Time to find a new gig! Too bad washingtonjobs.com isn’t advertising for what I do, even though blathering about sports on the internet seems to be springing some guys to glory as this online thing gains more and more respectability. It looks like I’ll be shut down on what I normally do and love — photos and video. MLB is tightening restrictions on online content, which effectively puts me out of business (there goes that brand I’ve built!) once the season begins or forces me to write creatively again and join the myriad other online Nats voices. Since I’ve gotten lazy flexing the writing skills, preferring to do my talking on camera or behind the camera, I’m out of practice at the whole witty typing thing. My initial reaction was, “oh crap.” But then I started looking beyond me at the domino effect this may have and the fallout for fans.

Here’s how the new restrictions will shake out. Online outlets will be able to post no more than seven photographs from any games and will not be allowed to create any sort of photo gallery from those images. Audio and video will be limited to a scant two minutes each and cannot be streamed live, and the only sites allowed to post any highlight footage will be those that have inked deals with MLB Advanced Media, which is responsible for all of MLB’s online properties. Non-text content, be it images, audio, or video created in a Major League ballpark, can only stay online for 72 hours.

This could have a huge negative impact industry-wide (and I’m talking mainstream media here, not bloggers). Fans rely on photos from sites such as Yahoo!Sports where AP photos are posted and organized by team in what could be considered “galleries”. My gut reaction is this is a stupid stupid move by MLB, and I’m not just speaking as a wannabe photographer who nearly got a break thanks to being allowed to do what I do. In an era where newspapers and other news outlets are in the precarious transition to largely online content because that’s where the viewers/readers are, why would they cripple an entire industry already cresting a learning curve and starting to get the hang of it? In addition, they are stealing the game history from fans (in the form of game photos where someone ‘got the shot’ on an awesome play, podcasts, and videos such as interviews and highlights)? I mean, presumably Barry Svrluga records his postgame podcasts (non-text) in the clubhouse and pressbox for washingtonpost.com. By these new rules, they will have to take the no longer than 2 minute podcasts down after 72 hours. My video of the kid singing the National Anthem – down after 72 hours since it was filmed in a Major League ballpark. Yesterday’s video in the new ballpark (which neither MLB nor the Nationals own) – would that have to come down after three days had I shot it after these restrictions were implemented? My hundreds of gameday photosets would only be allowed to remain up for the three days following the game. No more looking back and reminiscing (and this applies to all sites – not just mine). Ludicrous is the only word I have for a policy that seems geared to propel the industry backwards rather than keeping up and moving forward. Or maybe the proper term is greedy? Salmon swimming upstream comes to mind – you can’t stop the internet, people!

Prior restrictions included (but were not limited to) just no play-by-play posted online more than every half inning. No more than seven photographs can be posted online during a game in progress (but no limit on photos posted after the game ended and nothing about galleries or time limits). No video of the game play itself. None of these were issues since most did everything after the game and didn’t record play on the field aside from the sports network holding the broadcast contract. Now no more than seven pictures, period?! (I hear Flickr exhaling in relief) Video must come down after 72 hours?! What about Washington Post Live which often aired (and streamed over the internet) interviews from the stadium before the game? As long as they’re outside the 45 minute window before the game begins, they should be okay. But what if there’s breaking news such as an injured player or another clubhouse drug dealer ratted out? Nope, can’t broadcast that live – at least not if its simulcast online. Yet, Mama, that’s where the fun is! It’s also where the present is – that’s just standard operating procedure for most sports/news organizations these days. MLB is messing with business policies already in practice. Can they get away with it?

What it likely comes down to is MLB Advanced Media trying to horde all the historic content and ownership over said content, even (or especially?) if the content was created by someone else. They already own the stats. It’s a shame teams can’t set their own rules. Teams like the Nationals and Rays and Marlins need all the publicity they can get. The new policy appears more harmful than helpful to them as well. What happened to “the customer is always right?” Who says baseball is a game for fans? I can’t believe I deluded myself into that illusion, but it was a nice warm happy place while it lasted. We’re all pawns in this massive Monopoly game. I just need a “Get out of jail free” card if I want to continue, I suppose.

This may not be set in stone yet. Editors from publications all over the country are supposedly meeting with MLB today to try to talk some sense into them. Others are suing over fair use. I plan on watching this closely as it unfolds (I’m interested for professional reasons as well), but as it stands, it looks like I may be headed for online-retirement. *sob* I love what I do. I’ve sacrificed money and time and risked being in the doghouse at work (and home!) for my “extracurricular activities” to continue doing this. I’m tired of fighting an uphill climb (in the snow! Don’t forget the snow!) at every turn. I guess I could make it the “All MissChatter” show and no longer feature gameday events and activities or players. Blah. Even I’d get sick of myself! I’ve built enjoyable relationships that would likely end if I reverted back to being some schlub who totes a camera to her seats and sneaks into events. Ha! Except my seats are further back, meaning more heads and vendors to block the shots. I guess I’ve kind of become spoiled because I just don’t see myself going back to the way things started around here. I’d have to move to California to start trying to meet up with Gary Bennett again and that’s just not in the cards!

And I’m just too darn tired to start getting super-creative to stay ahead of the game and find a way to “rebrand” myself. That shroud of secrecy behind the game I originally set out to discover and make sense of has clamped its temporarily extended hand shut. But I’m sure I won’t be able to resist the lure of baseball…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 4:19 pm and is filed under Baseball - General, MLB, Media, Natosphere, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.