The Athletic keeps growing .......

In one of the stories I read on his hire, they actually bragged about him being the first to break the Dwight Howard to-the-Hawks signing. Move over, Woodward and Bernstein!

 

Exactly. Why pay for what he gives away on Twitter? What's more...what's he actually giving away? Stuff that's going to happen whether he gives it away or not. I still fail to see the consistent value in "sources say this will happen soon." It's like subscribing for the daily weather.

 

In my recent visits to The Athletic, I think of this thread title and wonder if it relates to the length of the stories. Seems they’ve been on a run lately of 1,500-word stories that would have been way better at 800 words. I read a story about Whit Merrifield that was a prime example of this — the assertion was proven after like the third stat breakout box, but you had to wade through three or four more theorem/proof sections to get to the story’s actual conclusion (which arguably was the best part of the story — that Merrifield is so good, the Royals should trade him now rather than sign him to a long-term deal at 28.) Seemed to me like it would have been better to link out to the supporting material and tighten up the analysis, especially for app readers.

 

I think you're making a terrific point. And as they hire a larger number of more average writers, the problem is likely to get worse.

 

Is it a writer problem or editor problem or both?

 

Sounds like a newspaper exec. Give the same amount of info in half the space! You can get "Merrifield is so good, the Royals should trade him now rather than sign him to a long-term deal" from any other source. These deeper analyses are a big part of what sets The Athletic apart from other mediums. Most fans already know the "what" of these situations, but often are looking for something more.

Could it be a little tighter? Maybe. But most of the audience isn't looking for Pulitzer-worthy prose from sportswriters. They don't care if it's super-tight. What they want is the information. Cutting stories in half is doing a lot more than tightening it up a little.

 

Sounds like a tech new-media process management chief content brand ambassador of digital information director talking.

 

I think that one of the dangers of being a digital only periodical is that the marginal cost of a longer story is basically zero. And many pieces tun long as a result. I think the Ringer has that problem also.

 

And in more moves by the Athletic … seems they've hired Joe Person, one of the Charlotte Observer's Carolina Panthers beat writers … but another target apparently turned them down …

Mini-Media Musings: The Athletic Nabs Its Panthers Writer | Sports Channel 8

 

My big takeaway from that is that William and Mary has a Walk-on Hall of Fame.

 

I can't believe they haven't hired more college football writers with the season starting in less than two weeks.

 

It's not about saving space or making articles shorter just to meet some arbitrary goal. Tighter, well-crafted writing is more appealing (obviously). The reader might not realize that on a conscious level but appreciates it, and is more likely to keep coming back.