Aug 05
25
US Open Tennis, a blogger, the media and Roger Federer.
The US Open tennis tournament begins Monday in New York. For me, Peter Bodo is “the man”, when it comes to tennis writing and longevity (OK, maybe Bud Collins too, but trust me, in a very, very, different way) Anyway, Peter has added blogging for Tennis Magazine to his Senior Editor for life, sniffing out material for later stories and general Mr Cool roles. This development is the new face of journalism. Pete started at Wimbledon.
In LA, Tokyo or wherever, we all watched the matches live on cable/network TV; caught results on the official website, then read Bodo minutes later for what really happened. By the time I read Lisa Dillman in the LA Times the next morning (also very good), often that next day's matches were already over.
In fact, I started to get annoyed with Bodo. Hey, the match is finished; its 30 minutes later, where's your take, along with the inside scoop, as well as comments from the press conference. (Or not) Still not up? Damn! It's become more than a first rough draft of history, it's as it happens reporting. And now I find I want it quicker and quicker.
There are problems. Context can be lost, except in the hands of highly skilled guys(big tick here for Pete) Wider research and more voices on issues can get missed. But for blow by blow; the bang bang; its indispensable. That's a big change. We have an astute, (30 years on the job) writer, adding his insight days before a daily paper can match his immediacy.
Big media will have to change to match the challenge. They'll have to blog. They know it too. Recently the LA Times had Diane Pucin do updates every three hours from the month long Tour de France, as well as long pieces of daily reportage/analysis. If blogging isn't added into the journalism mix and run by the major media goodbye consumers.If I've got TV and Bodo why do I need the papers?
Yet remember King Canute. Today that's old line media and their cohorts, the tennis administrators, both trying to manage out information; TV gets this, other TV (cable) gets that, radio can use this, papers that. It's all, you can't report that if we let you into the room, you can't show that if we have the rights, All about control and money. Funny, like everything else, the digital era has created tools that change the way fans can consume this game. Its changed the media cycle. Speeded it up.
Tennis hasn't yet completely figured out the new era's possibilities; the internet's pay for play, video on demand or transmission of every match on every court; (digital TV the same); viewers on cellphones, PDA's, PSP's. Blogs and bloggers adding new dimensions to the carnival.
But Tennis needs to get past that (as do all old line enterprises) Tennis needs to grow. The audience grows the more they see and the more they have access. Bodo puts you on the grounds. Read him and see.