Keep Up To Date With Our Feeds

Media Isn't a Four-Letter Word


2007-08-10 13:04:49
By: Gene Bromberg

Yesterday Card Player magazine announced that they have signed a deal to with the World Poker Tour to provide exclusive live tournament reporting. This comes on the heels of Harrah's signing an exclusive deal with Bluff Magazine before this year's World Series of Poker.

The fact that the two biggest tournament sponsors sought out partnerships with the two biggest poker media outlets makes perfect sense. Both the WPT and the WSOP want to control the content coming out of their tournaments, and working closely with one media partner makes that a lot easier. What concerns me, and should concern fans of the game around the globe, is how this will affect the quality and quantity of reporting.

Because there are a lot of outstanding writers and websites who aren't affiliated with Card Player or Bluff, and it remains to be seen how much consideration their work will receive from the WSOP and WPT. I know from experience that many reporters were frustrated at their lack of access during the recent World Series, though the rules weren't always strictly enforced and writers were usually able to get the info they needed. How generous the WSOP and WPT will be with access in the future remains to be seen.

I'll write more about the trials and tribulations of covering a major poker tournament another time, but there is a balance to be struck between giving lots of writers (and their audiences) access and keeping a lid on the media so the tournament floor doesn't turn into a mosh pit. What that balance is, I haven't quite figured out yet. As if Harrah's or the WPT is waiting anxiously for my call.


Permalink: http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-blog-post/Media-Isnt-a-FourLetter-Word/1996



Over 18 Only