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Along with March Madness, it’s a useful exercise to revisit the idiocy (yes, I don’t think that’s too strong a word) of the NCAA’s “blogging policy.” #

Yes, for those of you who will be traveling to various sites to witness your men’s and women’s basketball teams compete for the championships – BEWARE! If you want to liveblog from the sidelines (as Kentnewsnet.com did over the weekend), you could run afoul of the NCAA’s credentials nazis (No Blog for You!). #

You can blog, but within stupid, irrational, idiotic limits. Don’t believe me? Check out these “blogging guidelines” #

To quote from the stupidity: #

Each Credential Holder (including television, Internet, new media, and print publications) has the privilege to blog (e.g., real-time or time delayed journal entries) during competition through the Credential Entity. Any blog representing an NCAA championship must submit the appropriate link to ncaasports.com Blog Central. In return, all media entities entering a blog must post the ncaasports.com logo/link on their site. All blogs must be free of charge to readers. All must adhere to the conditions and limitations of this NCAA Blogging Policy. A blog description includes in-Competition updates on score and time remaining in competition as well as description of the championship and competition taken place during the given time. The NCAA and its designated championship personnel shall be the final authority about whether a Credential Holder or Credential entity is following the NCAA Blogging Policy. #

Yes, that’s right – You can write one (1) blog post at halftime. #

Interestingly, the guidelines provide no outline of an acceptable length for any blog post. So it’s conceivable that a journalist could write a 1,000-word post at halftime that would meet the limits but still provide information. And it should be noted that the NCAA’s blogging policy seems to focus solely on the “competition” taking place. So I suppose you could write as many blog posts as you want about all the fans with their chests and faces painted school colors, or the mascot fight at center court. #

All of which just highlights how silly such a policy is to begin with. It serves no purpose but to highlight inane bureaucracy and heavy-handed greed (because at heart, the NCAA blogging policy is all about $$$$). Of course, I would change my mind if the NCAA could show me one credible scintilla of evidence that liveblogging somehow decreases viewership of their championship events. Or that they actually have something other than $$$$ in mind in crafting this stupid policy. As the NCAA’s own blog noted when this issue first cropped up in June of last year, ESPN apparently considers liveblogging to be the equivalent of “rebroadcast,” so apparently they don’t want journalists liveblogging from the games. That makes ESPN – which has a thriving new media operation – just as pinheaded as the NCAA is for agreeing to such insipid rules. #

Simply put, stifling reporting on athletic events does nothing but engender ill-will among people who WANT to help you publicize your tournaments. #

Related: #

• Ars-Technica
• On Sports
• Sports Marketing 2.0
• DeadSpin
• ReadWriteWeb
• Polevaultpower
• Chronicle’s Wired Campus
• CNET

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