SwimNews Posts Exclusive Interview With Chuck Wielgus About Media Endeavor

By Jason Marsteller

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, January 14. IN an exclusive interview with USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus, Craig Lord of SwimNews.com asked some pointed questions about USA Swimming's newest for-profit venture with the Wasserman Media Group.

While many of Wielgus' responses are similar to those that would be drawn from any entity head about to join in a new venture, some points made in the article shed tremendous light on the move by USA Swimming.

One of the threads running through Lord's interview is that of conflict of interest. In his article, Lord directly asked about the potential for a conflict of interest between an organization already wielding much government-granted power within a certain domain, and that organization creating its own media model.

"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."

In this answer, Wielgus admitted that there are inherent conflicts of interest within the for-profit venture with the Wasserman Media Group. However, he makes an incorrect assumption stating that the venture is nothing different than the NFL Network. The primary difference is that the NFL and other professional sports in America are professional sports leagues that have a focused agenda of profiting from their own sports.

USA Swimming is on a much different playing ground as the entity created to nurture the entire sport of swimming within the U.S., not just a confederation of franchise owners trying to make as much money as possible.

Different from the NFL, NBA and MLB, USA Swimming is the caretaker of nearly all of competitive swimming within the United States, and has special protections from the government due to this relationship.

While the NFL, NBA and MLB have talent feeder leagues that they don't control or own, USA Swimming has an entire nation-wide system devoted to producing top talent with an eye toward the Olympic movement.

USA Swimming's goal should not be trying to convert its vast power within the sport of swimming into a for-profit venture that has some self-admitted conflicts of interest from the get go.

Another point of emphasis within Lord's article is the question of inside information and how that inside information will be distributed to other media members also trying to do their best to give swimming the widest possible coverage.

"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 "rival" media outlets: for example, what privileges will you afford a quasi-in-house operation when it comes to U.S. 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."

Wielgus did not even answer the question directly. Instead of addressing whether media representatives will have equal coverage access as those involved within the venture with the Wasserman Media Group, Wielgus just states that USA Swimming doesn't envision keeping other media members from covering major events. A media member could easily be put in the nosebleed section at Trials, and Wielgus' statement would not be proven untrue.

Lord also brought up a significant hypothetical situation that gets to the heart of the conflict of interest issues inherent in the venture with the Wasserman Media Group.

"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 entire swimming world will be watching as USA Swimming takes a step towards controlling its own content. It will be interesting to see how Wielgus and his charges at USA Swimming navigate a future with the Wasserman Media Group.

For the full text of the complete interview, please visit SwimNews.com here.

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