Are you effing kidding? Hilarious if this is true...
Chicago Bears new media coverage rules: don’t report on us
Tom Brady destroyed his cell phone. Now the Chicago Bears apparently would like beat reporters to self-destruct or otherwise disappear.
The team has released new coverage rules for its training camp. Like all NFL teams, it just started.
Dan Bernstein, a Chicago radio sports talk host, summarized the new rules thusly after mentioning the rather open access for fans:
Credentialed reporters, however, have now been told not to report. They can’t tell anyone what they see on the field, nor can they approach players or coaches at the conclusion of practice without having submitted a request for approval 24 hours prior.
These laughable guidelines were put in place ostensibly to control information, despite the fact that it clearly does the exact opposite. Instead of allowing those trained and paid to process and disseminate news, the Bears have now ceded that control to anybody with a smartphone.
As the Chicago Tribune also underscores, the attempt to limit coverage seems pretty lame.
Like Tom Brady, the Bears are apparently believers in the less information, the better.