How Many People Still Read What Sports Columnists Write?

Some of the best writing in Detroit came during the mid 80s when Mike Downey was with the Free Press and Shelby Strother with the News

 

Yes. The suits decided the columnists weren't getting enough views compared to the rapid fire sports stories written by low paid kids so most newspapers have gotten rid of columnists good at their craft. There's no reason to go looking for a columnists take in a fishwrap edition unless you want the person's take on very old news. The suits don't value name columnists at all and the suits are the only ones who matter with their page view counts.

 

Had a buddy who absolutely adored Shelby Strother. Thought he was one of the most underrated columnists of the era.

 

Ever since dropping off Twitter, my knowledge of a wide-range of columnists and their work has dropped precipitously. Like Gregg Doyel. I used to read him all the time at CBS Sports. I enjoyed his takes, even when I didn't agree with them. I don't really care too much about the hot takes of columnists. I don't search out any of them. I'd rather read someone a week after an event putting it in context than someone riffing in the immediate aftermath, mostly because there's so much static nowadays that the game columnist rarely if ever lends something unique. Just too many competing forces. And if it's really good, it'll get shared either here, on the few sports sites I visit regularly, or on RealClearSports.

 

Shelby was an unbelievably good writer.

 

I’ve read all the great Canadian sports writers from the 60s on. I’m an ex paperboy (Winnipeg Free Press and Red Deer Advocate) and spent my earnings on car models, sports magazines, cigarettes and heading down to the news stands and buying the Toronto and Vancouver papers for their expanded sports coverage. Jim Taylor, Milt Dunnell, Red Fisher, etc., every paper had a great one or two. Jim Murray made regular appearances north of the border. I’ve bought many ‘best’ volumes of many of the legends, Murray especially.
A newer voice on the scene who deserves mention is Cathay Kelly of the Globe and Mail in Toronto. First rate stuff IMO. He deserves syndication but I realize that might be easier said than done.

 

Kelly is one of the worst in t pathetic country, imo. With Jack Todd and Steve Simmons.

 

Why is he so bad? I appreciate his fresh approach and living in W Canada, where we have basically zero actual columnists, it’s a great to read anybody who writes anything that actually relates to anyone.

 

Do columnists get a lot of page views or not?

 

I don't know, Fredrick. Maybe you should ask all the suits in all the newsrooms at all the major outlets for their internal KPIs.

 

Right now my must reads are Forde Yard Dash and Forde Minutes by Yahoo’s Pat Forde and 31 thoughts by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman

 

Kissass.