hueyville
May 30th 05, 02:00 PM
folks,
below you will see an email i had to send out to my photographers that
were going to cover the wachovia por series races for our website.
apparently a site that is run by cylists for cyclists is not high enough on
the food chain for press credintials any more. the funny thing is they told
us we were approved then changed their minds. when an american is no longer
winning le tour de france and the armchair riders and couch surfers no
longer care about cycling then they will be wishing they could get some
coverage. take a little time a read the below emails.
michael
From me to my staff:
After waiting for a full month for a response to our applications I
talked personally to the organizers of the Wachovia series on Tuesday of
last week and they said that we were approved for press credintials. When I
checked my email last Friday I received a message that we have been
declined. I have tried calling the folks at PR sports and emailing them for
an explanation but have not gotten a response. I have had this happen
before. The press applications were due in by April 28 so that means they
should have a clear response soon after. What happens is that they approve
folks, then as the event gets closer they get a rash of late applicants who
look like bigger fish and they cull the small ones.
At this years Tour de Georgia this happened to me in the strangest way.
I was approved for my press credintials and photo vest. To get a
photographers vest issued you had to apply a month in advance in addition to
your application for press credintials. You also had to list which stages
you wanted it for. I only asked for stage 5 and 6 and was approved. With
20 minutes left before the end of the final stage the press officials came
and took my vest and gave it to a Sports Illustrated photographer who showed
up with less than a half hour left in the race. We took a full week
following every stage of the race, posted over 60 pages of coverage on the
website and then got our ticket pulled with 20 minutes left in the race. My
personal thoughts are that if the Sports Illustrated person was serious
about his job they would have shown up before the last few minutes of the
race. Also, out of the 25 photo vests issued, two of the other people with
them had misprepresented themselves. The funny thing is that one local
newspaper had three photo vests for this same stage. These race organizers
seem very disorganized.
These organizers seem to act like greedy business people rather than
cyclists. The fact that our site gets around 3,000 hits per day on the
cycling section does not seem to impress these people. I would almost bet
we got bumped because some local newspaper that is going to give them a
paragraph and on photo in the sports section decided to send someone. This
is the second season for covering bicycle racing for our website and I have
had this happen at almost every event. I now know why bicycle racing has
never been as popular in the U.S. The race organizers are quite often
amatuers or at least act like it.
Thanx,
Michael
From the event organizers:
Dear Media Contact:
Your credential for the Wachovia Cycling Series has been denied. Please
accept our sincerest apology as the event media center has received more
credential requests than ever in the 21-year history of the race.
Please know that there are plenty of great locations to see and photograph
the course that are open to the public. We thank you for your interest in
the Wachovia Cycling Series.
Sincerely,
Ed Donovan
Threshold Sports LLC
2650 Eisenhower Ave.
Norristown, PA 19403
610.676.0390 x104
610.676.0391 fax
www.procyclingtour.com
below you will see an email i had to send out to my photographers that
were going to cover the wachovia por series races for our website.
apparently a site that is run by cylists for cyclists is not high enough on
the food chain for press credintials any more. the funny thing is they told
us we were approved then changed their minds. when an american is no longer
winning le tour de france and the armchair riders and couch surfers no
longer care about cycling then they will be wishing they could get some
coverage. take a little time a read the below emails.
michael
From me to my staff:
After waiting for a full month for a response to our applications I
talked personally to the organizers of the Wachovia series on Tuesday of
last week and they said that we were approved for press credintials. When I
checked my email last Friday I received a message that we have been
declined. I have tried calling the folks at PR sports and emailing them for
an explanation but have not gotten a response. I have had this happen
before. The press applications were due in by April 28 so that means they
should have a clear response soon after. What happens is that they approve
folks, then as the event gets closer they get a rash of late applicants who
look like bigger fish and they cull the small ones.
At this years Tour de Georgia this happened to me in the strangest way.
I was approved for my press credintials and photo vest. To get a
photographers vest issued you had to apply a month in advance in addition to
your application for press credintials. You also had to list which stages
you wanted it for. I only asked for stage 5 and 6 and was approved. With
20 minutes left before the end of the final stage the press officials came
and took my vest and gave it to a Sports Illustrated photographer who showed
up with less than a half hour left in the race. We took a full week
following every stage of the race, posted over 60 pages of coverage on the
website and then got our ticket pulled with 20 minutes left in the race. My
personal thoughts are that if the Sports Illustrated person was serious
about his job they would have shown up before the last few minutes of the
race. Also, out of the 25 photo vests issued, two of the other people with
them had misprepresented themselves. The funny thing is that one local
newspaper had three photo vests for this same stage. These race organizers
seem very disorganized.
These organizers seem to act like greedy business people rather than
cyclists. The fact that our site gets around 3,000 hits per day on the
cycling section does not seem to impress these people. I would almost bet
we got bumped because some local newspaper that is going to give them a
paragraph and on photo in the sports section decided to send someone. This
is the second season for covering bicycle racing for our website and I have
had this happen at almost every event. I now know why bicycle racing has
never been as popular in the U.S. The race organizers are quite often
amatuers or at least act like it.
Thanx,
Michael
From the event organizers:
Dear Media Contact:
Your credential for the Wachovia Cycling Series has been denied. Please
accept our sincerest apology as the event media center has received more
credential requests than ever in the 21-year history of the race.
Please know that there are plenty of great locations to see and photograph
the course that are open to the public. We thank you for your interest in
the Wachovia Cycling Series.
Sincerely,
Ed Donovan
Threshold Sports LLC
2650 Eisenhower Ave.
Norristown, PA 19403
610.676.0390 x104
610.676.0391 fax
www.procyclingtour.com