The decline and fall of traditional newspapers is well documented, but it’s amusing to note there are still a few bastions of “old media” power left. One was on display yesterday when the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its 2009 class of inductees. In a sport that celebrates specialization, technology and competition, entry to the Hall of Fame remains the exclusive monopoly of geography-based newspaper and magazine writers.
The Hall of Fame, a nonprofit museum, delegates member selection to a 44-member panel composed entirely of media representatives – in other words, people who have never played, coached or actually worked in professional football. Every city with an NFL team must have at least one writer on the panel, ensuring the Bergen Record and the Tampa Tribune have a say. Membership on the panel is effectively a lifetime appointment (even the Vatican restricts papal voting to those cardinals under 70.) Sports Illustrated has three members on the panel. There are a handful of television reporters, but overwhelmingly it’s “traditional” print writers and columnists.
As Hall selectors, these media members don’t just make the news; they take every precaution to minimize transparency and accountability. All voting is by secret ballot and selectors are forbidden to discuss their deliberations outside of the closed-door selection meeting. Since Hall candidates can appear before the selection panel a theoretically unlimited number of times, individuals who have been rejected for years can suddenly find themselves in the Hall with no explanation as to why the panel – whose membership has little turnover – suddenly changed its mind. (This problem is exasperated by the Hall’s arbitrary limit of no more than seven new inductees each year.) Even the Federal Reserve has more transparency then this.
Not surprisingly, there is a bias in Hall selection towards better-known skill position players. There are 49 “modern era” quarterbacks and running backs in the Hall versus just 34 offensive linemen from the same period, even though far more individuals have played on the line. It’s relatively easy for media selectors to judge quarterbacks on statistics, but judging an offensive guard requires actual football knowledge that media gossips – and that’s what most writers are – lack. Some specialties, such as kickers, have virtually no Hall members at all.
Like Baseball’s Hall of Fame, which also relies on a media-only selection process, the original rationale for the sportswriter monopoly was that giving the press a vested interest in the process would lead to greater publicity for the Hall itself. In the “pre-modern era” when newspapers were the primary mass medium, this approach was defensible. But today it’s a silly anachronism. Not only has the Internet undercut – and often surpassed – the reporting of newspaper scribes, more people can access more information about players and their performances. The Hall process still relies on individual writers “making a case” for particular players – who can tell the best story.
For many years, Hall selectors rejected the candidacy of Art Monk, a wide receiver known primarily for his work with the Washington Redskins. Monk opponents, particularly the Sports Illustrated representatives, continually cited their own anecdotal reporting that Monk was never considered a “primary threat” by opposing coaches. They relied on secondhand information rather then study Monk’s actual film. Some Redskins fans actually prepared clip reels of Monk and used the Internet to push the case for his induction. Eventually, the media College of Cardinals relented and voted Monk in on his eighth year of eligibility.
Even if you’re not a football fan and don’t care about any of this, it’s still worth noting how the traditional press continues to view itself as a necessary gatekeeper. They “protect” the public from information they are supposedly unable to handle. They decide what stories are worth being told and which are not. They demand accountability from the powerful, but they must operate in secrecy with no public oversight (just consider the amount of political reporting based on “anonymous sources,” who of course are not anonymous to the reporter.) And above all, they must continue to operate as they always have despite the emergence of new technology and, more importantly, newer talent that can properly exploit that technology.
It will be interesting to see what happens a decade from now if most of the Hall selectors continue to enjoy their positions despite the loss of their regular newspaper and magazine positions – or whether the Hall decides to abandon one of the last outposts of old media power and implement a new selection process that emphasizes actual football expertise over press credentials.
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Not sure I quite agree with the article. In the comparison between “skill” positons and offensive lineman…. NFL lineman are “taught” or “encouraged” to work together as a cohesive unit thus making it more difficult to seperate themselves from the pack. Jim Lachey (Redskins) was an awesome left tackle who specialized in pulling on the Redskins Famed “counter trey”,,, but if the left Guard (name escapes me) wasn’t up to par, then Lachey’s success would have been for naught because the line is only as good as it’s weakest link (to coin a phrase). Does that mean we deserve less OL in the Hall then skill players… not really. But the OL players must be heads and shoulders above their piers to be considered Hall Worthy!?!?! As for Monk… that’s a bunch of crap! He was a 1st ballot candidate if there ever was one…. #1 on the recieving list when he retired, 3 SB Rings, 7 Pro Bowls, Longest Consecutive Streak with a catch!?!?!!?!
Ask Dallas fans if he was a threat!
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