This is Seth, aka the WSOP Communications Director. Seems quite a few people unhappy with some of the media policies. I am happy to sit down and meet with all of you collectively, individually or otherwise to address any issues you have. I mean this sincerely. This isn’t corporate speak. I’m certainly willing to listen and better understand your concerns and will do my best to explain the rationale on our end or go about improving the areas. As someone involved in sports media throughout my career, I agree there are challenges with poker that I haven’t dealt with elsewhere, simply because it is the only event where the area of play shrinks when the demand expands. Not easy. But two-tiered press box in re-start area, multiple camera and audio of final table area are just a few things we’ve done in the past years to try and bring the action closer to the media. I’m all ears.

So, I guess I don’t write well either. I’m not picking on you or saying anything. Just saying that if you are like BJ, then you did not deserve any mistreatment. CP has done nothing to earn any points with me, don’t misread me there.

Matt

“The ethics of a … responsible journalist is to put his or her biases, his or her prejudices aside in an attempt to be really fair to all sides at all times,” he said. “And my pride is that I think I did that fairly well during my years.”-Walter Cronkite

ouch! why? why should it be brushed under the rug. the media is unhappy the players are unhappy. that makes no sense to me at all.

you also asked whats jeffs motivation is…
he says here
““Some people are reporting that I’m upset because the World Series canceled a media deal with Card Player,” he said.

“My comments have nothing to do with that, and everything to do with my disappointment in how the World Series is run. It used to be run by people who loved and really cared about poker, and had the players in mind, first and foremost. That mission’s been derailed by a few executives who now head the Series.”

Shulman, who has racked up $1.3 million in lifetime tournament winnings, has played in a number of World Series events in the past decade.

“This year, the WSOP locked out players who flew in from around the world to play in the main event, charged nearly $3 million in entry fees for the main event alone, continued to create an uneven playing field by giving special treatment to some, and, in general, display bad attitudes and make inaccurate decisions.”

and then here…
““Card Player and the World Series had a media deal in 2005 and 2006. Our opinion was that the event should be open to all media, but the World Series made a decision that only one media company would get access, and that company would have to pay for it.

“Card Player and the World Series had disagreements on the media coverage from day one, and we chose not to even bid on the deal in 2007. It wasn’t worth it, and they sold it to someone else. We were glad to get rid of it. Shulman is surprised that some in the poker community are so quick to blame Card Player for the trend of establishing media exclusivity in the poker business.”

“Harrah’s made the decision to auction off the media rights to cover the World Series to the highest bidder, not us. Do we like it? Absolutely not.”

As for renouncing the bracelet, Shulman says that he stands by this decision, if he is privileged enough to win.

kevin mathers said-

http://www.cardplayer.com/cptv/channels/8-the-scoop/poker-videos/3756-the-scoop-jeff-shulman

More from Shulman (starting about 13:00 in)

i think he makes himself pretty clear in this interview…

personally i love happy and as i said before hes a friend as is his wife.
but i dont feel biased here, i 100% support open media.

beej what are you doing up? dont you ever sleep?

Melissa, I’m not sure if we’ve met but I’ve spent some decent time with BJ and he has alway great to me and anyone else around. Photography tips, rookie guidelines, introductions and even being cool with me picking up work for a licensed title that was his ride. If you are at all on his scale or good side, I really feel for you. Somehow thinking of a full scale company backbiting and slandering photographers and journalist seems…like a waste of energy? Lack of class? Not sure how else to put it.

I have known BJ since he first came on the scene. ive encouraged him to only photo from the beginning. i feel his doing anything other (except some writing) is a terrible waste of talent.

i dont care if on anyones good side others than those in my personal life. what i am discussing here is an open press. if you feel im classless because of my beliefs then i guess im ok with that.

im not slandering journalists or photogs. i love them and im fighting for them. you may be someone who has access now, but someday if current trends continue you might have to pay to get it.

but maybe since i dont write very well i havent made myself understood to you.

earl burton said-
In a perfect world, the media would be open and free. If there is money involved, however, someone will soak it up to earn an extra buck. I think that’s what we’ve seen as far as the poker media with the WSOP and the WPT.

currently the wpt is open media

i cant figure out how to post on pokerati from my iphone.
any ideas?

Maybe give it a week for everyone to decompress and arrive back home, but we all know that there are changes that could/would improve access for everyone and provide better information for poker fandome.

I agree with you, B. J., that Shulman is being a hypocrite over this issue. As you stated, 2005 and 2006 were the most abysmal reporting years of the WSOP (and we don’t have many to sample from). The factor that CP has one of those “exclusive” deals with the WPT only adds to the hypocrisy.

I remember almost being thrown out of a final table in 2006 because one of the little CP Nazi interns was upset because I was taking notes on a final table for an article I would write later. It was only through Nolan’s help that he was able to convince him I wasn’t violating the “exclusivity” deal.

In a perfect world, the media would be open and free. If there is money involved, however, someone will soak it up to earn an extra buck. I think that’s what we’ve seen as far as the poker media with the WSOP and the WPT.

More from Shulman (starting about 13:00 in)

I’m with TS on this one.

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/7213-jeff-shulman-says-world-series-of-poker-rumors-miss-mark

… so says the 52nd place finisher, which is only 43 spots out of the Top 9.

actually, my read on his read is that after years of being beat down on by “fellow” media and the industry as a whole, he just doesn’t give a fuck.

So many things wrong with this. Imagine playing at Augusta National and winning the Masters green jacket and burning it on the 18th green. Good luck being welcomed anywhere in the golf industry. I guess if you win $8.5 million you wouldn’t careif the poker community shunned you, but wait…is Jeff the only person he would be affecting by this stupid move?

Is Jeff the only shareholder of Card Player? Is he the only one supporting a family from that magazine? I don’t think so. I believe that Card Player has a few nonfamily shareholders/investors. How would you like the top guy representing your investment saying he is going to throw away the most coveted prize in the sport his magazine is founded upon? I invest my money in you (not me, but an investor), you make $8.5 million then shit on my money? Glad I entrusted you to create value for me. If it were a public company he would get skewered by investors. How about the poor employees of Card Player that have helped them build their magazine? It is obvious he is not thinking about anyone but himself by making this comment.

Do you think that after tossing away the bracelet on TV that many top pros will say “sure, I want to be put on the cover”? “I would love to be interviewed.” I’m guessing that he thinks that the poker community would jump on board with him if he were to do this…potentially the worst read in poker history.

However, I will jump on board with him under 3 conditions. 1. He throws the bracelet away on TV. 2. He bans Harrah’s from displaying his picture in the Amazon room as a main event winner. 3. He immediately throws away the $8.5 million in a trash can marked T.S. The trash can will be located outside where the poker kitchen was set up next to a black Nissan Pathfinder with AZ license plates.

Make me jump on board.

Melissa, I’m not sure if we’ve met but I’ve spent some decent time with BJ and he has alway great to me and anyone else around. Photography tips, rookie guidelines, introductions and even being cool with me picking up work for a licensed title that was his ride. If you are at all on his scale or good side, I really feel for you. Somehow thinking of a full scale company backbiting and slandering photographers and journalist seems…like a waste of energy? Lack of class? Not sure how else to put it.

I’ve never heard one person speak highly of their time or experience working with Cardplayer…and that includes people that own a piece…so I’ve never tried to contact them about working for them, freelancing with them or providing material in any way. Guess now I’m really glad I have not. I know nothing of ‘Happy’ as a person, but would gladly interview him to get his side of the story. However, I have a good feeling that ANY coverage of this story will only be bad press (if there is such a thing) and is already something that he is thinking of how to spin into a less critical story as he stands to become a star of the show.

What happens if he, and — dare we say it, but its possible — Ivey decide they aren’t doing the media tours, etc. and we are left with a very humble, media shy old fella’, a Frenchman, a Brit (who is not shy about coverage) and a random collection of internet kids and mid/low level semi-pros? How will this look? What will it do for the sport/event/game that we cover?

I think it will look a lot like the Hockey strike. Non-fans will scoff at there even being a problem in the first place and belittle a game they know next to nothing about that exists on the margins already. Fans will be various levels of annoyed-to-angry that some individual egos are messing with their sport and take up polarizing sides. In the end, things could get torn apart buy wholly different forces moving in opposite directions, neither with any intention of damaging poker — but it will.

I watch ESPN’s Sport’s Centern ‘morning show’ style coverage of the results of the WSOP ME this am and I could easily read the smirk in the voice of the announcer who obviously did not care for poker — much less having to stick it at the end of his recycled news feed about a driver on speed and Farve’s comeback-possibility-deadline. What will giving them something like this do to coverage?