More On Live Blogging From The Press Box

I'm getting all sorts of interesting notes from all over concerning yesterday's posts here and at the AOL Fanhouse concerning the live blogging issue. When it comes to the NHL, my old friend Ben Wright from the Atlanta Thrashers sent along the following from the league's online transmission policy:

(1) Information concerning NHL games while they are in progress may be transmitted online only for news and editorial purposes and not for any commercial purpose without the express written permission of the NHL.

(2) Online reports concerning NHL games while they are in progress ("Online Game Reports") may not consist of play-by-play accounts or descriptions of games. Online Game Reports shall be limited to reasonable periodic updates. The NHL will not object to Online Game Reports that are limited in frequency and detail (i.e. no more than three detailed status reports during each period) so as not to undercut authorized play-by-play accounts of games.

While this would seem to allow some leeway, it wouldn't allow what I would want to do -- a sort of running stream of consciousness and commentary all game long like we did at the NHL Fanhouse for the Stanley Cup Finals. Three times per period just doesn't cut it.

However, I got a note from a blogger in another NHL city who tells me he's been liveblogging from the press box for years with the active engagement of the team's PR staff. So while the rule might be in place, there seem to be some folks inside the league who understand that it's living on borrowed time.

Here's a note from a reporter who covers U.S. college hockey and has liveblogged pretty extensively:

I noticed a change on the back of the credentials this year that did indeed prohibit Liveblogging. I ignored it and so did some other writers in the pressbox. The internet kept dropping at the Scottrade Center, and NCAA reps kept coming over to check on things. They knew full well what I was doing but didn't say anything. Sounds that that won't be the case next season.

It's ridiculous that I could stay home and liveblog while watching the game on TV, but can't do it while in the pressbox or even in the press area in the basement of the building. A fan could be blogging from his PDA in the seats ... It's arbitrary and only enforceable for the actual professional press.

He also added that regardless of the regulation, the current plan is to liveblog again from the Frozen Four next year. Here's hoping the NCAA is ready, or just ready to look the other way.

UPDATE: I'm taking a look at some of the reactions to my AOL post from yesterday, and more than a few people seem to think I'm taking the side of the NCAA. That's simply not the case. If you read a little more carefully, you'll see that I wrote that if the decision were in my hands, I'd allow unfettered live blogging of any and all events from the press box.

But what seems to be getting lost here is the fact that while technology can race at the speed of thought, turning an organization like the NCAA on a dime is like trying to do a 180 with a supertanker in the middle of the Hudson River -- problematic at best.

The good news for bloggers, as evidenced by a lot of the email I received today, is that time is on our side. Plenty of teams seem to be ignoring these policies or are simply acknowledging them with a wink and a nod while reporters do what they like without much trouble.

UPDATE: I had a long conversation this afternoon with Kurt Kehl, Director of Communications with the Washington Capitals, and I made my case to allow live blogging in the press box next season. While he didn't make any promises, I'm confident the request is going to get a fair hearing.

Eric 12:19 PM

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Posted by: at June 14, 2007 11:51 AM

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