How Many People Still Read What Sports Columnists Write?

Why don't you support the paper and buy a subscription?

 

I perceive the decline of the columnist to declining circulation and also to the rise of sports talk radio. The leading morning drive time guy now reaches as many sports fans as the morning columnist. Given the immediacy of radio the talk jock will have more impact in a market.

 

At least here in Boston, one Globe columnist, Chris Gasper, is basically a semi-regular on the leading sports talk station. Sometimes he's a guest, but on Saturday mornings he's also a host. Can't believe this is the only market where that's true.

 

Serious question. I think the Boston Globe's number one columnist is Dan Shaughnessy (I am not sure, due to a clerical error I wound up working in Castle Rock, Colorado rather than Boston) Who has more influence in the market, Shaughnessy or the leading talk show guys?

 

Dan's schtick, which is to troll all Boston teams and fans (mixed in with actual reporting and commentary on the Red Sox) makes him widely read and widely despised. Is that influence? I am not sure if bear baiting your audience is influence. Of course, all the talk show guys (with a few exceptions) do it too.

 

Don't forget the podcast.

I think the truth of the postmodern columnist is a multi-platform generalist who writes a little and talks a lot.

 

Contrary to an earlier post, I think BenFred is solid. And there is still a market for columnists who are willing to write smart columns with some original reporting, too. Still way too many people who write takes without showing up to talk to people.

 

Canzano in Portland has a talk show, a column and makes weekly appearances on a local TV station. He makes it work, though his newspaper column isn't what it used to be.

 

How many? None. I quit several years ago.

All the blowhards on TV and talk radio as well as jackass fuckoffs online like Gregg Doyel burned me out on columnists in general. I couldn't give a rat's fuck what their opinion is any more because the one thing they all taught me is their opinion really doesn't matter.

 

I read columnists a lot less because too many newspapers jettisoned the quality columnists they had as part of the "work cheaper, not better" trade of veterans for youngsters. I read Plaschke (when I see his stuff; the LA Times site does a terrible job of presenting its sports columnists), and I remain stunned that a city as passionate about sports as Chicago doesn't have a single columnist who's worth picking up a discarded newspaper to read, let along worth subscribing for.

 

The talk jocks often take their lead from a topic broached by print, however. Happens often in DFW nowadays after Galloway retired.

 

The top rated talk show in Boston, Felger and Mazz, won't go a day without literally reading excerpts of print or online articles and columns to begin a talking point. Not just Boston sources either. No pretense at coming up with a provocation on their own.