The Christian Science Monitor has an article covering the pioneering efforts in sports blogging that Ted Leonsis has initiated here in DC. Bloggers like the guys at OFB and The Peerless and Japers' Rink have been able to contribute to Caps news. But some people haven't been too thrilled with the idea. Says Henshel;
There are some [newspaper reporters] who regard it as fans being given too much freedom and intruding on what has up until now been a very exclusive club...It seems to be a bit of a generational thing, actually. Younger reporters are maybe more willing to put up with it than people who have been in the business for 20 or 30 years.
While that club may have gotten bigger, it hasn't changed much.
When I joined Off Wing Opinion last winter as an intern, I was excited to write about the sport I love, and to be able to cover games and go down to the locker room after and talk to the players I'd only previously dreamed of meeting. But blogging doesn't work like that. I had to put in several months of writing from my dorm room and covering Capitals practices at Kettler Capitals IcePlex before I was invited by Eric to help him cover a game. I, like any blogger that gets to sit in the box, had to prove myself before I was given the opportunity to cover a game.
Was it all I thought it would be? Pretty much. But you're not only a fan. You are a professional. When I covered my first few games I knew I was the new guy, the young kid. I stayed to the side and simply recorded the Q & A's done by the beat writers and other regulars. There's no gushing over players or asking for autographs. There's tough questions and thoughtful insight. There's no room for awe, and certainly no jerseys, hats, or other paraphernalia. We wear dress clothes and carry voice recorders or notepads. Since my first game, I have covered several others, and have come to know several writers and Caps media relations staffers. I have yet to see bloggers and writers treated differently or one considered better or worse than the other. We are all professionals.
Someday if I run into Mr. Leonsis I need to stop him and thank him. Because without his vision, I wouldn't be here doing what I love.
So while the club has changed a little, when the new members are just as dedicated and professional, and are helping to spread the news, the club becomes not only bigger, but better.
