I commend Barry & Stacy at Golf for Beginners for bringing up their experience with the LPGA. We bloggers will always have to fight for legitimacy as a “real” communications medium.
I’d guess that the LPGA’s Paul Rovnak and Michelle Barrish come from a traditional media background and new media like blogging and postcasting are foreign concepts right now. Traditional media has a huge infrastructure and the associated financial investment that goes with it. Thus they are loathe to allow upstarts with no overhead usurp their territory.
Yet as media technology marches forward, I predict that this tour will make itself more “alternative media” friendly very soon. They are getting more bad press from making these dumb media decisions than the perceived risk they feel they are taking from letting a potential psycho nut-job blogger say bad things about them. Barry & Stacy’s experience is undoubtedly similar to Kiel’s posting explaining his experience with the St. Ives Golf Club. That course eventually came around too.
With the emergence of all of the young guns in ladies golf, the LPGA probably has its hands full with just trying to respond to all to attention they and their stars are getting right now. Allow bloggers in is off their radar right now.
I’m not trying to defend the LPGA and their decisions, but I’ve worked with enough marketing clients that when they don’t feel comfortable about something (i.e. allowing bloggers into the media tent), they are obstinate, difficult, deaf and slow to change. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil is their stance until they see (or are made to see) the light.
Golf is inherently a conservative sport that is slow to change. The LPGA is no exception, but they too will come around……but only kicking and screaming.
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We produce a regular, weekly radio show on the internet about golf, specific to beginner golfers. This was the medium that I wanted to have credentials issued for.
Ask the LPGA board what a Podcast is and they would tell you it is fishing for Dolphins.
I liken traditional media to trying to stop a cruise ship. It takes a ship miles to slow down and stop, even when the engines are turned off. It's momentum keeps taking in the same direction. The same goes for "old" media. They can't just turn on a dime like "new" media can."
That may be true Bruce and a good analogy until the same ship is beached. Then it stops on a dime and gives you nine cents change.