LPGA correct not to issue media credentials to bloggers

At the risk of alienating my fellow TG bloggers, in particular, Barry and Stacy Solomon, I have to say I agree with the LPGA’s stance not to issue credentials to tournaments for bloggers.

Now, this is nothing personal against Barry and Stacy. Their blogs for us are top-notch in quality and chock full of interesting information. We are lucky to have them aboard.

But, not all golf bloggers rise to their standard. Let’s be honest here: a great many bloggers have absolutely no journalistic experience or expertise. What does it take to be a blogger? A PC and a mouth. Nothing more.

Bloggers can report anything, without going through the usual checks and balances journalists are taught in Journalism 101. Bloggers can be notoriously unreliable, inaccurate and even vindictive. Who holds them to account? Nobdody. Who’s the blogging ombudsman? No one.

Besides, there are so many of them, they’re like stray dogs. If the LPGA, or any sports sanctioning body, started credentialing bloggers, they’d be overwhelmed with a bunch of mediocre, know-nothing bloggers.

The general public stands up for bloggers because they can become one without any work or knowledge. Most likely, those who cry for the rights of bloggers have some anarchism in their backgrounds.

Now, I do agree that some bloggers deserve respect and credentials – Stacy and Barry, for example – and the LPGA and others should do their homework and find out how many millions of readers TG bloggers, among others, reach.

But, that’s asking them to do a lot of work, and I’ve found most sports sanctioning bodies are pretty lazy, like a lot of bloggers I have read.