Via Red Reporter, it appears that Redleg Nation requested credentials for the press conference introducing the new ownership and was quickly denied. While I appreciate Redleg Nation’s frustration with the situation, I’m not sure that they did themselves, or other bloggers any favors in the aftermath:
We had no expectation that the Reds would grant the credentials; this organization is in the dark ages in nearly every respect, so why should anyone believe that they would be on the forefront with respect to new media? Our only goal in requesting these credentials was to get the Reds on the record, and we have:
The Cincinnati Reds are hostile to online media.
I’m not sure that calling the team you are trying to gain access to hostile is really helping the cause, especially after admitting you were only doing it to get them on the record. I can’t help but think that instances like this are one of the reasons clubs are hesitant to grant access. Bloggers get to say what they want, when they want, without an editor. I can certainly understand their resistance.
Does this mean that I think the Reds were right in denying access? Absolutely not. This was a perfect opportunity to grant access on a test basis. These weren’t game credentials, it was just permission to attend a feel-good presser. I think the Reds struck out in this case. As was also pointed out in the article:
This site and others in the Reds blogosphere are the very heart and soul of…well, of Redleg Nation, the community of Reds fans. We are more passionate about the Cincinnati Reds than anyone around, and we produce more Reds-related content than any press outlet — and the Reds simply have no use for us. They sweep us aside as if we don’t matter.
Teams should be reaching out to their most passionate fans, and blog operators definitely qualify. From afar, I just happen to think that in this scenario neither side handled the situation well.
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