Now that we’re squarely within the 21st Century, most NFL teams send out official news releases to the media by e-mail.  We’ve snuck our e-mail address onto most of the teams’ lists, which allows us to keep this site as current as possible regarding all new developments, signings, retirements, suspensions, trades, etc.

The Raiders, however, have advised us that they only post news on their official web site, and that they use no e-mail system for advising the media of any developments.

As it turns out, the Raiders do use e-mail when it comes to informing season-ticket holders of certain developments.  Last night, at 10:46 local time, the following was sent by the team:  “As a Raiders Season Ticket Holder, we want you to be the first to know that The Oakland Raiders have officially signed RB Darren McFadden to his player contract.  McFadden signed the contract at the Raiders training facility in Alameda where he has been participating in Mini-Camp.”

And, of course, the e-mail concluded with an invitation to “[g]et your #20 Darren McFadden jersey at any Raider Image location or shop online.”

Some readers complain that there’s a bias in the media against the Raiders.  If there is, this odd double standard reflects an attitude toward the media that could prompt some in the media to develop such a bias.  Instead of assisting the media in the performance of their duties by creating an e-mail list that communicates information of this kind to all of them instantaneously, the Raiders have opted to use their ticket-holder e-mail list as a P.R. tool, giving the paying customers the inside scoop on the McFadden signing.

Presumably, the goal is to use this kind of inside info to persuade season-ticket holders to keep buying season tickets, and to perhaps prompt folks who currently aren’t season-ticket holders to break out the checkbook.  The last time we checked, however, the best way to maximize the pool of season-ticket holders is by winning more games than the team loses on a consistent basis.

UPDATE:  We have since learned that the Raiders have an e-mail system for alerting the media of signings, trades, etc.  The odd part about this is that we were specifically told in April 2008, in response to an e-mail I sent to the team’s P.R. department, that there is no such system.  And so either the person who responded to my inquiry was/is brain dead, or the person didn’t regard PFT as worthy of being on the list, and felt compelled to provide a facially plausible (albeit totally fabricated) reason for not including me.