Sideline vs. Press Box

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0102.81.11
Current Song - We Almost Lost Detroit (Marquis Porter)

Today, something was revisited to make me go back and find what was written earlier in a Publisher's Desk blog:

"Speaking of deterring my way of covering things, I'm considered a "sideline reporter" for football games, as opposed to reporting from a press box. A couple of times I have been informed of a new rule regarding media restrictions at football games at the 20-yard lines. For years, sideline reporters like myself can intermix with the bench and watch what goes on near the 50-yard line. What if something important happens at midfield? From our vantage point at the 20-yard line, not much is seen. How are we supposed to accurately tell what happened? Go to the press box? There's no room in most press boxes for that one extra reporter. And why was this rule in place, anyway? As long as we do our job properly, don't interfere with us, please."

Is there not enough "box" for the "press?" Seems to be this way.

In the past few years there has been a growth in the number of "press" in Illinois high school sports. The newspapers all point to me and blame me for that :)

It's not as if my husky body takes up space in a press box, but rather they cringe at the sight of a start-up publication. Likely this particular start-up publication is there for a purpose: to be better than the newspapers. Not NISB. At least not since the doctrine that I layed out in this past NISB State of the Site Address. We're here to supplement the newspapers, and work together with them.

Along with writing journalists (this meaning someone like me and a newspaper writer), there are radio journalists and even television crews. There needs to be room for them, too.

Plus when it comes to playoffs, a newspaper will send an extra reporter or two, or three, or even four to write a sidebar or two, or three, or four.

There's only so much room in a press box, and I understand this. I'm a young person, so I can run around a sideline.

Here's where the problem lies:

Certain schools are trying to limit the use of sideline space for reporters. One particular school has a rule where you can't go between the "twenties" on the sideline. This same school is covered by at least five different newspapers, two radio stations and a television crew. That's just the home media. That's not including the box crew, visiting media and the coordinator coaches. This partiular box is "spacious" according to them.

When you limit my sideline space, I'm not going to be happy.

Could we perhaps run from 20 to 20 when the ball goes into the other team's territory (crossing the 50)? If we can't even do that, we've got a problem. Our vantage point after about 20 yards or so becomes rocky. If we are supposed to write about key runs using detail, and perhaps use the paint-a-picture lede, it is somewhat distrupted by the fact that we aren't closer to the action.

I've been roaming football sidelines for only nine years, but I think I've been to enough high school football fields to say this: I've never had a problem with coaches while trying to write about something, shoot something or film something. The closest I've come from being told something by a coach was in a big game for this particular team, and the coach was very nervous because he kept yelling at everyone to go back five feet from him. Couldn't blame him, it was an important divisional game.

Nowhere in the new IHSA State Series Press Box Priority List does it state the sideline limitation, so it's a school-based rule. I hope no more schools catch up to this. I'm sure the schools look forward to great and accurate coverage by their newspaper or website. If it's their sideline enforcement that makes us write shotty articles, don't come running to us. "We USED to be able to do this, and not any more."