The Redskins "impose some of the toughest restrictions" in the NFL on non-partner media companies, as no other franchise in the NFC East "prohibits live broadcasts of news conferences by non-partner stations, as the Redskins do," according to Paul Farhi of the WASHINGTON POST. The Dan Snyder-controlled ESPN Radio 980 DC, which is the team's official radio partner, along with local TV partner WRC-NBC and RSN partner CSN Washington, "receive special access to players, coaches and team facilities, and sometimes the right to broadcast the team’s games." WUSA-CBS News Dir Fred D'Ambrosi said the Redskins "are the most challenging" for non-partner stations. Redskins Senior VP/Communications Tony Wyllie said that the team is "obligated to uphold contractual obligations to its media partners." WJFK-FM, which is not a partner, and WUSA both said that requests for interviews "with star players are regularly rejected." While the Redskins "permit WJFK’s reporters to transmit brief news 'updates' from team facilities, they aren’t allowed to use Redskins phone lines." The Redskins' media partners insist that they "have never compromised their reporting despite paying millions of dollars for partnerships," yet "several episodes underscore the inherent conflict." WRC-NBC this season is "airing five Redskins-related programs each week," and station Sports Producer Jeff Greenberg reportedly told Washington Post columnist Mike Wise he was "cutting his appearances as a panelist on 'Redskins Showtime.'" Greenberg explained that the station was "about to start negotiating with the team for a new partnership." Wise said that he was told his "vigorous denunciations of the team’s name as racially offensive were problematic." Wise: "If my stand against the name was the primary reason for reducing my profile ... and contractual negotiations with the team were a part of that, yeah, that’s a little disappointing" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/7).
