I don't want the press pass and other musings.

The story of a blogger kicked out of the press box has now travelled outside the Oilogosphere and into the world.... here, here, here and here and now here- just a selection of some of my faves.

Yesterday, I ranted. Today, I'm still pretty annoyed.

I'm not annoyed that they kicked him out. He was probably going against the stipulations of his press pass - possibly unknowingly. But who wants to go through that? Professionally or personally.

I believe there are three main points that are addressed in this story.

1. A double standard - He was told he couldn't live blog, but others were doing so.
2. A lack of policy - The reasons for his removal changed
3. The role of the blogger - The Oilers don't need to encourage it, but why discourage it?

David Staples, a member of the mainstream media (and blogger?), gets it best in my mind. Scroll down past his game review to see him address the subject.

THE FUTURE IS WITH THE BLOGS
4. The organizations that will thrive in the future are the ones that will not only embrace the new platform of the Internet, they will master it. It's going to evidently take some time for mainstream organizations and thinkers to master the new platform, and mistakes are going to be made along the way.
The Oilers' mistake right now is to not have a coherent policy about "live" blogs from the press box. They should take the time to come up with one that makes sense, one that allows for "live" blogs from top columnists and credible bloggers so that Dave Berry and others can get on with their work.

So, what can you do?

Spread the message around. If you have a blog, put it up there, encourage discussion. What role does the blogger play? By forcing DMFB to delete the post, was he being censored?
Write the Edmonton Oilers. Ask them about their policy. Ask them about their double standards on live blogging.

P.S.
Here's the address:
Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club
11230 - 110 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5G 3H7

Office: 780-414-4000
Fax: 780-409-5890

Email: http://oilers.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NHLPage&id=3677

If you kids with your google-skills can find more contact info, pass it along in the comments.

And don't worry, I will get off my soap box and continue the hot-off. Nobody likes an asterisk year.