The Anti-Media Media

[joecrisp]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

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.