The Athletic keeps growing .......

I guess my bigger point, too, was that I'm not sure The Athletic will draw the Post's best people away like they've been able to in other cities.

 

From what I've seen on threads here, DC's obsession with the Skins is a close second to the way folks in Mile High land feel about the Broncos.

 

The Athletic will have a Caps beat writer in place before next season starts. It has beat writers for 26 NHL teams now and will have beat writers for every team before the season.

 

Before Dan Snyder destroyed almost every bit of goodwill the franchise had, sure. They’ve lost a generation of fans to the Caps and Nats. Once upon a time, there was a waiting list for tickets in a 90,000-seat stadium. They’ve lopped off thousands of seats over the years, and the waiting list dried up.

 

Leave a job with a good salary and union protections (at a paper backed by the world's richest man) for an internet start-up that pays well, but appears to have no long-term plan to become profitable once venture capital money runs out? I don't know how you get the Post's best people. Which is what you need if you're going to lure readers to you.

If I worked in Baltimore, though, I'd *run* from the Sun into the arms of The Athletic. Run.

 

Plot twist...what if Bezos buys The Athletic?

 

I don't see the harm of a combination. As noted Maryland is the number one college team in terms of interests in both markets. The Orioles have regional interest. And the hockey fans in Baltimore do follow the Caps.

Aa for the pro football teams I don't think there is a lot of interest in the Redskins in Baltimore County or Baltimore City loyalties are more divided along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and in Anne Arundul County.

 

I'm certain that is the founders of The Athletic's wet dream. Also pretty certain Bezos couldn't be less interested in such a purchase. The Washington Post gives him influence and cultural cache. Bezos seems to have zero interest in sports, so I'm not sure why he'd by a not-yet-profitable, maybe-not-ever-profitable start-up.

 

Does anyone else have a remarkably difficult time - like, much worse than usual - trying to get in touch with editors at The Athletic?

 

Agreed that The Athletic won't be appealing to many at the Post, but I'm not sure it needs to get the best Post reporters to find a way into the market. It hasn't necessarily lured away the best in every market, so I'm not sure why it would have to do that to be successful in DC.

 

I’m sure that’s by design just as it was at Grantland and The Ringer. The Athletic wants to hire who it wants to hire.

 

Yes -- it does seem like a shadow government. Largely unclear who is in charge between the local offices that have been set up and the top one or two people.