Method of Issuing Media Passes Varies Across Country

For the past decade, issuing of annual media passes is one of the most debated topics during the Sports Information Directors Workshop at the annual NFHS Summer Meeting.

As the debate ensues in robust fashion among communications directors from each of the state associations, the question looms: “Should we, or shouldn’t we?”

History and tradition are often cited as to why some state associations opt to forgo an annual pass and stick with a by-the-event method of issuing credentials for postseason events. On the opposite side of the debate, state associations see management value in issuing state-authorized credentials that can be used during the regular season.

Romanda Noble-Watson of South Carolina and Minnesota’s Tim Leighton both serve on the High School Today Publications Committee. They are the executive staff members who oversee media and communications in their respective state associations. Leighton also represents contest officials across the country on the committee. Before taking over in their current roles, Noble-Watson was a former college sports information director, and Leighton was an award-winning sports journalist for a major metropolitan newspaper, so both are familiar with the subject of credentialing.

So, the task was to examine both sides of the annual credentialing debate. South Carolina offers an annual credential while Minnesota opts to use event-by-event credentialing. In an interview that examines both sides of the issue, neither communications professional takes a side, rather they share information, awareness and insights to assist administrators at the local, regional and state levels so they may decide what avenue of credentialing works best.

“I see both sides of the debate,” said Jace Frederick, a sports reporter who covers everything from the preps to the pros for the St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press. “As someone that manages the credential process (for high school coverage), we have so many freelancers that we would never have annual passes. On the other hand, when I cover the Minnesota Timberwolves, it is nice to know that I don’t have to apply for 41 home games, so the annual pass comes in handy there.”

HST: Before you even address an annual pass, how do associations approve media organizations?

Noble-Watson: There are several mechanisms in place when determining whether to approve a media organization for an annual pass. In the South Carolina High School League, the League office is only responsible for credentials for the state semifinals and finals in basketball. While issuing annual passes for the events, they are issued on a case-by-case basis. An organization/individual must cover a certain number of the League’s finals (semifinals) the prior year before they are allotted annual passes. The determination is based on the signatures on the Approved Media List for the various championships. While the annual pass is active for the entire year, it is revocable.

Leighton: While there are variable criteria during the approval process, there are many commonalities throughout the state associations. As media continues to evolve, both with entities dissolving and other website-specific groups emerging, any organization that applies for approval must go through a vetting process. In Minnesota, part of the application process is a set of self-inventory criteria that asks questions ranging from history of League coverage, whether they a photo-only or video-only site to if they are a rankings- or recruiting-based organization. Great care is taken before approval is made. This is just the first approval step.

The second step comes when an approved organization applies for specific postseason event access. The presence of an Approved Media List has proven to be a helpful resource to school administrators during the regular season and sectional play. They can access that list to ensure the media applicant has been properly vetted. The North Dakota High School Activities Association also does not issue a season-long media pass. The NDHSAA suggests that media outlets have an organization-issued badge that identifies them as an employee at their respective media organization. That can be used during the regular season and district/region tournament rounds, but for the state tournaments, the NDHSAA requires registration for the professional media outlets.

HST: What are some of the pros and cons to issuing an annual media pass?

Noble-Watson: The positive of having an annual media pass is time, for sure. As stated by several associations including Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona and Michigan, as well as South Carolina, the leadup time to an event is less hectic and time-consuming when giving an annual pass to those approved media organizations that cover events on a consistent basis. There’s no need for them to go through the credentialing process each time. The drawback of the annual pass is consistency among states, including employee turnover or lost credentials.

The Kansas State High School Activities Association prints passes just once or twice per year, so not all media members will receive an annual pass. For access, there is an avenue to apply for event-by-event access. South Carolina issues two media and two photo passes to the outlet, not the individual; therefore, the passes are good for whomever is assigned coverage. That is especially helpful to large media outlets when there is breaking news.

Leighton: Ensuring the health and safety of student-participants is a top priority at the high school level. The Ohio High School Athletic Association, for example, will not distribute an annual pass for regular-season coverage, in part because the event is under local control. Other states concur, citing media management at the postseason events is crucial. That can’t be attained during the regular season. Following 9/11, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association ditched the annual pass on the advice of its security partner. The partner urged the WIAA to approve state credentials by event with the expectation that the media would need to present a photo ID. The mailing of credentials was also halted. Fast forward to the present: It is important to know who is onsite covering events.

HST: With an annual pass, can a media member just show up to attend an event?

Noble-Watson: No. In most, if not all instances, those with annual media passes still must alert (via email mostly) that they will attend a particular championship. This is done mainly for seating purposes. The Michigan High School Athletic Association, for the high-profile sports, (football, girls and boys basketball, and individual wrestling), requires registration.

Leighton: While you see it more often at the professional level, it is also evident at the high school level. So technically, yes. Perhaps it is a marquee game or a high-level recruit who is playing, the media draw is understandable. Managing this can be challenging with an annual pass at the high school level. Nowadays, you will see or hear the term “Working Media” at all levels of events. This can be abated with an event-by-event pass.

HST: How do member schools figure into this?

Noble-Watson: Many of the state associations automatically allot two media passes to their schools. Often, they allot two passes per school that can be used at the discretion of the school. In South Carolina, while two passes are allotted, the schools must go through the same credentialing process as the media for accountability purposes. The principal or athletic director must include the names of the individuals who will be working on behalf of their school.

Leighton: Many state associations treat their member school media members just like the professional media. In Minnesota, this experiential learning opportunity allows a student to stand shoulder- to-shoulder with the pros while covering an event. As such, their application process mirrors that of the professional media. All credentials flow through an activities director, who in this example, serves as the publisher or executive editor in approving their onsite presence. Faculty advisors or other district employees must always be present with the student media.

HST: What do the media recipients have to say about this debate?

Noble-Watson: In South Carolina, the media are appreciative of the implementation of annual media passes. The high school beat writer from The State newspaper stated: “It was beneficial to have a season-long pass, because you only have to fill out things once, so it saves time.”

State association communications executives in Arizona, Michigan and New Mexico, for example, report that media do a nice job of abiding by the guidelines of an annual season pass. “Michigan does the same as New Mexico,” said Geoff Kimmerly of the Michigan High School Athletic Association. Kimmerly is a former newspaper scribe. “We do issue a full-year tournament pass. Schools use it as their regular-season pass although it’s not technically for that.” JP Murrieta of the New Mexico Activities Association reports ease of use. “By issuing an annual pass, we don’t have to go through the credential process for the same media outlets for each and every state championship.”

Leighton: In this fast-paced media world where change is happening daily in the industry, it is easy to understand the desire of the media to not have to deal with this task prior to coverage of a state tournament event. Seth Polansky, the director of sports information for the Arizona Interscholastic Association, shares this anecdote: “If someone with a credential leaves an approved media outlet before the end of the year, in this case on bad terms, that person can continue to get into games free and have access to the student-athletes when they are not on official business. I always tell the manager or editor to let me know when this happens. If they can get the credential back to send to me, then that’s it. But if they can’t get it back, then the person’s name and the affiliated outlet must go to the top of the media check-in list to not let them in.”

While those occurrences are the exception, they still happen, and it creates negativity around the state tournament experiences that are filled with positivity. In Minnesota, we conducted a twoyear experiment with a photo ID pass that was issued during the regular season. The test groups were print media, radio and TV broadcast. In addition to many media members losing their credentials, a trend developed when media members were giving their passes to colleagues or friends to see events free of charge. While those maladies were managed, the League’s Media Advisory Committee recommended discontinuing the experiment. There really isn’t an appetite for it in many states. Media are just pleased to have access, even if it means wearing a daily color-coded string tag compared to a glitzy photo-ID annual pass.