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The Athletic layoffs

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by silvercharm, Jun 5, 2020.

Page 11 of 27
  1. LanceyHoward

    LanceyHoward Well-Known Member

    Is there any NFL market where the local team(s) are not the team with the most local interest? Off the top of my head I would guess Los Angeles (the Lakers) and Atlanta (SEC football) but I have no idea.
     
    LanceyHoward, Jun 12, 2020
    #121
  2. ChrisLong

    ChrisLong Well-Known Member

    This kind of applies to what Mariotti was talking about.
    Nearly 40 years ago, the Pasadena Star-News attempted to put out an all-sports paper. They produced their regular paper, typically 4 sections: News, Local, Sports, Entertainment/Business/Classified, etc. When they were done, they took everything out down to the ads and then built it again with all sports.
    I saw it a few times, then went for an interview. I was asked to critique it. In the Dodger Stadium press box, I sat next to their writer and he wrote a 25-inch sidebar when Dave Anderson was called up from the minors and was the 25th man on the roster.
    They used NYT and other national columnists. George Vecsey was featured, as were other eastern guys. Their own local columnist was more concerned with Little League girls softball than the Dodgers, Lakers, etc.
    I told the sports editor I thought it was a mistake to feature national columnists from the East. And the sports editor said, "We believe that everybody who lives here is from somewhere else. That's why we do it."
    It didn't last all that long.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2020
    ChrisLong, Jun 12, 2020
    #122
  3. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Before even trying to determine if the coverage, or who they had doing the coverage, was right. ... I'd ask, did they have any evidence that there was enough demand for a local, Pasadena all-sports newspaper? The "perfect" product isn't very perfect if there aren't enough people willing to pay for it.
     
    The Big Ragu, Jun 12, 2020
    #123
  4. ChrisLong

    ChrisLong Well-Known Member

    That's a whole other question. My point was that NY columnists generally write about NY. Not enough New Yorkers in Pasadena's coverage area to justify it. I sensed the SE knew from my critique that I didn't buy in to their plan. I wasn't offered a job and I was lukewarm about it anyway.
     
    ChrisLong, Jun 12, 2020
    #124
  5. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    To me, it is the question. Mariotti was saying that the Athletic's execution was a problem. According to him, they should have hired way more Jay Mariottis and gone lighter on more anonymous beat writers.

    Except, before the pandemic, if you believe what Mather and Hansmann were saying, and a guy who said he was Hansmann was on the other thread saying it, they were attracting an impressive number of readers to the Athletic with the product they were actually providing.

    I'd say there were more questions about whether they were priced high enough to be profitable enough. And I'd ask, if they really needed to be priced higher, would it have cost them a lot of the readers they had attracted at the lower price point? Also, given the equity they sold, and the valuation they were able to sell it at, you could question whether anyone was being realistic about the growth they were trying to achieve, presumably in order to justify the valuation.

    But stepping away from that, let's say that they had tried to grow slowly, without that pressure to grow unrealistically, stepping into markets carefully, and using cash that the business generated to fund their growth. The first and biggest question always is, "Is there a market for what we want to sell"?

    Then, if you do move ahead, of course you look at the product you start to provide, and try to produce something that will best meet the demand.

    In the case of that Pasadena newspaper, you seemed to be saying that what they got wrong was having George Vescey writing from New York. Sort of the opposite kind of conclusion Mariotti made about the Athletic. You may be right. But if there was not enough demand for what they were trying to do in the first place, lack of demand was the problem, not the editorial. That was why I asked if there was any evidence that an all-sports newspaper had an audience there.
     
    The Big Ragu, Jun 12, 2020
    #125
  6. ChrisLong

    ChrisLong Well-Known Member

    I don't know if they had the audience, or any other reasons it didn't fly. I just think they might have had more of a readership if they had columns on the Dodgers and Lakers instead of the Yankees and Knicks.
     
    ChrisLong, Jun 12, 2020
    #126
  7. SixToe

    SixToe Well-Known Member

    When you don't know your audience you'll make stupid decisions.
     
    SixToe, Jun 12, 2020
    #127
    PaperDoll, I Should Coco, HanSenSE and 1 other person like this.
  8. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    I don't doubt it. But The Athletic had a giant staff.

    I contend some of the layoffs were coming anyway. I'm guessing, after two years and no headway in some markets, they knew where and how to cut bait, and did so.
     
    Alma, Jun 12, 2020
    #128
  9. 3_Octave_Fart

    3_Octave_Fart Well-Known Member

    Easy. Atlanta and Jacksonville, the latter of which never should have gotten a team.

    I think you could make an argument for Carolina, as well.

    Atlanta might be the worst pro sports town in the country. No surprise there.

    Then again I am old enough to remember 1989 and a time when the Patriots were the distant fourth option, so all of this can be cyclical.

    I was a kid growing up in the Tri-State area during the Ronald Reagan 1980s and nobody gave a bloody shit about the Yankees circa 1985-92.
     
    3_Octave_Fart, Jun 12, 2020
    #129
  10. ChadFelter

    ChadFelter Active Member

    Detroit, New York, maybe Chicago.
     
    ChadFelter, Jun 12, 2020
    #130
  11. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    Is it in New York?

    Going down the divisions, tell me where I'm wrong.

    Miami - Not when LeBron played for the Heat, but probably now.
    NE - Yeah, but Boston is a great sports town.
    NYJ - No
    Buffalo - Yes

    Pitt - Yes
    Cleve - Yes
    Balt - Yes
    Cincy - Presumably, sans Big Red Machine

    Indy - Yes
    Tenn - Yes
    Jax - Dunno
    Houston - Hmmm, yes?

    KC - Yes
    Denver - Yes
    Vegas - Yes
    LAC - Nope

    Philly - Yes
    Dallas - Yes
    NYG - Maybe
    Washington - For decades and decades yes. Still?

    Chicago - Yes
    Minny - Yes
    Detroit - My understanding is yes
    GB - Of course

    TB - Yes
    ATL - No
    NO - Yes
    Carolina - Among pro sports, yes

    SF - Yes
    LAR - No
    Seattle - Yes
    Arizona - Yes
     
    Alma, Jun 12, 2020
    #131
  12. ChadFelter

    ChadFelter Active Member

    The Yankees are definitely the team with the highest amount of interest in NYC area
     
    ChadFelter, Jun 12, 2020
    #132
    Col. Nathan R. Jessup likes this.
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