Some years ago, the big federations, from the USA and Australia, started out down the road of media relations by hiring the right folk to handle press and broadcast relationships. Many other federations caught the wave and today we find media services far and wide, services which vary in quantity, scope and quality from country to country, some clearly understanding the difference between the related but very different worlds of reporting and marketing. The services organised by USA Swimming and Swimming Australia are exemplary, often enhancing and facilitating the work of journalists without straying too far across the line of wanting to control and manipulate the news.

USA Swimming is about to put its good record to the test by moving into the news media market in a deal with the Wasserman Group that looks certain to raise issues of conflict of interest and at times strain its relationship with the wider media. In light of blog discussions over alterations made to copy that appeared not to please the federation when original articles first appeared on TimedFinals.com - an operation that is set to disappear in the wake of the USA Swimming and Wasserman deal - SwimNews asked Chuck Wielgus, Executive Director of USA Swimming, why a national federation would wish to get involved directly in an area that is likely to bring troublesome issues to its door in the years ahead.

Q: Is it correct that USA Swimming will own or have a partial interest
 in SwimNetwork.com? 

CW: Yes, USA Swimming is entering into a partnership with the Wasserman Media Group to create a new platform for marketing and promoting the sport of swimming in the US (it is understood that the new website would also cover world swimming and not confine itself to USA swimming).

Q: What is the relationship between the USA Swim federation and
SwimNetwork.com? 

CW: USA Swimming will be a co-owner of the new website

Q: What is the nature of the relationship between USA Swimming and WMG? CW: We are business partners.

Q: Who will run the editorial content of SwimNetwork.com? 

CW: A publisher has been hired and there will be writers producing the content. [the 'publisher' is set to be Neal Scarborough, former editor for ESPN.com, previously on the Denver Post and hired by WMG to oversee content delivery for swimming, track & field
and gymnastics on new websites. Scott Goldblatt, currently of TimedFinals, will be among the writing team].

Q: Are you aware of the past problems over plagiarism and copyright theft against one of
those in line to play a key role at SwimNetwork.com? 

CW: I am now aware of [any] specific situation, but I am aware that there have been some complaints about some of the items that have appeared on TimedFinals not being accompanied by credit to the original source. I trust this will not be a problem with the new site.

Q: On the issue of taking material from other sources with no attempt to credit the original source, do you condone it?

CW: Absolutely not.

Q. Based on Internet knowledge derived from USA Swimming Board of
Directors Minutes showing a changing relationship of Rod Davis from USA
Swimming's Chief Marketing Officer to consultant, what is USA Swimming's
current relationship with Rod Davis? What is WMG relationship with Rod
Davis? How much financial gain, in money or through other means, does
Mr. Davis stand to make when your federation and WMG closes? 

CW: I do not think it appropriate that I respond to these questions. Personnel issues raised by USA Swimming board of directors are being addressed.


Q. When is that deal to be closed? Or has it already closed? 

CW: It is in process.

Q. Why does USA Swimming want to get involved in owning 50% of news media?

This is about taking greater control of our content and increasing exposure for our sport. Having WMG as a partner will allow us to webcast more events and produce other programming content that we could not do on our own. What we are doing is no different that what the major pro sports leagues in the US are doing.

Q. Would such a move not carry a huge potential for conflict of
interest? 

CW: I have no doubt that conflicts and issues will arise and we're just going to have to work through these as they do. This is no different to what we're seeing happen with the NFL network and other Pro Sports models.

Q: Would such a move not carry a huge potential to make enemies of
independent media predisposed to good treatment of your key assets: the
swimmers?

CW: With the exception of attention that an athlete like Michael Phelps and a few others generate, the general sports media (in the USA) pretty much ignores swimming except during the time of the Olympic Games. Our goal is to increase interest in the sport.

Q. If USA Swimming is so closely connected with one media outlet and
has a vested interest in making sure the operation is financially
viable, will your federation seek to control the activities of "e;rival"e;
media outlets: for example, what privileges will you afford a quasi
in-house operation when it comes to US Olympic trials: will one media team have access to the deck and locker
room while others are locked out? 

CW: I do not envision us keeping other legitimate media representatives from covering our major events.

Q. Are you hoping that SwimNetwork.com will bring the
world exclusive news from the world of swimming? And if so, do you think
that will lead to poor reporting of your sport? By that I mean the
following: self-serving scoops may well force other media to be more
aggressive and as a consequence, the likelihood will increase of
half-truths, rumours and damaging speculation about members of the USA
team. Distrust and irresponsible reporting are consequences of an
escalation of tension in the media scrum, experience tells me.

CW: Gosh - I hope not. But you raise an interesting scenario for us to consider.

Q: If a US Swimmer or official should fall from grace (doping, bringing
sport into disrepute, financial scandal, etc., ) as happens from time to
time, will SwimNetwork.com treat that person with the same impartial
aggression as it would presumably treat a drugs cheat from China, or any
other non-US country? 

CW: There is no question that from time to time there will be stories that will appear that will not make us happy, but if they are legitimate and newsworthy, they should be covered.

SwimNews thanks Chuck for his time and effort in answering questions on a topic that will continue to be a source of much debate in the USA for some time to come. The issues of impartiality and conflict of interest are ones that are likely to linger longest. It is entirely understandable why a federation that has one of the finest records in world sport and boasts some of the biggest assets in the history of Olympic sport would wish to promote itself beyond the relatively sparse attention it and its stars garner. The potential for selling swimming beyond its current status in world sport is immense, particularly in the USA, though no-one underestimates the difficulty of that exercise in a nation drunk on pro sport (the conditions of which hardly compare at all to those that prevail in a sport that is organised from world level downwards in a very different way, not least of all in terms of the money paid and not paid as wages to players/swimmers) . However, the journey is a potential minefield and will need careful and sensitive handling. Take a very easy one at the Olympic Games: if Phelps were to slip in the shower after his third gold medal and break his hand, USA Swimming would be the first to have the bad news confirmed - but would it break the story on its own website or would it hold a press conference at which the world hears the news as one? The latter would be most sensible, the former bound to result in a loss of trust between the media, including operations that the federation has long relied on for good coverage of its activities, and USA Swimming. The temptation would be great, however, for a fledgling website that naturally wants attention and hits to sell on as commercial viability. In Australia, the federation's media service, run by Ian Hanson, is as pro-active as it is excellent but it would surely come a cropper - sooner or later - if it decided to compete with the Murdochs, among others, of the world head on in the daily news market while trying to serve the federation at the same time.

In extremis (and it has happened elsewhere in the world on a different scale), where the federation is perceived - and perception is often enough to cause damage - the wider, independent media may well respond by moving further away from swimming, not embracing it. The result in caricature: one website dedicated to swimming and a community that talks to itself. That has long been one of the sport's perennial problems. The journey and status of pro sport is unlike that of swimming. The traditional media will do anything it can to hold on to its coverage of sports that bring in tons of money to their media masters. But swimming brings in relatively few dollars, relative hat is to the millions (in some cases, billions) that swill about in pro sports, such as American football and baseball, that command audience figures that cannot be compared to the numbers who gather faithfully to watch aquatic sports. If traditional media find it harder to find good lines in the pool, their response is more likely to be to jump ship rather than to try harder.

The birth, growth and maintenance of SwimNetwork.com will be worth watching - as will the potential for fallout and consequence.