Mike Chambers saddles up his Twitter high horse, gets bucked off
“Interestingly, BSN Denver has been very kind in encouraging the public to support the Denver Post’s transition to the subscription model. Chambers, however, clings to the antiquated notion that his lofty perch as a newspaper man somehow makes he and his superior to the “bloggers” who dare cover hockey.”
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Less than two weeks ago the Denver Post announced that it was moving to a subscription model, placing its online content behind a “paywall” and leaning on readers to support its journalistic endeavors. It’s a move that many in Denver, including yours truly and Kyle Clark from 9 news have vociferously supported.
The Post’s announcement came in the wake of a declaration by Brandon Spano’s BSN Denver that it was shifting from a pop-up heavy advertiser-supported model to a subscription one. The response by Denver sports fans has been enthusiastic and thousands have demonstrated their encouragement by signing up to use the site. Subscribers have been rewarded by smothering coverage of the local sports teams. Avalanche fans in particular have enjoyed the fruits of BSN’s reporting.
The Denver Post will be fortunate of response to its subscription drive is as favorable as BSN’s has been. One of its Avalanche writers, however, unwisely took to Twitter last night to chastise BSN and its Avalanche talent. Mike Chambers, a seventeen year veteran at the paper and the Colorado Chapter chair of the Pro Hockey Writers Association, echoed the dated notion that “bloggers” cover the Avalanche from their couches and lack credibility because the only watch the team on TV.
Chamber knows this is bullshit, of course. As BSN’s AJ Haefele pointed out on Twitter Chambers sees the BSN crew at the games.
Interestingly, BSN Denver has been very kind in encouraging the public to support the Denver Post’s transition to the subscription model. Chambers, however, clings to the antiquated notion that his lofty perch as a newspaper man somehow makes he and his superior to the “bloggers” who dare cover hockey. Fact is, though, that as newpapers nationwide change the way they do business in the interest of survival that the line between papers and “blogs” becomes blurrier by the day. The line becomes nearly non-existant when scribes like Chambers threaten Twitter users with physical violence via “come at me bro” statements like this:
The hockey media is a smallish fraternity and a distant fourth behind football, baseball and basketball media when it comes eyeballs. Chamber should be an advocate for all of the hard working scribes down at Pepsi Center and on the road working to provide quality coverage of the Avs – particularly in his role with the PHWA. Instead, he’s saddling up his high horse.
He’s going to quickly learn that the high horse bucks you off from time to time. Already hockey Twitter has begun to kick.
This type of denigrating of colleagues is inexcusable and it makes not only Mike Chambers but the Denver Post look just plain bad. The obvious consequence is that, given the choice between subscribing to the Post for hockey coverage and subscribing to BSN for hockey coverage, internet-sensitive hockey fans will choose the latter.
