Regarding "She-Fan" Jane Heller, And Access To Information From The Yankees

I just came across a post on River Ave. Blues reviewing Jane Heller's recently released book, Confessions Of A She-Fan.

This part of the post especially caught my attention:

That frustration stems from a Yankee organization intent on limiting access. She tries to go through Jason Zillo, the Yanks’ media gatekeeper, but Zillo, who fields more than his fair share of calls like Heller’s, wants credentialed writers only around the Yanks. She tries every which way to make an end-run around Zillo. She tries to go after Jean Afterman and Suzyn Waldman, connecting to them on that female level. Waldman is responsive; Afterman is not. She befriends John Sterling and runs through her Rolodex searching for ways in to no success. It is, then, no surprise that the Yanks didn’t want Heller’s publishers to advertise her book in the Yankee Magazine this year.

I should have done due diligence about the topic of this book much, much sooner. If so, I would have read it already! In my relatively short time running New Stadium Insider (and before that NYY Stadium Insider), I have noticed these Yankee policies regarding access to information. Basically, they don't provide it unless you are in their fraternity of credentialed writers, largely working for an antiquated and nearly defunct medium. After all, only speaking to those guys gives the team greater control and a better chance of churning out stories that are part of their PR machine.

This is a hobby, but occasionally I'd like to be professional about it and get some first-hand information. Why don't we review some of the things that I requested official information from the Yankees about:

• I asked them for comment about the relocation fiasco. No response
• I asked them for comment about the obstructed view fiasco in February. No response
• I asked them for comment about the Linda Ruth Tosetti story. No response
• I am currently asking them for comment regarding a story I am working on. No response

I have tried to contact the Yankee media relations office by phone and by email. I have tried to contact official Yankee spokespeople at the Rubenstein PR firm. My efforts were futile and my requests fell upon deaf ears.

While my blog is not one of the credentialed media sources of the Yankees, thousands of people who visit the stadium end up here when looking for information about Yankee Stadium. Wouldn't it be in the Yankees best interests if they created some sort of dialogue between the two parties? Wouldn't it provide me with the means to disperse accurate information instead of having to write one-sided stories? Wouldn't it prevent stories read by thousands of Yankee fans from being based on speculation and unnamed sources in the ticket office? There once was a time when fan-blogs were all about opinions and they were read by very few people. Times have changed and the media landscape has evolved. A large majority of people receive their information from blogs - mainstream media or not.

At the end of the day, I don't want access and I don't want credentials. I know my role. I am a fan of the Yankees and I write about the experience of being a fan of the Yankees. It just so happens that my outlet for doing so has become a source of information for upwards of 40,000 people monthly. Since what I write is apparently read by more people than my mother (who I have banned from commenting, for obvious reasons), I occasionally seek information. I want to be able to pass this information along to the readers of New Stadium Insider, so they can go along their merry way knowing that they are as informed as possible. Is that so much to ask?
Read the full post, after the jump

MLB extends Online Press Box Access Offer to Stadium Insider

Some good news to report on the MLB Online Press Box issue that I posted about last week. Upon contacting someone at MLB, they have reversed the decision to decline our access to the Online Press Room.

So, where does this get us?

With an approved registration, accredited media members will gain instant electronic access to information that includes daily game notes and statistical reports, current and archived press releases, conference call and satellite coordinate information, public relations contacts, press kits, media regulations and historical information.

In addition, this site gives media outlets the opportunity to download hi-resolution logos for MLB, its jewel events, and the 30 Major League clubs as well as headshots of players, coaches, umpires and selected industry executives.

Score one for the blogosphere, as this enables us to provide accurate information, even if media representatives from the MLB teams likely won't talk to us.

Talk about it in the Stadium Insider Forums!

Tax Season is here - Save By E-Filing Your Taxes and tell 'em Stadium Insider sent you - Only $19.95! Read the full post, after the jump

Open Source Content vs. Micropayments - and the continuing battle for credibility as a blogger

Yesterday, Dave over at Fangraphs wrote a story about the demise of The Rocky Mountain News, and how it was a sign of changing times. Like the software industry, he wrote, baseball information is becoming more "open source" and will likely be available as free content for years to come. Rob Neyer agreed, Jeff Fletcher? Not so much.

Today, Jake over at Bucco Blog offered another contrarian view, predicting micropayments as the future for baseball content. All of this is a lot to digest, but is definitely interesting reading on a lazy Saturday.

I mention all of this here because something Jake at Bucco Blog mentioned in his story directly affects this blog. Recently, MLB closed access to the MLB online pressbox, a site that used to give any fan access to interesting MLB generated statistics, and more importantly the media guides for all 30 teams. Recently, Stadium Insider broke the story about the support beams obstructing views in many seats down the left field line at the New Yankee Stadium. Upon posting the blog entry, the story took off, even reaching the radio on WFAN New York (they actually credited this humble little weblog on the air). Although writing this blog is a hobby and I opted not to enter the field of journalism, I do have a 4 year degree in journalism from The Pennsylvania State University. For that reason, I felt obliged to have journalistic integrity and give the Yankees the opportunity to respond to the photo and to the claims of obstructed views by a fan who had toured the Stadium.

As I had done before, I tried to access the online pressbox, but it asked me for a username and password. Of course, I didn't have one, but luckily there was a link to register for access. I was obviously naive in my optimism, because within the hour, I received the following message from the MLB Pressbox

Dear Ross

We have evaluated your application and determined that you do not meet the necessary criteria for membership in MLB Pressbox. If you believe that you have been denied access in error please contact us at pressboxhelp@website.mlb.com or call 1-866-800-1275

Regards,
MLB Pressbox

I quickly responded with the following email, hoping that an actual person was reviewing these requests and would be open to an appeal:

To Whom It May Concern:

Yesterday, I broke a story on http://newstadiuminsider.com about obstructed view seats at the new Yankee Stadium:

http://newstadiuminsider.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-stadium-same-old-obstructed-views.html

I would like to be able to reach the Yankees for comment about this, but I am not able to access the 2009 press guide with Media Relations contacts. I understand that you must be diligent in approving/denying to prevent the general public from having access to things only the media should see. However, I have a blog that has been read by over 10,000 unique people in the past 24 hours. For the sake of journalistic credibility, I want to give the Yankees a chance to give their side of the story.

Your response would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I felt that it was a well-crafted email and it made perfect sense. While this blog is my hobby, I also am committed to continuing the crusade of respect for blogs by following the same rules any other journalist would follow when breaking a news story. Sadly, I never heard back.

Last night, while messing around with my new favorite social networking tool TweetDeck, I came across the Twitter account for MLBlogs. I shared the above story with whoever was manning the twitter for obvious reasons - he was in charge of the blogs for MLB. Below is the correspondence:

mlblogs: sorry -- i write articles for MLB.com and run MLBlogs. I am not sure I can be much helpful [sic] to you on that front.

Me: You can help get media relations people in MLB to recognize blogs as legit news sources and not just disregard us!

Me: Sorry I'm on a soapbox tonight - I just figured being that you run MLBlogs, you would understand my frustration!

mlblogs: not exactly on same page with you, some could be credentialed in future, but most bloggers by far lack journalism education that's necessary

mlblogs: i go into this all the time, you should start an MLBlog and join my community blog where I have JBlog School and counsel bloggers on such.

mlblogs: j-law, j-ethics, newspaper reporting - many crucial elements required to have writers interviewing sources with responsible journalism

mlblogs: a blog does not necessarily equal a journalism education/background that typically is going to lead to credentialing. just being upfront w u

mlblogs: but it is discussed at industry meetings the last 2 decembers and more and more there will be some kind of development as lines blur.

Me: I hear you - For the record, I have a journalism degree from Penn State University. That being said, I didn't enter the field.

Me: I run my blog as a hobby. However, when I had a story, I wanted to give the Yankees a chance to comment.

Me: I think that discouraging access to the media relations contact #'s to bloggers enhances speculating and misinformation.

mlblogs: [email redacted]@mlb.com may be able to further advise on MLB position on credentialing. I don't know enough about it further. u can use my name

Me: Thanks for the info though, it is very interesting and I'd love to learn more about how MLB is responding to these issues.

Me: Sorry to get you off topic. I don't ever want credentials, I just wanted to be responsible and get both sides of a story.

mlblogs: my focus is on building the best blogging community for people to have an outlet for their baseball posting, and it includes authors/others

I apologize for the choppy nature of that conversation - each message back and forth had to be under 140 characters. Ah, the trials and tribulations of Twitter. There is some interesting information there. Obviously I came out of nowhere with a larger social issue than is typically communicated via a service limiting correspondence to 140 characters. Therefore, I am not immediately going to brand MLBlogs part of the "old guard," trying to hold blogs down. However, I was a bit disappointed that he immediately questioned my journalistic background,simply because I write for a blog. This falls in line with the obvious MLB policy, since I was declined access to the MLB online pressbox.

The bottom line here? There appears to be some confusion between "access" and "information." The MLB believes they are protecting the integrity of journalism by preventing access to their media relations contacts. I believe I am protecting the integrity of journalism on my blog by seeking information from the media relations contacts. It seems like both sides are after the same result, but have completely different ideas on how to achieve that result.

I don't ever want credentials, I just don't want to be treated as a second-class citizen because I write for a blog. One thing is for sure, the mainstream media vs. blogosphere battle is not going away any time soon.

Talk about it in the Stadium Insider Forums! Read the full post, after the jump