Bob McGinn is in his 39th year covering the Packers, but this year is different: He’s not welcome in the press box.
McGinn, who left the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this year and launched his own site, BobMcGinnFootball.com, is not being credentialed by the Packers this season. That means he covers the games by watching on television, rather than sitting in the press box and talking to players in the locker room afterward.
“I’m pretty much doing the same I would,” McGinn told the Locked On Packers Podcast. “I’m not traveling to games. In fact, I’m not attending games because the Packers did not credential our website. We have a staff — although none of us are credentialed.”
Different teams have different approaches to credentialing. Some generally credential only traditional media like newspapers, magazines and television stations. Others credential websites, even small websites without much readership.
It’s surprising that McGinn, even if his website is currently small without much readership, wouldn’t get credentialed. He has received the prestigious Dick McCann Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Packers president Mark Murphy has called McGinn “an icon.”
His iconic status aside, McGinn is on the outside looking in at Lambeau Field.