PGA Tour CMO Ty Votaw said that freelance reporter Stephanie Wei, who last Thursday had her media credential stripped for the season after using Twitter-owned streaming app Periscope to film a practice round last Monday, "is free to reapply for a credential at season’s end, and ... any such request will be 'considered,'" according to Alan Shipnuck of GOLF.com. After Wei filmed golfer Jordan Spieth's practice round, the Tour "yanked Wei’s credential" for the rest of the '15 season, "citing multiple violations of its media regulations which prohibit accredited reporters from sharing video images of players taken at tournament venues." What "looks like a decisive loss for Wei has larger repercussions for both fans and reporters." Her "harsh treatment at the hands of the Tour has provoked a fierce debate on social media -- #freewei became a trendy Twitter hashtag -- and her banishment may ultimately be remembered as the start of an accidental rebellion." Wei: "I was trying to increase fan engagement and drum up interest in the event. This is a much bigger issue than just a few video clips. What this is really about is the Tour needing to modernize its policies." Even if Wei "broke the Tour’s rules, the real issue is whether those rules make sense anymore." Votaw: "Who owns those rights? We do, not you. If you want access to those rights, you have to pay for it. When (Wei) posts unauthorized videos, she’s stealing. I don’t understand how you can’t get that through your head." Shipnuck wrote the Tour's "only reason for being is to serve the fans," and he asked Votaw if he "even recognizes this fundamental fact." Votaw responded, "We exist to entertain the fans, that is correct. That is not the issue in play here. The issue is who owns the content from Monday to Monday at tournament sites" (GOLF.com, 5/2).
ROUNDTABLE REAX: GOLF.com's weekly roundtable discussed this issue. Golf.com Managing Editor Eamon Lynch: "Wei broke the rules, so there's no real defense of her actions. But the rules aren't worth defending." Golf magazine Senior Writer Cameron Morfit: "The only thing Steph has ever been guilty of is doing her job too passionately." Golf.com Associate Editor Coleman McDowell: "The Tour should be embracing the medium at minimum during practice rounds ... because it provides new insight into players on Monday-Wednesday you don't see anywhere else." SI Golf Group Senior Editor Jeff Ritter: "The Tour could have made its point with a 1-2 week suspension." Golf magazine Senior Editor Joe Passov: "The PGA Tour's actions seem to be draconian. Wei is a serious journalist with excellent reporting chops. At the very least, more due process -- hearings and such -- seem to be in order" (GOLF.com, 5/3).
