As long as organized sports have captivated the general public, there have been head-scratching rules governing play and conduct that make zero sense. Up until the start of the 2012-13 college basketball season, the sometimes-arcane rules of golf took the prize for stupidity, but now, the leaders in the clubhouse have been challenged.
Not by the NCAA, the NFL, or Major League Baseball, but by the athletic department at the University of Washington.
Social media is sometimes a polarizing topic, but usually the issues revolve around student-athletes using Facebook and Twitter irresponsibly. Not so in Nirvana country, though, as apparently even the most rogue student-athlete doesn?t hold a candle to the real menaces to society: Sportswriters.
The University of Washington has instituted a policy where credentialed reporters at UW home basketball games cannot tweet more than 20 times from beginning to end. In fact, assorted higher-ups in the athletic department actually reprimanded Todd Dybas of the Tacoma News Tribune for excessive tweeting during the Huskies? season-opening win over Loyola (Md.) earlier this week.
My initial response to this was out-and-out laughter at the institution. I understand wanting to control a message, especially during a time of crisis. But does this mean someone, somewhere, was actually getting paid to count tweets by reporters at the game? Furthermore, how long until the university revokes a reporter?s pass for simply doing his or her job?
A look around the PAC-12 reveals that conference mate USC has a similar policy in place. What sense does this make? If reporters want to cover a team?s games and/or practices, Twitter is a valuable tool to keep fans informed when news breaks. It produces excitement, keeps a program in the news and raises awareness of upcoming games and promotions.
Why on Earth would UW and USC restrict tweets from reporters?
?I think just generally speaking is what we?re trying to do is steer people toward partnerships we have with radio, television and our own web presence,? USC director of social media Jordan Moore said in an interview with website GeekWire earlier this week. ?We don?t want people taken away from that experience.?
So the athletic departments want to restrict the flow of information that?s already readily accessible? There?s no reason to control a particular message when a crisis does not exist.
?We?re always going to protect live descriptions of events,? UW athletic director Scott Woodward said on Dave ?Softy? Mahler?s Seattle-area radio show Tuesday morning. ?That?s something that has always been our right for decades and continues to be so. As technology gets better and better, we?re going to have to be more vigilant about how we do it, but also understand that reporting has changed, too. There?s a fine line there and we?re always going to be cognizant and reasonable.? Continued...
So it?s reasonable to yell at Todd Dybas for doing his job? Would he prefer that Dybas and reporters like him follow Seattle coach Cameron Dollar?s advice and go to Seattle University games, where Dollar says they?d be welcomed with open arms?
None of this makes any rational sense. As a sportswriter, if I see something newsworthy happen at a sporting event I?m covering, you can bet your bottom dollar it?s going to be tweeted. As a fan, if I see something big happen at a game I?m attending or watching on TV, and a trusted reporter says or tweets nothing about it, I tend to lose a bit of faith in that source.
I?d like to think that those in my profession feel the same way. Judging by the outcry spawned by the Twitter policy, it looks that way. One reporter, in covering Washington?s stunning loss to UAlbany, tweeted that the school would probably lose, then expand its media policy so nobody could report it. As outrageous as it may seem, would that really be a shock considering the athletic department?s recent behavior?
It?s my sincere hope that the school revisits and repeals the policy, one that benefits nobody and hinders reporters from doing their jobs. There are more important things to worry about than controlling problems that don?t exist. With some luck, common sense will prevail, not just at Washington and USC, but at all college athletic departments around the country.
Andrew Champagne is a sportswriter at the Saratogian. He can be reached at @AndrewChampagne on Twitter and via email at achampagne@saratogian.com.
Source: http://saratogian.com/articles/2012/11/15/sports/doc50a5a33b9cdf0040774657.txt
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