Prior to the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden, just before Indian Wells, a "press conference" ensued for the four players involved: Caroline Wozniacki, Gael Monfils, Serena Williams, Stanislas Wawrinka. As I checked Twitter during that press conference, seemingly every tweet from "tennis twitter" were regarding the terrible questioning and, overall, lack of real journalism in the room. And this is about when I asked myself, "If these 'journalists' can get media credentials to a high profile tennis event, can just about anyone?"
And so, with this in my mind, I embarked on a long-term project to try to see if I could get media credentials to an ATP World Tour tournament, with just this blog as my claim to be a tennis "journalist". I had to first decide upon a a tournament to attempt to get media credentials at. I ultimately decided upon the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships as a relatively small ATP 250 Tournament and one that I thought I legitimately could get credentialed at, even with just this All About Tennis Blog, and it's inconsistent article-publishing schedule and lack of recognition in the greater tennis community.
I then went on the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships website, filled in my media outlet as the "All About Tennis Blog", and with that, started my media credential application! I then wrote in all of the boring stuff, my name, address, etc., and among other things, checked the box saying that I was (certainly) not a member of the ITWA. After this, I uploaded a picture of myself from earlier this year, and then wrote a short comment that was something along the lines that I was a student looking for a journalism opportunity. After writing this, I sent it, and it was all in the hands of the folks in Houston. Does some random blogger online have the standing to get credentialed at an ATP event, or would his request be denied?
Well, I waited, and waited even longer. At one point, I thought Houston might not even send me a reply at all about media credential request, which would obviously mean that I didn't get credentialed. However, right at the end of March, I received a small package from ATP Houston. Upon seeing who it was from, I tore into it, eager to see the results of my project. And sure enough, in the package was a letter and a media credential with my picture on it! I was initially in jubilation, as it is really cool to see that your hard work has paid off, and that an ATP tennis tournament is recognizing this with a credential. However, the excitement wore off when I realized that I would not be actually going to the tournament, and that this was all part of a long-term project for me.
And so, with that, I shifted my focus to what I really wanted to get at with this entire process, which originally started weeks back during a quick Twitter check. If I, a unknown blogger who has certainly not posted regularly on his blog over the years, can get media credentialed to an ATP World Tour event, then, for starters, how easy is it to be credentialed to a couple exhibition matches, such as the BNP Paribas Showdown?
I'm guessing, like for ATP Houston, it doesn't take much to be credentialed. Perhaps only a blog, like me, or a fancy job title would do the the trick. But, is taking in people like that really good for tennis fans looking for real information about tennis? There are two sides of the coin to this question. On one side, opportunities like this do give writers like me valuable experience and a chance to work on our craft. However, on the other side of this, it does not portray the sport in the best light. The press conference in New York City was a huge time in the tennis world. Everyone had just heard about Maria Sharapova, and so hearing the reaction to this news at the press conference was a big deal. And when, with the spotlight on this press conference, the questioning is absolutely terrible, I'm fairly confident I was not the only one appalled by the level of professionalism shown by the journalists there. And, while I think I would actually ask some insightful questions at this press conference, just the randomness of some random guy with a tennis blog being there would also call into question the seriousness of such a press conference.
However, I did not mean this article to be a rip on the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at all. I really do appreciate them credentialing me and validating the writing on my blog, in a way. And I didn't mean to "trick" them into credentialing me upon working on this project of mine. Perhaps, by (presumably) reading my blog, they saw the level of seriousness to my writing that I put into my blog and were impressed by it. They might have wanted to give me experience, as a student, too. At least I certainly hope that is all the reasoning and that I wasn't just credentialed because I just had some random tennis blog.
The main question behind all of this talk is really, What makes a tennis journalist? Is it quality of work, quantity of work, level of professionalism in one's work, or perhaps one's accolades? And, unfortunately, I don't even have an answer to that question, because in reality, it depends. Different tournaments might differ on what qualifies as a tennis journalist worthy of credentialing, just as tennis fans might also have completely different ideas of what the phrase "tennis journalist" means to them.
And I don't think anyone could really be wrong in their answer, it's really up to the individual (or the tournament). However, to ensure journalistic standards, I do think, before requesting media credentials, potential media members should definitely have to take a "Basic Tennis Knowledge" quiz to ensure that those who get credentialed are not hoaxing their way into the position. And I have no doubt that I would pass such a quiz, but would the journalists at the BNP Paribas Showdown? Questionable.
This entire project (and process) of attempting to get credentialed, getting the credential, and the questions that have followed, has been a long, winding process. However, I think questions raised from such a project could, ultimately, help tennis journalism by raising even more questions. Should this "Basic Tennis Knowledge" quiz be implemented? Should journalists be kicked out of a press conference for asking a ridiculous question? Does a media credential even mean anything anymore?
I can't, universally, come to a conclusion about those questions. These are for each individual, internally, to answer.
