Bloggers as journalists

I envisioned all the RGPers and bloggers and their ilk living it up in Vegas as I circled the yard on my mower today. As I clipped every spot on a journey through the one-acre lot, I thought of all the poker players sitting in that cavernous ballroom in the Rio, with its decadent carpet and lighting fixtures hung above every brand new table. I can't help but be envious, especially as I worked on a warm and humid Saturday afternoon.

If there was any doubt how high interest in the WSOP is this year, it was answered quickly not only by the 2,300 plus who entered the first event, but also by the Web updates and coverage the WSOP has gotten in its first couple of days. It also reminded me of Oliver Tse's asinine comments on RGP regarding bloggers and their lowly status. To be honest, I've never thought of poker bloggers as journalists before and if you want to be honest about it few truly are. (And as someone who practices journalism daily at a newspaper I sometimes felt a condescending feeling come into my mind, ala someone like Tse, and that creeps me out a bit.)

Up until this point, most blogs have been solely about the author's wins and losses. People love to brag on themselves and be lauded (you can see my "Recognition" post for my thoughts on that) and I haven't been shy about talking about my own game either. Others, like Pauly's taopoker, provide a great narrative experience of poker and life in general. Iggy's blog has become a hub for a reason, but to be truthful he isn't doing much original reporting, but rather providing a very useful clearinghouse for poker news.

But now that the WSOP has started I'm seeing blog reports that go beyond the "this is how I did" discussion and instead focus on the WSOP as a whole and provide a good rundown of what is happening in Vegas right now. It seems for this event that is universally loved by poker players and one that even picques the curiosity of the non player, there are many bloggers and RGPers who want to help everyone be a part of it by reporting the goings on at the WSOP, and the reports I've seen have been as well written as those from the "professional" poker related Web sites.

As for me, I've got two weeks left on the job and then it's off to Vegas for 26 days. I'm in the process of getting PokerStars to buy me into the $1,500 NLHE on June 22 and I will try to provide my own daily blog reports from the green felt.