“Luddite” is Right: the NCAA’s Blogging Policy

Over the weekend, I was somehow directed to Gawker’s Deadspin blog and an entry titled, “Luddite University of Iowa Athletic Department Limits Blogging at Games.” In the post, author Clay Travis wrote about the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s blogging policy (PDF), a ruling that was created last year after the organization pulled a journalist’s credential for live blogging during a baseball game.

For some reason I had not previously heard of this policy, but a cursory search reveals that it has been well-covered and correctly lambasted in the past year or so. That makes Travis’ revelation a bit on the late side (along with mine, of course), but the blogger – despite having a wholly inaccurate headline  – really hits the nail on the head with his use of the word “Luddite.”

We all know that a Luddite is one who fears technology, but its etymology is a fair bit more interesting than the definition and rather relevant to this instance. The Wikipedia entry for “Luddite” does a good job summing up the word’s history (emphasis added):

The Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the early nineteenth century who protested—often by destroying mechanized looms—against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt threatened their livelihood.

Or, the modernized version:

The Luddites were a governing body for collegiate sports in the early twenty-first century who protested—often by banning certain types of coverage—against the changes produced by the Web Revolution, which they felt threatened their livelihood.

There you have it: the NCAA limits live blogging from its championship events perhaps not because it doesn’t understand the medium, but because it does and it’s afraid. Whether that fear is prudent is another whole ball of wax, but it’s obvious that the techniques being employed don’t sit well with constituents and journalists would do well to continue making a stink about it.

It’s a long shot, but maybe then someone up top in the NCAA would realize that working to innovate is vastly more effective than working to impede progress.

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