Bad Wave rising for media and photographers covering sports!

I just read an article written by Adam Thompson of the Wall Street Journal you can access the actual article here. Basically the article talks about how the NFL is cracking down on the Media, UP to and including wearing red vest with the Reebok and Canon logos on them. In my opinion many rodeo organizations are starting to go this route as well. But like always I have a few issues with this!

First, these sports organizations (yeah I'll call them ex-rodeo organizations since they all want to be like NASCAR) forget that there was a time that us little media outlets and sports writers kept them going. Sorry but until the contracts were as large as the national debt and the players went out of their way to find scandal the sports had become pretty boring. So BIG rodeo association go ahead and get your big media contracts. But what will you do when all of the rodeo photographers and writers quit showing up to your events and go to second tier/competitor events?

Second, and this is as a RODEO photographer! Big rodeo events what are you going to do when you have NON-rodeo people cover your events? What are you going to say when the only picture printed from your event is of a bad wreck or hangup and not of a 96 point ride? Not my fault, I know what to print! Or how about when those wacky reporters from the big national sports magazines who are only covering your event in hopes of working their way onto the NFL or NBA beat report all of the bad and none of the good. You think in over twenty years of either hanging around or traveling down the rodeo road I haven't seen some bad? You may hear me say something but you'll NEVER read it. Sorry I'm a rodeo hand and that would be in bad taste.

Then as you make it harder on us to make a living you make it easier and easier for people to sneak in small but good video cameras and upload your videos to youtube and myspace. Oh I'm sorry I forgot that as rodeo people we really want the ARA nuts to edit the videos and make us seem like the worse people on the planet! My Bad!

So guys, just remember your not the NFL or the NBA where everyone grew up playing your sport. Hire professional RODEO photographers to shoot your events and use their skills and abilities to keep the rift raff out!