Golden State Warriors Final Take: Rowell To All, "Let Them Eat Cake!"

Another effect of the recession is the outsourcing of newspaper layouts, which demands more time (but costs less) prior to printing. Consequently, the late scores rarely make it into the morning paper, making it much more convenient to simply check the internet rather than consistently paying for yesterday's news.  At least I know this to be the case for the The Press Democrat, a newspaper that covers a vast area north of the Bay.

So how has the changing mediascape affected the Warriors and their loyal fans?  Perhaps the most noticeable difference is that the discourse and debate allows for another level of interpretation and criticism in respect to the observations of and the statements by the Golden State Warriors.  Also, the online media should be more important to the team than ever.

To me at least, it seemed that immediately prior to announcing the punishment of Ellis (accompanied by the burning of Mullin), the Warriors dusted off the iron curtains and put them up in all of Oracle's windows.  For all of the talk about Chris Mullin, he was a ghost's shadow this season. 

Reporters weren't the only ones having difficulty communicating with the team.  Several attempts by season ticket holders to discuss concerns with team representatives were simply unanswered. 

In fact, one season ticket holder, Jeff, was nice enough to share an experience with me in which team president, Robert Rowell, took down Jeff's name and number, promised to get back to him in person, and then blew him off entirely.

So in an attempt to further understand how the Warriors have operated within the new mediascape, I contacted some Bay Area beat writers to see how their perceptions have changed.

I asked one reporter if the proliferation of blogs and amateur reporting has changed the way in which the Warriors deal with the media.  Answering anonymously, he responded,

"It has. The Warriors despise blogs and their lack of the usual standards and rules. Plus, I think they have less control over bloggers (no editors to call and complain to). I know they have severely limited the access of bloggers who aren't linked to traditional media, such as hoopsworld and 48minutes.net."

First of all, it was not Geoff Lepper (of 48minutes.net) that made that statement, secondly, I have to say that this is a downright shame.  I make a point of taking the time to read Geoff Lepper's game analysis regularly.  Lepper's combination of statistical analysis and insightful observations always makes for a very provocative perspective. 

In denying access to Geoff Lepper, a pillar of professionalism in the blogging community, the Public Relations Director, Ray Ridder, is exercising the worst kind of message control possible:  Denial.  Denial of interviews, denial of access, denial of fault.

However, that didn't sate my curiosity. 

My next correspondence was with respected sports journalist, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News.  It is important to note that in kindly taking the time to answer my questions, it was Mr. Kawakami's wish that all statements made be on the record, and only on the record.  Nothing was off the record.  Regardless, his answers to my questions were too juicy to dice up, so I've served them whole.

Q: Has the Warriors' receptiveness to make statements increased or decreased?  Has the context in which they make statements changed?

Kawakami: "Warriors management has always been a murky, secret operation, most especially as Cohan's reign turned from weird to desperate to full-out 24-hour panic, hide-under-the-desk mode. Cohan clearly can't speak for himself and he has Robert Rowell there to shut off communication even further.

But no question things have clamped down even more since August or September, when things really started to get unstable with Mullin, Rowell, and Nelson. Nobody has spoken officially for the team in months, as far as I can tell. Is it clamping down when nobody is even sure WHO should be speaking for the team?

The context for Warriors management now is boiled solely down to:  Make sure Cohan and Rowell are protected as much as possible. That's hard to do when they can't speak for themselves, unless it's to very friendly media members (and that wouldn't be me)."


Q: Will the Warriors ever embrace blogs and fan sites?

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