@F-Train: Never late, amigo. But to be honest there was never such a thing as independent media. Even going back to the days when it was just the print mags covering the poker scene favorable coverage could always be had if one was willing to buy enough ad space in their mags.

And as soon as online news sites started up they were compromised since they only had one model. They were always going to be beholden to the poker rooms which they reported on.

But both F-Train and Jen: None of that really matters. I know there is going to be some bias in the reporting. I don’t find that half as troublesome as the lackluster quality caused by poor management of resources.

Granted, the WSOP is a unique event in the sports world in that it lasts for so long but someone needs to sit down and figure out how to best deploy their available resources rather than simply asking people to churn out as much crap as they can for six weeks. Nobody is benefiting from this. The readers quit reading. The writers get burned out. And the news sites could probably make a lot more if they produced content in a format and with a frequency that people could digest.

Speaking for myself only, I long to be able to write more in-depth pieces and use some creativity to do so, but those pieces don’t pay – and usually aren’t even welcome on most sites except our own blogs. And it ends up coming down to earning enough money to make the trip worthwhile, which for most of us is done through churning out the mindless tournament reports, rewrites of press releases, and pimpage for online poker sites.

You hit the problem right on its head, but until more money is available in this industry and there are people in charge who might have an idea of how to use it more wisely, not much is going to change. Thank you for your perspective; it serves as a reminder to those of us searching for more purpose in our words, as well as a kick in the ass to those making the decisions about what coverage you receive.

That’s why I make the point that you really can’t blame guys like you, Otis, Gene, etc. You have to do what people pay you to do. Same thing as when I worked for Party and Tilt. At the end of the day the guy signing the check calls the shots.

And believe me, I feel for you guys. We hung out a bit at the 2006 WSOP and I saw how hard all you guys work. It’s grueling. That’s why I wrote this post. Maybe someone will read it and say “Hey, maybe he’s got a point there.”

I think you’re dead on about the unprofessional and unqualified comment. Some people in the industry are simply in over their heads. But the problem is that there aren’t enough qualified people to go around so nobody says anything.

Anyway, good to hear your thoughts on this as you’re probably one of most respected poker journalists out there.

Bill

Although I agree with mostly everything you have said in your post, the bottom line is this… it’s not easy to cover the WSOP any way you cut it. And sadly, the issues and problems you speak about stem from a larger systemic problem. The poker industry is riddled with unprofessional and unqualified people who are making many of these key decisions and shaping the protocol of the several facets of poker media. They have influence over where the money flows (a lot less these days) so until that changes we’re all monkeys with a grinder. Myself included.

So the sites that are commissioning the work need to understand that while content may be king, good content is god. And you can’t produce good content if you’re burned out. You can’t write 10 pieces of good content per day every day. You can’t work 14 hours (or more) every day for six weeks straight and get good content.

If they could make the same amount of money by following your recommendations listed above, I’m sure they would.

I think Pauly’s really the only independent writer out there who can pretty much do what he wants with the coverage. He’s obviously earned that luxury, but it’s a difficult business to be in.