Golf for Beginners unfortunately proves USGA right in U.S. Open credential deny
I enjoy tweaking the blue blazer crowd at the USGA as much as anyone. And there’s no doubt they make a number of boneheaded decisions over at their headquarters in the New Jersey hinderlands.
But in the case of the Golf for Beginners bloggers being denied media credentials to the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, the USGA made the right call. And Barry and Stacy provide all the evidence needed in their own blog complaining about it.
That’s when they let it slip that they “got plenty of autographs” on an “official US Open hat.” Sorry, if you’re trolling for autographs, you’re not at a stage where you’re ready to cover an event journalistically. It’s either journalist or fawning fan. The two are mutually exclusive from one another. How are you supposed to write or podcast about Phil Mickelson objectively if you’ve just asked him “Pretty please” to scrawl his name on your souvenir?
This isn’t to say that there aren’t much more dubious “journalists” than Barry and Stacy who have Open media credentials this week.
But as far as USGA Director of Media Relations Craig Smith goes, he’s one of the rare good guys in media pr. I worked with Craig a few times while he was in Rutgers’ Sports Information Office and he actually understood that he was supposed to help rather than hinder reporters. Most SIDs at major college programs take the exact opposite approach. And there are stories that could make your blood curl.
Trying to play Craig Smith off as some no-handshake Woody Allen type doesn’t really jive either with what I experienced in my limited dealings with him. It was the day before the U.S. Open. People were no doubt coming at him from a million different directions. He might have been a little frazzled and just missed the extended hand.
I love conspiracy theories as much as the next guy. But sometimes the
whole world’s not against you.
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7 comments
Nothing wrong with getting a few autographs. It's great to be a fan as well as a journalist.
That would not have been the agenda if we had the ability to interview these golfers.
The "missed" extended hand was as obvious as a slap in the face. And we were the only ones in front of him at the time.
We stand firmly behind what we reported and your not being there at the time shows itself in your retort.
What kind of circulation does TGC/b have (hits per day)? If it's high enough, Golf for Beginners should keep trying regardless of the blasts from "your own side."
With credentials, Stacy could develop story lines from the PGA or the Women's Open. That would be a hell of a lot better than the sniping at Wie and Wie Supporters whether MW wins or not.
If TMcD thinks TGC/b is ersatz, he should not let the boss know.
Also, you need to get over this habit of launching personal attacks against media relations people in public. It's unseemly, for one thing, and amateurish. If you want to be a journalist, remember an important journalistic rule: Readers and listeners don't care about what goes on behind the scenes with media. It's self-centered to assume they do. Solve these problems through proper channels.
Instead of harping in public, do what Ron Mon suggests.
And to KIMO, just to clear up a point: When Stacy and Barry, or almost any of our bloggers, apply for credentials, they do so in their own names only. They are basically independent contractors, and don't use the TG name when applying for credentials. That's forbidden here.
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