Have You Noticed a Change in Your Newspaper's NBA Coverage?
There has been a significant change in the NBA this season. No, I'm not talking about the new ball or the "Sheed Rule" or even the fact that the Atlanta Hawks actually have a winning record. The casual fan may not have even noticed the difference--yet. The change is this: in many NBA arenas, the courtside seats that used to be occupied by beat writers have now been sold--for a king's ransom--to fans. This means that a few more individuals get an up close and personal view of NBA action but that reporters--who previously conveyed this perspective to literally millions of fans--are consigned to more distant vantage points. This is not yet the case in all arenas but it has happened in a lot of them and figures to become the norm before long. What does this mean for the fan? Here is an interesting article from veteran NBA scribe Brad Rock:Seats had a view to remember
posted by David Friedman @ 5:33 AM
2 Comments:
Just another way the NBA is trying to make a quick buck. But it's interesting, with all the rule changes in place, do you think this was done to asssure fans of a calmer, more respectable NBA experience?
Are you suggesting that having the media seated at courtside made the experience less calm for fans?
Seriously, though, I don't think that the decision has anything to do with enhancing fans' experiences. These courtside seats are being sold for huge sums. Money is what this is about, pure and simple. The sad part, as Rock notes in the article that I cited, is that this robs many fans who never get to go to the game of the courtside view that they received vicariously from the media members who used to observe the action from courtside.
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