Advanced Chats

Friday afternoon, I went to TSN 1200’s studios to record the latest episode of ‘Advanced Chats’. The one-hour program is hosted by Ian Mendes and airs weekly on Sundays at 9:00 am (EST). Its intent is to provide a platform for local bloggers to bring their own perspective on Ottawa Senators hockey.

Two episodes have aired already. The first featured Sens Chirp and Michaela Schreiter (Silver Seven Sens) and episode two featured Joe Boughner and Mike Wheeler (BonksMullet.com). You can listen to the two episodes respectively here and here.

The episode will air Sunday morning at 9:00 am (ET) and once the audio link is made available, I’ll be sure to post it and spread the word via Twitter. Hopefully it comes off well. Even though I felt like I prattled on at times, time flew by in the studio so hopefully that’s a good sign and it makes for a good listen.

If not, I’m sorry I let you all down. At the very least, I’ll still feel great knowing that I was involved in a recording and don’t have to be the one to edit it.

I did want to thank Ian Mendes for inviting me to participate and to TSN 1200 for promoting the local Senators blogs and providing an opportunity for writers to reach a broader audience. (As an aside, if you haven’t met Ian, he’s probably one of the most genuinely nice people I’ve ever met. Whether it’s a podcast appearance, having a conversation on Twitter or encouraging my writing or hockey work, I can’t thank Ian enough for helping me out. Thank you.)

Since you’re already reading this right now, I’m just going to assume that you (yes, YOU!!!) the reader already support the blogs by reading them and sharing content when you feel it’s worthwhile, but if you could make a concerted effort to listen to each ‘Advanced Chats’ show and let the powers that be know how much you enjoy their new local programming and blogger exposure, these kinds of recordings can continue in the future.

When preparing for the interview, Mendes did send out an agenda for what topics he wanted to cover, but with only a finite amount of time in the studios for each segment, we were unable to hit on everything that he outlined. Rather than let them fade away, I figured I’d use this entry to address them here.

Without further ado…

• Have any players followed you on Twitter or ever made a comment about your work?

Yes, and no. I have had players’ wives, girlfriends or family members RT an article if it was complimentary towards the player in question however.

• Would you like to see bloggers get media access to Sens games?

This may no longer be the case, but I believe that some bloggers already have media access to games. Whether it was piloted project that has carried over into the 2015-16 season, I’m not sure, but at least one blogger was frequently given access to the press box last season. Such an opportunity has not been presented to me. Nor have I asked for it, but with that being said, I certainly understand the organization’s hesitation to award access because of the headaches that would arise from having to establish the criteria for determining which bloggers can get access.

Obviously it would be of great personal benefit to be able to watch games regularly from the press box so that I can get a bird’s-eye perspective of the game. Ideally, it would be nice to watch the whole ice and see how plays develop rather than rely on a television broadcast that only shows a fraction of the same game.

Now, that’s only part of the access that traditional media are privy to. Personally speaking, I don’t really have any passing interest in participating in post-game scrums to get canned quotes and half-truths from the players and coaching staff reflecting on the game and whether everyone left it on the ice and gave it a 110-percent effort. I’m sure other bloggers would disagree and would like to supplement their own site’s coverage with this kind of information and that’s fine. It’s just not for me.

What I’ve always enjoyed is the opportunity to have access of a different variety. In the past, I’ve been pretty fortunate to have members of the organization exclusively appear on a podcast episode. Whether it’s a Pierre Dorion, a Cyril Leeder or the former in-game entertainment director, it’s been pretty cool to have the chance to interview these individuals over the telephone in a less formal setting.

The problem with access however is that it comes at a cost. One of the luxuries that blogs have over the traditional media types is that I have the freedom (or perhaps luxury?) of being able to write or say things without worrying about the organization taking away the privilege of having access. If I’m overly critical or cross some line, the organization can and will take that privilege away. If they provided access, they wield the power and control and it’s their deserved right.  Maybe it’s a little bit different for established media-types who write for bigger platforms, but as a niche blogger who’s built up a small but loyal following, I like being able to speak my mind freely without a fear of censorship or having a media pass revoked.

Like walking a tightrope, there’s probably some balance there to be struck. I would like to think that I provide a mix of positive and sobering analysis and opinion, but maybe some of you believe me to be too negative or critical at times. And that is completely fine. Regardless of how you judge or weigh my work against other alternatives, what all Sens bloggers share is a passion and love for this hockey team. By writing, regardless whether it’s good or bad, we’re all fans and we’re all part of a community that cares about, generates interest in and brings attention to this hockey club.

I’d like to believe that the organization recognizes this and judging by recent events like including bloggers to test the new food options at the Canadian Tire Centre or participate in a tour of Club Bell and interview some hockey ops executives in media scrums, the organization, to its credit, has tried to include bloggers in some events. Sure, events like this or an invite to the launch of the 20^th anniversary season are self-serving in the sense that the organization is trying to promote the hell out of something and get people excited about a new development, but yeah, it’d be nice to have more opportunities like this come about.

Essentially, if access means a blogger’s work can get better, I’m in favour of it. Ideally, I would love it if the organization proactively approached me to say, “Hey, if you ever need help lining up an alumn or a member of the organization for a podcast or guest interview, we can help,” but unfortunately, I’m not anticipating this to happen anytime soon.

Other News and Notes: 

– According to a report out of the Ottawa Citizen, the Senators are collaborating with OSEG to bring the Grey Cup and Heritage Classic to TD Place in 2017. So much for the cost-prohibitive designs to have the game held on Parliament Hill.

– Despite Craig Anderson’s stretch of good play, Andrew Hammond is getting the start tomorrow night in Carolina. In other lineup news, Shane Prince was slotted alongside Kyle Turris and Mark Stone during the line rushes at this morning’s skate. Mike Hoffman was reunited with Mika Zibanejad and Bobby Ryan on the team’s second. Although Ryan and Zibanejad have started to capitalize on their scoring opportunities lately, I’m pretty excited to see Hoffman return to the second line where his shot-making and ability to carry the puck with speed through the neutral zone will bring sorely needed elements to that line.

– Craig Anderson’s overtime victory versus the Jets on Thursday was his 100th career victory with the Senators.

– Since January 1, 2015, Mark Stone has the fourth-highest number of points (60) in the NHL trailing Jamie Benn (75), Alex Ovechkin (65) and John Tavares (65). Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson are tied for the seventh-highest point total with 53.