A little nugget today over at The Good Phight by Liz Roscher, who dug up this press invite to an Iron Pigs offseason event featuring Gabe Kapler, Nick Williams and others:
IronPigs Charities will be hosting its eleventh annual Phillies Winter Banquet presented by The Air Products Foundation, Abarta Coca-Cola Beverage Company, and Service Electric Cable TV & Communications on Thursday, Jan. 18, at Sands Events Center in Bethlehem. As in the past, there will be a media session prior to the event from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Working media* is invited to attend the session for interview and photo opportunities with our featured guests, who appear below:
Gabe Kapler, Phillies Manager
Gary Jones, IronPigs Manager
Nick Williams, Phillies Outfielder and Former IronPig
Mark Leiter Jr, Phillies Pitcher and Former IronPig*Per request of the Phillies, bloggers will not be credentialed for this event.
God forbid bloggers soil the sanctity of an offseason event at the Sands convention center.
It’s almost like the Phillies don’t want enterprising bloggers asking Gabe about sunning his balls and freeing his boys through the wonderful benefits of luscious coconut oil. Surely no credentialed media member would broach such a topic.
This is my all-time favorite Philly sports media moment: pic.twitter.com/n9CEhKrPzA
— Kyle Scott (@CrossingBroad) November 2, 2017
Oh.
Liz, rightfully, dug in against the Phillies, specifically naming head of PR Bonnie Clark, who, over the years, has had a less than cozy relationship with blogs, including this one, as the person responsible for this. I’m not sure where, or from whom, this directive came, but I can say that, last year, the Phillies had made it a priority to embrace new and social media, something that was long overdue.
Leslie Gudel had reached out to me about doing some Phillies stuff for us. I was intrigued, but warned her that the Phillies likely wouldn’t be on board since I was of the opinion (I think rightfully) that they mostly hated what we did. That turned out not to be the case– or at least the Phillies were willing to start with a clean slate, and welcoming in Leslie, who obviously had as much access as anyone during the WFC years, was a good, safe way to dip their toes into working with blogs without, you know, having me in there snapping pictures of jock straps, because obviously that’s what bloggers do. We had no issues, and in fact the Phillies were pleased with the mostly positive content we put out. Leslie even wrote a piece – carefully filtered through the Phillies’ director of marketing, Michael Harris – about them turning over a new leaf and joining the 2010s.
Similarly, Kevin has been covering the Sixers on an almost daily basis while they’re at home, and I’m hard-pressed to find someone who is doing a better job with their access. Anthony SanFilippo, who obviously used to work for the Flyers, is doing the same. Not only have there not been problems, but I know those teams actually appreciate the type of coverage we’ve provided and are able to separate my sometimes colorful nature from the work that Kevin and Anthony do.
So, this little press release comes as a surprise, especially in light of what seemed to be a change in direction. It’s also downright backward-thinking. What separates working media from bloggers? In case the Phillies hadn’t noticed, the mainstream media industry is not what it once was. Longtime Phillies reporters Kevin Cooney and Ryan Lawrence were let go by their respective publications last year. Upstart online-focused outlet Billy Penn just laid of its sports person. And Philly.com is behind a paywall that I would be shocked to learn is a success. Those are the working reporters. That doesn’t make blogs or bloggers any better or worse, but trying to draw a professional distinction between the two is like Bam Bam fraternizing with dinosaurs but not the newfangled crocodile because one was once big and powerful (though rapidly approaching extinction) and the other is smaller and kind of gross but may stick around for a little while.* The Phillies are quite literally living in the stone age if they think there is a clear distinction between the two. Never mind the fact that they have been teetering on irrelevance for a few years now and, like the Flyers have pretty much always done, should be thrilled to get basically any publicity at this point.
This is all perhaps muddied by the existence of Howard Eskin, who sort of fills the space between relevance and obscurity like water seeping into the cracks of an old pipe. He has a Saturday morning radio show (I think?) and maybe works for a TV station, but mostly just attends press conferences to get himself off and glad-hand with coaches and players, who pretend to act like they know who he is. He’s the one who broached ridiculousness in Kapler’s introductory press conference when he asked about coconut oil (truth be told, I wanted to hear the answer). He’s the one who routinely shits on the Sixers, often without merit or factual basis, and then shows up at practice trying to befriend Joel Embiid, which I can assure you doesn’t sit well with a forward-thinking Sixers front office that has little time for relics like Eskin.
The point is, there are plenty of dipshits in mainstream media. And in blogging. Perhaps I’m one! But at this point you could make an argument that there is better, more inventive work being done in new media than there is amongst the dwindling unkempt masses of yesteryear. And yet, the Phillies still appear to be choosing sides in the matter. I wonder if they realize there’s, like, four real reporters left.
*I may have just butchered millions of years of history, but you get the point. I think. Right, Bam Bam?
Righto.
46 Responses
It’s almost as if they can’t see that the future is esports.
Can’t see it!
So you are jealous that Eskin has better access than you .
Ah, no. We have two credentialed reporters. I’m just pointing out that this is dumb.
But no Eagles credentials????
Jim Adair has one. And he has a huge penis.
We didn’t ask for one. Training camp started before the site relaunch, and since there are already like 75 people down at NovaCare, we didn’t think it was priority #1.
Yep. And I never asked Mila Kunis for date. That’s totally the only reason we never went out.
* a date
The lie detector determined that was a lie.
Let me get this straight.
You don’t want a credential from the biggest sports team in the city..the eagles.
but you have some for the phillies?
I’m assuming that this is lower priority than say packing illegally made tshirts for sale?
You don’t make sense kinker.
Why would they want to credential someone whose job is to criticize and create sensation
in order to ‘drive’ people to their web site.
Don’t you have Leslie Gudel working here?
maybe they can drag the rotting corpse of bill conlin down to clearwater for spring training while they’re at it.
So you’re upset you didn’t get an invite and that warranted a post?
If you think I have any interest in covering an offseason minor league event, you obviously aren’t familiar with this site. But my point still stands. This is dumb.
So somehow this article is supposed to shame them into ‘inviting’ bloggers?
Or is it supposed to make ‘blogger commenters’ ‘take up arms’ and boycott the phillies?
Or maybe you just want to feel better by expressing yourself?
Or maybe you just want to drive traffic to your website by posting
a really sensationalized article?
You obviously intended to get some kind of response from people by writing
this article. What was it kyle?
Bingo. Any intention to, you know, actually improve the quality of this website or the podcast?
Any intention to stop commenting under 50 different names?
Any intention to stop making illegal shirt?
Why are you complaining Kyle?….That’s 50 extra of your beloved clicks from this one guy alone!
Let my mommy come. I’m 11!!!!!
Yeah totally surprised the Phillies aren’t clamoring to invite the blog that thought it was okay to post a photo of my fucking newborn baby or share such Phillies related gems as “Which prospect has the hotter girlfriend?” complete with creepy as fuck social media stalking photo collection.
I remember those days… that shit was creepy
But I still read it, so what does that make me, I suppose?
i think which prospect has a hotter girlfriend is shit people would actually read.
[If you think I have any interest in covering an offseason minor league event, you obviously aren’t familiar with this site. But my point still stands. This is dumb.]
Riiiiight. You just spent about 500 words to tell us you have no interest in this event. Sure. Gotcha.
Favorite cheese steak place everyone??? Working on a new original post
Kyle,
A better approach would have been to no blog about the slight to bloggers, but instead contact the Phillies and ask them why they choose to ban bloggers? Perhaps ask them to reconsider. I think you are partly making their point their point by complaining about it in a blog. Howard being a douche doesn’t strengthen your argument.
I’m not campaigning for access, I’m commenting on what seems like a bad decision. That’s part of what we do. If they don’t want us, that’s fine, but a blanket “no blogs” rule is a bad decision.
No one cares about bloggers or the comments left on their blog
except the people who are trying to make money from the blog.
I still don’t know why kinker left CBS..if he was a line producer……to come here to CB.
care to explain Kinker?
Other than them confirming your total irrelevance, why is it a bad decision?
Please explain.
0.0…. no douche chills related to this post (although some in your responses to the comment section)…. “God forbid bloggers soil the sanctity of an offseason event at the Sands convention center”…. yes, you get it!! A professional sports team can and should have standards…. you don’t meet them! This doesn’t apply to all bloggers, but definitely most of them and absolutely you! You don’t deserve credentials (or access) to any professional sporting event (or major college events for that matter). You host and sell tickets to Ugly Christmas Sweater parties…. you steal ideas for t-shirts, print them, pack them from your house, and sell them…. that is your speed…. stick with it! Use the time (you’re not receiving) planning your next “beef and beer”…. and keep underachieving relative to that Villanova degree. Think about all of this in you Audi A4.
*your not you
If you guys hired Aton Shander you would get credentials. Nobody turns down Atonomous.
what happened to Leslie? why doesn’t she write here any more?
Eskin is the sideline reporter for the Eagles. He would have a ton of access plus he old as dirt.
Leslie had press credentials last year from Wildfire Radio. Thats why she was allowed in.
I can’t remember teh last time i’ve seen a Leslie Gudel article.
May 2017?
Yea, her time here was short lived .Hope her nap nanny takes off LOL
You didn’t invite us!
And how could you hold a Phillies event without inviting the most important member of the team–Little ol’ yours truly?
I’m not talking baseball in the middle of the NFL Playoffs, bo. The Bagster. It’s a dumpster in a bag™.
So is a Primo hoagie
4 for 4 guy
Jeesus H. Christ…..
none, i have ad blocker.