The Anti-Media Media

Cheering in the press box, regardless of your affiliation, is a little tacky and doesn't seem very professional in my book.

But that's just my opinion.

You're right, it's not a professional thing for a sportswriter to do. But they're not sportswriters. Dan Snyder gets to decide who he puts in the pressbox, and if he wants to put biased fans in there, then that's his prerogative.

Those guys are in the pressbox because there is a big demand for their product. They put out biased opinions on the Redskins through their site and the column published weekly on Redskins.com.

If Lenny P and Peter King can spew their biased anti-Skins venom all over ESPN and SI, why can't Dan Snyder counter by providing biased pro-Skins material?

I'm all for it, give the fans what they want. Ideally we'd like objective reporting. But if our choices are material biased against the Redskins, or material biased for the Redskins, you know what I'd like to be reading.

My only concern is how this reflects on Snyder's already shaky reputation with the media.

Now there's fans cheering on the team in the press box and this is obviously not sitting well with the media who already has it out for the Skins & Snyder, plus it's not going to do much for the image of fan sites in general.

It's certainly Snyder's prerogative who he wants to put in the press box, but they shouldn't be surprised when there is some backlash.

I'm not real familiar with Extremeskins (always prefererred this site's more subdued discussions to Extreme's shouting matches) but it would definately bother me if Redskins Adminsistrators are posting there psuedonymously so as to attack and discredit reporters, and I think this article alleges this pretty credibly. Moreoever, this would make the team's purchase of the board particularly insidious.

As for the rants against the media in this thread, I've always been impressed with the Post and Times' coverage. Although not always pro-Skin biased or whatever, I've found it in the past to be generally reliable, well-written, and full of useful information. Although they've often been critical over the years, let's not forget that the Skins have been a losing team for over a decade.

Finally, I'm glad to like a team with the history and local devotion that warrants the amount of coverage the Redskins receive - I mean, there could be no stories at all for us to compalin about

Oh yeah, one last thing. There is something very creepy about rewarding posters who go after reporters with pressbox tickets. Like the sports version of the Gestapo or something. Ick.

I'm wouldn't be surprised if Redskins' brass are posting anonymously on extreme - or here for that matter. It's a time tested practice. For example, I'm actually the ghost of Jack Kent Cooke.

If the Redskins muckety-mucks have decided that their time is best spent on chat boards writing far-fetched conspiracy theories about the way their team is viewed, then bully for them. In fact, I'd like an application, and I'll need to put in for back pay.

You're right, it's not a professional thing for a sportswriter to do. But they're not sportswriters. Dan Snyder gets to decide who he puts in the pressbox, and if he wants to put biased fans in there, then that's his prerogative..

If they're not sportswriters, they don't belong in the pressbox. That's why it's called the "PRESS" box.

This is particularly irking to me, as I worked my butt off for three years trying to establish myself as a "fan reporter"-- spending my own hard-earned cash and that of TheWarpath faithful, using vacation time away from my wife that could certainly have been spent on more relaxing endeavors, pulling all-nighters trying to get my camp reports published in a timely manner, not to mention the inordinate amount of butt-kissing required to get any assistance from the Redskins media relations staff, and the tremendous amount of composure and self-control required to avoid ruffling the feathers of the folks who make their living as reporters.

How was I rewarded? I was told I was no longer welcome as a fan reporter-- by none other than the very same folks who are now foisting these obnoxious, anti-media, pseudo-reporter fans upon the professional media members.

I was lucky enough to get to spend a day in the pressbox for the Redskins-Ravens scrimmage back in August-- only because I was a reporter for The Daily Progress-- but I conducted myself as professionally as I could, and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible to those who were there trying to earn a living. That's how I always behaved around Redskins Park, because that's how I would want a visitor to behave in my workplace.

How would you like it if you had people running around in your office, jumping up and down, yelling and shouting-- when you're trying to focus and get work done on deadline? Most of us would probably at some point want to grab them and toss them headlong out the nearest window. I'd imagine that's how the professional media members in that pressbox felt when they were confronted with such unwelcome behavior.

I imagine if I had known that all the Redskins wanted out of a "fan reporter" was someone who could be as obnoxious and inconsiderate as possible around the professional reporters, I could have played that role quite naturally, and TheWarpath.net would've become the Redskins' official message board long ago.

Shame on me for trying to do the right thing.

If they're not sportswriters, they don't belong in the pressbox. That's why it's called the "PRESS" box.

This is particularly irking to me, as I worked my butt off for three years trying to establish myself as a "fan reporter"-- spending my own hard-earned cash and that of TheWarpath faithful, using vacation time away from my wife that could certainly have been spent on more relaxing endeavors, pulling all-nighters trying to get my camp reports published in a timely manner, not to mention the inordinate amount of butt-kissing required to get any assistance from the Redskins media relations staff, and the tremendous amount of composure and self-control required to avoid ruffling the feathers of the folks who make their living as reporters.

How was I rewarded? I was told I was no longer welcome as a fan reporter-- by none other than the very same folks who are now foisting these obnoxious, anti-media, pseudo-reporter fans upon the professional media members.

I was lucky enough to get to spend a day in the pressbox for the Redskins-Ravens scrimmage back in August-- only because I was a reporter for The Daily Progress-- but I conducted myself as professionally as I could, and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible to those who were there trying to earn a living. That's how I always behaved around Redskins Park, because that's how I would want a visitor to behave in my workplace.

How would you like it if you had people running around in your office, jumping up and down, yelling and shouting-- when you're trying to focus and get work done on deadline? Most of us would probably at some point want to grab them and toss them headlong out the nearest window. I'd imagine that's how the professional media members in that pressbox felt when they were confronted with such unwelcome behavior.

I imagine if I had known that all the Redskins wanted out of a "fan reporter" was someone who could be as obnoxious and inconsiderate as possible around the professional reporters, I could have played that role quite naturally, and TheWarpath.net would've become the Redskins' official message board long ago.

Shame on me for trying to do the right thing.

Forgive me, Joe. I don't mean to step on your toes and I understand your aspirations for becoming a journalist covering the Redskins. And you're right, traditionally the press box is there for journalists to get their work done.

All I'm saying is that Dan Snyder is entirely within his rights to allocate press box space in his stadium to whoever he chooses. First off, he doesn't owe the press anything, it's his press box, he can put 25 chimpanzees up there if he wants. I can't blame him for giving press box space to those guys, after a lot of the inaccuaracies the Post has published in recent years. And I also thought that taking the ticket spat public by reporting on it was a pretty bush-league move by the Post.

I certainly do not wish for the biased opinions of the ExtremeSkins staff to replace objective reporting by any means. For the most part, I think the Post has been relatively objective save for the ticket spat. And I still enjoy Wilbon and Kornheiser more than any biased column that ExtremeSkins could ever write. There will always be a place for objective journalism. But I'm on Snyder's side here, if he wants to provide fans with access to a column that actually exhibits the same enthusiasm that it's readers have for the team, then I applaud that. It's different, and it sure is ruffling some feathers amongst the press, but fans love it. And that's just smart business.

There will always be a demand for the objective reporting that you personally strive to bring to us, I think it will always be the preferred source of information for Redskins fans (including me). But I see no reason why enthusiasts can't be a part of the picture as well. There's room for both in my mind.

But that's just it. There isn't always room for both. Just like joe losing his credentials and the only fan site allowed into training camp with media passes being extremeskins. The biggest thing to remember when you look at this, thought, is that all of the moderators/paid posters... whatever that are in the pressbox, are no longer objectable fans. They're employees.

The biggest thing to remember when you look at this, thought, is that all of the moderators/paid posters... whatever that are in the pressbox, are no longer objectable fans. They're employees.

Exactly. As paid (or otherwise compensated) representatives of the team and presumably its fans, they should conduct themselves in a professional manner when they're in a professional setting. The pressbox is a professional environment where those present are expected to conduct themselves according to certain protocols so that everyone can observe the game free of the distractions associated with being in the general seating area among the fans.

If the fans the Redskins are inserting into that professional environment are unable to contain their enthusiasm for the game, perhaps they belong in the ample seating areas provided for fans to express themselves.

If Dan Snyder is so fond of these fellows, maybe he should invite them to sit with him in the owner's box.

Cheering in the press box, regardless of your affiliation, is a little tacky and doesn't seem very professional in my book.

But that's just my opinion.


Couldn’t agree more. Journalism requires objectivity and a fan covering his own team reeks of conflict of interest. Then again you have people like Pastabelly who have no objectivity whatsoever when it comes to the Skins.

Forgive me, Joe. I don't mean to step on your toes and I understand your aspirations for becoming a journalist covering the Redskins. And you're right, traditionally the press box is there for journalists to get their work done.

All I'm saying is that Dan Snyder is entirely within his rights to allocate press box space in his stadium to whoever he chooses. First off, he doesn't owe the press anything, it's his press box, he can put 25 chimpanzees up there if he wants. I can't blame him for giving press box space to those guys, after a lot of the inaccuaracies the Post has published in recent years. And I also thought that taking the ticket spat public by reporting on it was a pretty bush-league move by the Post.

I certainly do not wish for the biased opinions of the ExtremeSkins staff to replace objective reporting by any means. For the most part, I think the Post has been relatively objective save for the ticket spat. And I still enjoy Wilbon and Kornheiser more than any biased column that ExtremeSkins could ever write. There will always be a place for objective journalism. But I'm on Snyder's side here, if he wants to provide fans with access to a column that actually exhibits the same enthusiasm that it's readers have for the team, then I applaud that. It's different, and it sure is ruffling some feathers amongst the press, but fans love it. And that's just smart business.

There will always be a demand for the objective reporting that you personally strive to bring to us, I think it will always be the preferred source of information for Redskins fans (including me). But I see no reason why enthusiasts can't be a part of the picture as well. There's room for both in my mind.

No offense taken, Schneed10, I just felt that your argument struck at the core problem: these guys AREN'T journalists, they have no aspiration to be journalists, and apparently, they share the Redskins' dislike and general lack of respect for journalists. So why on earth are they in the pressbox? It makes no sense. There's no reason for them to be there.

You want to put them in the owner's box, or some other appropriate place for VIPs? Fine. Be Dan Snyder's guest. But they don't need to be in the press box to write the stuff they write-- which hardly qualifies as journalism. Well-crafted propaganda, yes (in the case of Mr. Steven, at least). But certainly not journalism, which requires an objective eye, and an allegiance only to the truth.

The reason the real journalists are taking umbrage to the presence of these unabashed fans and media-haters is not that they feel they are somehow above the fans or the general public. The reason they are so upset is that it's a clear and deliberate "F-You" from Snyder and Swanson to the media. By putting the fans in the pressbox, the Redskins are basically saying, "we're going to violate the sanctity of your institution, and make it as difficult for you to do your job as possible."

Apparently, that's been the modus operandi of Snyder's regime since the beginning anyway, so I guess it should come as no surprise. Why then, do Snyder and the Snyderettes act so shocked and surprised and victimized when the media hangs the Redskins' dirty laundry out in the sun for all to see?

Why? Because that's how propaganda works.