Mark Cuban sounds off on blogs

On Blog Maverick, the outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Mark Cuban gave some insight on his decision to ban bloggers from his team's locker room on his own blog (see his posts from March 10, March 13 and March 17).

Cuban says there is simply not space to grant media access to everyone, so he does not allow bloggers into the locker room (but they do have access elsewhere). When he found out one of the handful of Dallas Morning News writers who had access to the locker room was employed solely to be a sports blogger, he raised a red flag, saying he treats all bloggers the same, whether they attend a Dallas high school or write for the Morning News. He did not want to give the blogger from the Morning News (who had this access for many games before the ban) preferential access simply because he was employed by a traditional media company.

The Morning News provided an interesting response, claiming Cuban is singling out this blogger for his views (a claim Cuban is vehemently denying) and that this blogger should be allowed access since he gathers quotes that often make it into the print edition of the paper.

Cuban's view is not that blogs are bad (he would be quite the hypocrite if this were the case) but he is clearly separating church and state. He warns that respected media outlets put their reputations on the line when they start blogs since blogs do not typically allow for the same publishing standards consumers should expect from the traditional media.

Cuban's point is valid - it is easy to create a blog, and many blogs are of poor quality, but I can't help but feel he's cutting off his nose to spite his face. I certainly agree (as do a lot of newspaper publishers) that blogs are risky, but it is uncharted territory that media companies (once called newspapers) need to explore to survive. The print newspaper is going the way of the do-do, and like it or not, blogs are what resonate with a lot of consumers. Media companies are also strapped for resources, making blogs a quick and easy solution for newspapers and TV stations trying to do more with less.

It's obviously his prerogative to set the standards for his own organization's media access, but I have to wonder how long this will last since more and more media companies are hiring writers to blog exclusively. Cuban writes about this extensively, but I am not convinced that we live in an age where we can weigh a blogger's words against those of a traditional reporter.

I am sure we have all had to make a decision about granting a blogger access at our own companies. Do your PR departments have policies on how to handle bloggers, or do you handle bloggers on a case-by-case basis?