Media Stop

Published on December 19th, 2018 | by Landon Buford

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Should The Media Approval Process Be Reevaluated? One Reporter Thinks So

Photo Credit -Metropolitan Fashion Week

 

Earlier this year a reporter by the name of Marvin Chambers, who works for 4.0 Sports.org wrote an intriguing article about the way media credentials are distributed. It is no secret African-American journalists are poorly represented within the media industry most notably at major sporting and other entertainment events.  For example, I was in attendance for the 2017 Women’s Final Four in Dallas TX, and there were only five African American reporters in the South Carolina Gamecocks locker room after they won the National Championship.

In his piece, Chambers asked the question Has the media process reverted to the days of Wendell Smith?  For those of you might not know who Wendell Smith is, he was an African-American sportswriter that covered Jackie Robinson in the 1940s. During this time he was not allowed to be in the press box and instead he was regulated to the bench because of the color of his skin. Smith also covered the Homestead Gray’s and Pittsburgh Crawford’s of baseball’s Negro Leagues for the Courier. Smith attempted to join the Baseball Writers’ Association of America but was denied entry due to his affiliation to the Pittsburgh Courier was not a mainstream paper.

Media credentials are supposed to be issued to organizations to provide stadium access to accredited media personnel covering the teams in the venue. If you are following the rule book to the letter, credentials are not to admit anyone under 18 years of age.

According to Chambers, he has been an accredited media member for the past six years. Covering events such as NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, The Heisman, The Maxwell’s, The Walter Camp Awards, WNBA, NFL Drafts, numerous national functions to name a few.  During his time in the business, Chambers has been taken aback of how event personnel and SIDs go through the approval process.  Chambers has received denial letters with these examples below:

1) Spacing was minimal for the event, while other entities were allowed access after the fact.
2) No credentialing allowed for independent websites, but specific independent sites and college students are allowed access.
3) Claims of universities having a vast media presence, while allowing family members to have media access.

Chambers did say he has been blessed enough over the years to build up his network and some of his colleagues have informed him of open spaces at events. Even though the point of contact has turned him away and individuals within his network were shocked to hear he wasn’t approved.

“So, the question I was left asking myself was it based on my skin color or is it the good old boys’ system who refuse to let you in their club?” said, Chambers.

He would continue:

“The sad part of it all is that most of the media personnel will deny you access if they don’t know your publication rather than researching the publication thoroughly. The truth of the matter is universities and pro entities will let anyone who they deem qualified to gain access and not necessarily the ones who warrant credentials.”

The full story can be seen here.

 


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About the Author

Washington State Graduate Past Interviews include Grammy Award Winner Kenny G, David Banner, WNBA President Lisa Borders, What's Trending's CEO Shira Lazar, Ice Cube, NBC's Chicago PD LaRoyce Hawkins, Family Matters Darius McCrary, En Vogues Maxine Jones, Team USA Track & Field Member Norris Frederick, James Kyson, WNBA Great Lauren Jackson, and more.


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