Goat Riders vs. Major League Baseball
An edict to the bigwigs in the Cubs organization and Major League baseball: Behold the mighty blogging community and cower in fear of our wrath, you effing wusses!
As Al Yellon recently reported in his blog, MLB doesn't like us. MLB wants nothing to do with us, and they have spread the word to the various baseball teams: shut us out. No interviews, no contact, nothing.
I'm not exactly sure what baseball is trying to accomplish with this. Some are speculating that it has to do with their inability to control the message. If that's true, then it really says a lot about the quality and independence of "legitimate" journalists who are apparently shills for the company line and unable or unwilling to say anything critical of baseball. After all, if they do then they might get shut out, and then they're just bloggers looking from the outside in like us.
Others think that baseball wants nothing to do with us because they can't make money off of us, which is just untrue. The blogging community is taking control of the spin, and if we're down on the product, then our readers are more likely to be down on the product. If we have a good relationship with the product, then our readers are going to feel closer to it and will interact more. And, y'know, buy stuff.
Now, on one hand, this matters to us. On another, it doesn't.
On the one hand, it matters not because we are expecting to someday be accepted by baseball or the journalist community, but because it's a slight against us for no real reason. It also matters because we care about the game of baseball and some of us feel that it is headed in the wrong direction.
Here's a helpful hint to any baseball bigwig who's reading this and thinks that he or she knows better: if you want to make money from your product, then you need to promote it. Denying potential buyers access to the product - by blacking out local games even if they sell out or come damn close to it, or by reducing the number of television viewers who can subscribe to a MLB package, or by cutting back on the number of media outlets who can promote your proudct - is just a dumb move. For as much money as baseball has made in the past decade, it could make a lot more. It is distressful and a little shocking that the people running the show are not interested in promoting it better and growing their audience.
On the other hand, it doesn't really matter. While there are certain bloggers and websites that always strive toward that ever elusive credibility, becoming credible really isn't the point. We're not here because we hope to one day interview our favorite players, although that would be really cool. We're here because we're passionate about the team we follow, enough to the point where we are willing to dedicate many hours a day toward creating content often times promoting that team, even if they give us little reason to. So, contrary to the title of this post and the first line, we're not going to fight MLB on this. We've already tried. I wrote up an article about that which has yet to see the light of day, but I just may publish it here before much longer.
In the end, our goal at Goat Riders is to simply increase our readership, and our means is by giving you the best possible content. So, come for the photoshops, but stay for the articles, which we produce daily, and which are often funnier and more insightful than the conveyer-belt crap they spew from the Tribune Tower.
And a quick call-out to the journalists and organizational people who read this blog: do any of you have the guts to either comment here or EMail us about your thoughts on this? I know that many Chicago journalists have a pretty negative sentiment about bloggers, but why exactly? And how do you organizational types feel? Keep in mind that we have never published the content of an EMail without consent, so anything you say in private will stay in private. We're just curious. Fill us in. Except you, Paul Sullivan. Don't waste our time. Send your EMails to riders @ (no spam) goatriders . org, or death @ (spam sucks I'm talkin about the food) goatriders . org, or cubs @ (seriously, how can anybody eat spam) facetious . org. Or don't. It doesn't really matter.
Craig
"I know that many Chicago journalists have a pretty negative sentiment about bloggers, but why exactly?"
I think there's a general negative sentiment toward bloggers in general from the media.
It's elitism.
It's the fact that you're running in their turf and, as is often the case, doing a better job than they are. And for free, no less.
You look at morons like Mariotti and the crap they're getting paid to write and say, and you can see that *anybody* can be a journalist.
Just don't tell the journalists & media that.
Clute
Well said Kurt-
I'm not sure I'm informed enough to know if the media and MLB really do hate us, but they have to realize that bloggers are building a bigger and bigger following.
I think the loyal fan understands that bloggers, although sometimes uninformed, care passionately about the team they follow and like you said, devote many hours to post articles about their team without any compensation.
Fans feel they can trust the bloggers to at least be straight with them, not to mention the occasional sarcasism and humor.
Let's face it, when the media starts to try and incorporate blogging into their agenda, you know they understand how effcetive bloggers have become.
theantigoat
Media? Who cares what they have to say? You basically nailed it Kurt, Clute too, for that matter. Do you know how long it's been since I read any newpaper print? Years. Probably 5 or so. You see, I can get my cubbies fix from an unbias source. From someone that's not monetarily driven. Not only that, but I get to share my point of view. My voice gets heard, whereas with the "journalist's" I get force fed an edited, politically correct, cookie cutter load of bs. Bottom line, blogs are entertaining. The newspaper journalist's offer a horribly vanilla, repetative, bias rendition of an entertaining subject. Bloggers rock!!!
Byron
The link to BCB seems to be broken. Does anyone know the correct link, or have a cached version of the page?
Karl
Hey guys - any opinions on going after Bernie Williams? That would of course be contingent upon making a trade, or no?
Kevin
Byron - the link's fixed now, it was just a typo.
Anyway!
I find this Chicago(/US?) hostility towards bloggers a bit strange; here in the UK blogging is definitely becoming a mainsream media. The Guardian led the charge by having journalist blogs, an idea I see on most news sites in the US too, and now they actively hire bloggers as columnists. The BBC were quick to follow and now it's a standard aspect of news here.
I think blogging has become a valid entry into writing for Brits, and I know of at least one guy who freely admits he only blogs to catch the eye of newspaper editors. Although much as I'd like to pretend I'm shocked at the attitudes of US media outlets it's probably about on par with the UK a couple of years ago.
From the publishing side of things blogs are potential lost readers. At the very least blogs serve as a news aggregator with a bias. Bloggers have a lot of power where the traffic goes based on that; a lot of management only see the potential for damage rather than reward and so react accordingly.
From an industry perspective (MLB in this case) it is largely about proving credibility whether you want to or not. A few years ago bloggers couldn't keep any secrets, but now a lot have started to understand that if they're happy to play by the same rules as the traditional media they get the same perks/access. Of course the problem is a lot of industries still have the old image that bloggers will prattle on about anything as soon as they discover it just to be the first to break the story.
cherigrace
I think it's because to some -ummm- middle aged or older folks (such as myself) blogging is a relatively new concept- as I've said before- goatriders was the first blog I read and I had to ask my daughter what a blog was (hanging my head in shame here) But seriously, when I have mentioned blogs at work, I'm suprised how many people- many younger than I- still don't really know what a blog is.
That being said, people are ucomfortable with change and/or anything new. Your sixtyish something bigwig may not want to admit he just doesn't get the whole "blogging" thing because he's never taken the time to figure out exactly what it is (or read a few)
It's the wave of the future, though, and won't be stopped any more than when email began and I used to say "But writing letters is so much more personal! I'm going to keep writing letters!" Do I write letters? Noooooo.
Keep on keeping on, oh ye goat writing riders!
Jason R.
While I do think that it's ridiculous that MLB and the newspapers are unwilling to embrace the blogging community, I don't think we should get ahead of ourselves. The vast majority of blogs, and more often than not, get the news that they comments on from traditional news. I'd like to think that this site is more than a "snarky remark" site, but still. We would not have much to write about without the reporters who gather the news.
And that's where I think the news papers have the advantage. They "gather" news. They just tend to be sort of bad at commenting on it.
Anyway, there's room for both. I just wish they'd realize that.
Karl
Kevin's comment hits the nail on the head: "From the publishing side of things blogs are potential lost readers." I have a degree in photoj, but I decided not work in the field, except for some freelance work here and there. I have many friends in the business, including one who manages a startup magazine. The local newspaper won't accept advertising and prohibits anyone on staff from contributing to any publication that it considers to be a competitor. It's absurd. I would go so far as to say it's a bit cutthroat.... Blogs seem to be treated like any other competitor as far as I can tell. The snarkiness may add to it, but not terribly so. Bottom line, as with most things, is $$$. Circulation drives add rates.
humdingerhodo
It's one of those situations where old and new media bash heads. The old guard is scrambling to deal with it like any new innovation and eventually a temporary equilibrium will be found. Right now, it's a kneejerk reaction for all of them: fight or flight.