Dalton Tevlin/Sports Director
We would have loved to use this space for a preview of the upcoming football season, instead, we decided to voice our concerns about our relationship with FIU athletic communications.
PantherNOW has been denied any press access to the FIU Football team for this upcoming season. This is an issue that predates even my time as sports director. In the two years that I have been a part of student media, relations with athletics has been a persistent issue.
The responsibility of any media outlet is to provide reliable and relevant news to their audience. Our role at PantherNOW is to give faculty and students at FIU accurate and timely news about the university. This includes news about FIU’s Football team. Without the proper credentials, we would not be able to responsibly cover the football team
Tyson Rodgers and FIU athletic communications are blocking the only student voice that the university has. While other news outlets consistently receive access to players, coaches and special events, student media is left in the dark.
Rodgers and his staff have ignored text messages and phone calls, not responded to numerous emails and given misleading information to reporters.
It is a disservice to the students and faculty who rely on PantherNow as a consistent news outlet for FIU.
PantherNOW has made the decision to cease all coverage of FIU football until we are granted the same access as other news organizations. We will not continue to be treated as a second-rate news organization in our own university.
There are many other sports at the university that are deserving of coverage and are willing to give us the time to tell their stories. It is unfortunate for the football players and coaches, who we would like to cover but are unable to because of Rodgers and his staff.
FIU football has had success in the past two seasons, but their story can’t be properly told when student media has no access to the program.
Rodgers, assistant Athletic Director for football communications, has been the main obstacle we have faced here at student media. We were ignored in our requests to attend FIU’s training camps and media day this summer. We are heading into a highly-anticipated football season with no information on what has been going on with the team.
As a publicly funded university, it is FIU athletic communication’s role to give us access to any program we need. They are infringing on our right to a free press and the right to give objective news coverage on FIU’s biggest program.
We have not been given a reason why we have been shut out of every coverage opportunity. After PantherNow reported that running back Shawndarrius Phillips, who had a warrant for his arrest the entire 2018 season was still playing on the team, we notice a rise in neglect for PantherNOW.
Myself and the rest of the PantherNOW staff are dedicated to providing fair and accurate news to the FIU community. Unfortunately, football will not be in the scope of that reporting until further notice.
Athletics must be held responsible for their lack of respect for the students and student media as a whole. We deserve the same respect that outside media outlets receive, if not more.
We will continue to update you with further information in regards to our FIU football coverage at PantherNOW.com.
