DK'S GRIND FEED

Readers don't care about stupid media stuff. I don't expect anyone to.

But the Pirates are one of the three teams we cover at DK Pittsburgh Sports and, because a lot of you do care about that coverage, I'm going to share here why that coverage won't -- and can't -- be competitive with ... the team itself?

Let's start with this: No one who's paid by the team is an 'insider' or a reporter of any kind. Even if they were in a previous life. He/she can write features, can tell stories and all that, but it crosses the line into being dishonest when it's presented as or even suggested to be journalism, which by nature and definition must be independent. (OK, maybe not in North Korea, but the point stands.)

So when the Pirates hired someone to fill such a role a few months ago, I'd expressed strong concern about what that could mean moving forward for independent outlets like ours and, specifically, outlets that invest tens of thousands of dollars annually in traveling everywhere for the express purpose of journalism.

That came to a head over the past 48 hours.

We were told by the team as I covered the game Sunday at PNC Park that Carmen Mlodzinski would be available to reporters Tuesday in Houston to discuss his (now-completed) time on the restricted list. I shared that with the readers and listeners here, adding that we'd have José Negron in Houston to cover that.

Then, boom. By Monday evening, not only was there a full interview with Mlodzinski on the team site, but even the first word that he'd been removed from the restricted list. All from Houston. By a team employee who'd flown on the team flight and stayed at the team hotel.

In actual journalism, that's a good get. A scoop. But that's not what this is. It's a team employee taking advantage of a team setting, aiming to 'beat' the independent media who'd have zero chance of capitalizing on the same scenario. (No access until open clubhouse Tuesday afternoon.)

Which, to be blunt, really ought to be embarrassing for anyone who's EVER been in journalism to see that as some sort of triumph. But I digress.

This isn't about Mlodzinski, to be clear. Or even that his story's some big deal. It's not.

Rather, it's about the way this team's chosen to operate in the wake of years of relentless -- and so very richly deserved -- criticism for being one of Major League Baseball's worst, cheapest and most dysfunctional franchises. This was their response. Put a reporter on payroll -- meaning their own, not MLB.com -- and try to tell/spin things their way.

We can't stop that. We can complain. We can ask for meetings to discuss it. But ultimately, we can't stop if they choose to be this way.

Hell no, we're not going to stop covering the Pirates. And we'll do so with all the standard accuracy and fairness that we've always shown. I'll be plain on that.

But we can and will share what the team's trying to do to independent media -- and this was done to ALL independent media in our city, not just us, as can currently be found across social media -- so there's a clearer understanding of why our content in covering this team might be different than it is on the Steelers or Penguins, both of whom carry themselves with class when it comes to dealing with Pittsburgh media.

Happy to answer any and all questions in comments, as ever.