Like many of you, I’m a regular reader of Matthew Cerrone’s Metsblog. Cerrone and his associates do terrific work year-round, and the site has been a constant resource material for this blog and countless others. Though I’ve occasionally disagreed with the views expressed, I’ve never had any cause to question the integrity of Metsblog and sincerely doubt there will be reason to do so in the future.
That said, Monday’s announcement by Cerrone that he’d entered into “a partnership” with SportsNet New York (SNY) set off a few alarms here in Self-Righteousville. Though Cerrone took pains to assure his readers “very little will change, in that SNY will have no editorial control”, that doesn’t take away from the fact that Metsblog is now in business with a company partially owned by the New York Mets. The exact nature of that business (ie. does SNY have a financial stake in Metsblog? Will they share in Metsblog’s ad revenues?) was not disclosed.
(new Metsblog associate editor Jeff Wilpon, taking advantage of the site’s increased access)
While this is the first time I’ve heard of a blog entering into a formal establishment with the very team they cover, such relationships are hardly unprecedented in the print media universe. Whether or that’s a good thing is a matter of opinion.
I wish Matthew and his colleagues at Metsblog all the best and look forward to stealing links enjoying their comprehensive coverage of my favorite team. But if we see an editorial in the near future campaigning for Chris Cotter’s election to the broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall Of Fame, you’ll know something’s up.