Caps Nut has a comprehensive post on how he sees the media credentials issue. There isn't a whole lot that hasn't been discussed elsewhere, but it's still a valuable look into how one blogger sees this as a hobby, and why he'd like to keep it that way:
Now if Ted were to invite me to spend a night in his Owner's box, as he has with other bloggers, I would more than likely accept the invitation but as for applying for media credentials for the same game, I don't think I ever will. Why?[...]
I simply don't want to put in the time it would require for me to build the contacts that I would need to provide better coverage than the traditional outlets do. I prefer to be the guy on the sidelines. I see nothing wrong with that.
And neither do I. If there's anything that puzzles me about a lot of the critiques of the current proposal, it's that some folks seem to think I'd like to shoehorn every blogger into the same box when that's simply not the case.
But what is happening is that the traditional media outlets that cover the sport are cutting back on their coverage, and we all know that nature abhors a vacuum. Caps Nut doesn't think many folks would take advantage of this, and at first, he might be right. But over the long run, the league won't have much choice but to work with the folks who are interested in doing something more than just watching from the stands.
For some, it might mean applying for media credentials and becoming a regular presence in the press box and the locker room. For others, it might just mean being able to call the PR office and getting their phone calls returned. Others might just want access to the game day notes that the league produces (a complaint that I've already heard), or be alerted to an interesting conference call that the league might be holding.
Why shouldn't there be room for all those choices? Why shouldn't a number of options exist for folks to choose from? And why shouldn't some folks look at it all, and want to leave their options open to change their minds later on?
We also shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that hockey's situation is unique. One of the folks I asked for some advice from when I put together the guidelines was Beau Dure from USA Today. At the end of his note to me, here's what he wrote:
It
But once you’ve made your case, and it’s clear that the media outlet of your choice isn’t listening, what do you do next?
Move up here, Eric. We’re getting daily coverage of the Leafs pre-training camp skates.