Before You Hate on Me

Let's be real -- I just got a Tweet from ArkansasRazorbacks.com informing me that video from Tom Collen's postgame at Auburn where the Razorback women's team won its first road game in SEC play.

And who else was there besides ArkansasRazorbacks.com to bring that interview to fans, friends, even the legacy media itself?

That would be us #brandjournalists.

MLB hired writers, MLS columnists, the great UConn experiment, our own off-and-on commitment to what Wisconsin tagged as "Fan First" -- who else is in these wide-ranging places bringing back the coverage? The embeds from the organizations they are covering.

Who was the only media at both the NCAA men's golf championship and the NCAA baseball regional? RazorVision.

As this goes forward, the key is triangulation among media sources is the rule of the day. News consumers will take in multiple sources, and draw their own conclusions. We've got the right -- no -- the duty to stand in the room and make our point. When we don't, we abdicate the ability to tell our side of the story.

I'm not bold enough to go that step of some in our business to say that we'll be the only voice. A) Not realistic. B) That's not good for anyone -- and borderline un-American. (Or is that Un-American . . . nope, according to the AP [and even a real dictionary like Merriam-Webster] "American" takes a lower-case letter on all prefixes for common usage.)

But as long as no one else is showing up, we'll do our best. Whether or not the public believes these branded journalist is entirely dependent upon their reputations -- and it doesn't take much to fracture that trust.

Hey look, Tom is really happy with the win.