
There is no way of accurately knowing why a blogger wants to gain a press pass into a sporting event. I am sure that a lot of them attend, just because they are fans who want an up and close view of the game. This is exactly why they are the least trusted and do not gain access.
I am guilty myself, of being a secret fan of certain teams, and sometimes desire a way to enter in a game free of charge. As a former active sports blogger, I would meet so many journalists that were covering sporting events just because they were fans. I personally believe whether or not they are a fan, journalists should be covering the events accurately whether than adding their extra opinions.
According to a blog that I recently read Bizofbaseball.com, “Many independent bloggers, such as MLBTradeRumors.com and Yahoo! Sports, have upward of two million pages views daily and represent some of the Internet's heaviest traffic, yet they rank far behind traditional media on trust and are the most likely group to be rejected (29 percent) for a press pass vs. traditional media (8 percent).”
Press passes should have restrictions and should not be freely given to just any bloggers. Sports owners, love media coverage, but they want to have it according to their standards. If a blogger cannot comply to specific rules and standards that traditional follow then they should not be in attendance. Or the bloggers should just pay for their own ticket.
References:
Derek Hacket Former Southern University and A & M
College Sports Media Specialist
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