Georgia beat writer

Would you mind providing a link to your work? I'd love to give my opinion on it--ya know, return the favor.

 

You didn't really have to explain the errors of your theory to anyone — I'm sure practically nobody ever read it in the first place. I likely doubled your traffic for you tonight. You're welcome.

How dare the Telegraph narrow their search to those who. . . you know, actually know how to report and write stories. They definitely should open the check book to a blogger with 182 Twitter followers. There's folks out there who screw up, write boring crap and are lazy - that's for sure. But there's also an incredible amount of talented journalists out there producing great work daily.

 

Links?

 

I'm pretty sure I said the exact same thing. That it's not the fault of The Sportswriter. Why bother reading, though?

 

As Les said, there is plenty of great, creative work out there. We just don't feel like doing your work for you. If you are so inclined, there are hundreds of threads on good (and bad) writing on the actual journalism segment of the board. But I suspect that's not what you are here for. But a good troll is always fun too.

 

I made that point pretty clear--that it's not the fault of The Sportswriter. The sportswriters who cover UK for my hometown newspaper are both incredibly talented.

As far as opening a checkbook, I make twice as much now as I would going anywhere to write about sports. I'm pivoting to journalism because I like it and feel there's a great dearth of it today despite its online proliferation. I want to work for a newspaper because I respect what The Newspaper has meant to America over the years, and I hate seeing it fail due to corporate shortsightedness. And, despite your uncalled for personal attacks, I know I'm a good writer. In fact, I'm a very good writer with a unique voice and sense of humor--both of which I've earned the hard way: by making a lot of mistakes writing fiction for ten years.

 

Just one. Point me to one that you personally, the guy attacking me, think is good.

EDIT: I swear to god I'm not trolling. I'm just passionate about this. Like I said, there are amazingly talented sports journalists everywhere. It's a mechanism problem, not a talent problem.

Just off the top of my head, I thought of this piece by Albert Burneko at Deadspin as an example of something I think is really good. And I love Bill Simmons, but I agree with every single thing Burneko says in this piece. Newspapers won't embrace pieces like this, though, and to me, that's the problem because pieces like this inspire debate, move the conversation forward, and while there may not be room in the print version of a newspaper for something like this, there definitely is online (which is really all that matters as we move forward). Even this Burneko piece, with which I vehemently disagreed, is the kind of thing newspapers ought to be doing more of.

 

Here's a list for you.
1) I doubt you can save "The Newspaper."
2) How can you criticize the work of all sportswriters, yet claim those covering UK are "incredibly talented?" You're right. They are, but if their work was routinely atrocious, you surely wouldn't have that opinion.
3) How would you know you like journalism?

 

That's insane. Like trying to prove there's air to breathe. I loved what I read from the NY Times on the Belmont this morning.

 

Did I say I wanted to save The Newspaper? Because sportswriters are held back by things like typesetting and word counts--and management. Because, unlike you, I'm a talented writer who actually knows it when I see it. I understand things like the difference between nuance and saying nothing. Between hot takes and pretentiousness. And if these brilliant pieces are so abundant, why are newspapers dying, Les? You're constructing a straw man argument and attacking that, not what I'm actually saying. Dilettantes do that, Les. Are you a dilettante?

 

Those were your words, not mine. Never said you weren't a good writer, but I did ask how you'd know you would enjoy journalism. Have you ever been a journalist?

 

My apologies. Yes, that was a poorly worded sentence which definitely makes it sound like I'm trying to save the newspaper, which is obviously a tad ambitious. What I was trying to convey (and didn't, admittedly) was that I want to work for a newspaper while working for a newspaper is still a thing people do. While I obviously have no idea if I'll enjoy some aspects of journalism (I suspect there will be many, such as the politics, which I won't), the nuts and bolts of the job--considered, nuanced thought, moving the sports conversation forward with a sense of humor and perspective--is what appeals to me.