Just like a blog about the Islanders sponsored by the Islanders. Yes you are independent and have proven it, but how many doubted it in the beginning and how many still believe this..

I have to strongly lean towards agreeing with CB here. Chris knows exactly what he’s talking about. I work in the electronic media and let me tell you this. A lot of accommodations are made to both the electronic and print media by teams / leagues. So what is the difference if they extend that to charter flights?

When I used to work for Fox Sports covering NHL, MLB & NFL the teams had a “Press” dining section and fed us. Some teams even set up rooms in the guts of the stadium / arena for extra seating and had buffet service for larger events to handle the excess media. I see no problem with journalistic integrity if this is done league wide .. and I think Logan already brings his own brand of good integrity. Others have already mentioned Howie and Billy’s status as Cablevision employees, so what is the difference? If there is any question, perhaps the Isles could charge Newsday a nominal fuel surcharge. After all … even Airforce One carries a press corp … and the press makes a living ripping the POTUS .. no matter what administration.

Regarding print media in general. I was once told by a veteran print sports writer (former Isles beat writer) about 10 years ago that newspapers will be obsolete in about 10 years. He said, it isn’t that news is obsolete, it’s the paper part that is.

Newsday being run by an electronic media empire is a huge mistake. The Dolan’s know nothing about how to fix the print media. Charging more for the paper doesn’t increase readership. It diminishes it.. thus the ad revenue with it. Maybe they are trying to kill the paper altogether?

No coverage at all, or coverage from a guy who *may* have a conflict of interest?

I think we all realize the ethical issues here, but as an Islanders fan, I’d rather read articles in the newspaper which may be tinged with bias (which I don’t foresee happening, anyway) than see my team relegated to a 200 word AP story one page before the high school sports section.

I don’t want to have to choose between the two; I would like to see Newsday be committed to the Isles. However, if I have to choose between those two scenarios, I’m taking the local coverage every time.

I don’t know if that is true specifically in this case, but I’ve never heard of a scenario where it is not true.

So while Billy and Howie are paid by the Dolans, it’s the Islanders who hire - and fire - them.

FYI: I wrote a post about Botta’s idea here: http://blogs.trb.com/sports/columnists/jimbaumbach/blog/2008/12/why_newsday_wont_ever_save_by.html

Its really up to Greg to maintain that. His track record of work supports both his credibility and integrity to date.

The “change of control” issue at Newsday - and the subsequent cost cutting issues are not issues that Mr.Logan initiated nor has any control over.

He will be judged by the quality of his work - and I think its perfectly fine to use the team charter as a means of transprot.

Perhaps he can take a position of sitting away from the players and management (depending on how big the plane is - etc) and he can either choose to take advantage of the additional time together to write more about the team.

I mean if the Isles support a blog box and invite people to write what they feel, they neither have the desire - nor the clout - to influence the coverage that Mr. Logan or Newsday can and should provide.

Only the Islanders or Cablevision can screw this up. The Islanders by either limiting Greg access to the team or kicking him off the plane. Cablevision is a collection (save for the announcers and workers on the telecasts - talking about the execs) of dummies and insensitive people. See Dolan, James.

Pat