Mark Cuban’s Weblog

Via Just a Gwailo, we find that Mark Cuban, the unorthodox owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has started a weblog. This, in itself, isn’t all that interesting if you’re not interested in the foibles of professional sports ownership or the life of a billionaire. What is interesting is the effect it has on Cuban’s relationship with the media. Here, he describes a pre-game chat he had with journalists (while riding the StairMastter, apparently):

[The journalist asked] ”How are we going to ask you follow up questions?” I explained that he could email me directly or from the site, but that I would most likely post his question and my response. “Is the league sending a message that they didn’t want you talking to reporters?” Ding ding ding. Give him a lollipop. I went on to explain that this was the best way for all of us. They could get all the quotes and information they needed. “Will this be just you writing it, or will you dictate it to someone else?”

The satisfaction of knowing that each will have to explain to their editors what a blog is — and argue for who knows how long about whether or not BlogMaverick.com is an attributable source — crept over me and that jaunt on the gauntlet flew by.

The other aspect of his weblog that interests me is its democratizing nature. Up to now, if we wanted to hear from a team owner (or any corporate official in any industry), we generally heard it through the filter of the media. The owner told the media, and the media told us. They decided which quotes to include based on the story they wanted to tell.

Now, Mark Cuban is speaking directly to his customers. We are getting it from the horse’s mouth. Not that I’m a Mavericks fan. Or even a bastketball fan. Regardless, I applaud his frankness and willingness to buck the system.