Bill Simmons, trending.

The last time that Simmons said he needs to do better... he went and gave that open mic quote to the Times. Talk is cheap.

 

Not every prep soccer writer should get the Monday column covering the Cowboys.

I feel the same way about podcasts. The hosting role is a skill. Like being a news anchor. There’s a reason some anchors work election night and others get to fill-in on Christmas.

Putting out a newspaper, newscast, magazine, etc is a team effort but with some user preferences for, say, writers, anchors, etc. Sure, some make more money but each person involved has a defined role. The sales end is about the overall product and total eyeballs.

Podcasts are the money driver at Ringer. Those aren’t a team effort. All that matters — who is the host and who are the guests. Everyone else is interchangeable.

It’s the same reason Stephen A. and SVP make what they make. They bring people in. Those are their “sales”. Page 2 was like that with Simmons and, for a while, Easterbrook on the NFL.

The Ringer isn’t funded by millions of $8/month TV subscribers. They have a very small number of people who bring in more revenue than they cost. Simmons, maybe a couple of others... and that’s it.

People who, in an era where so many of us are overworked compared to 20 years ago (more newscasts, more platforms), can work at a place like The Ringer where they can watch The Bachelor and write columns about it owe their living to the revenue that Simmons pulls in from his podcast.

This also illustrates my issue with The Ringer on a lack of economic diversity. The staff at the Ringer doesn’t strike me as the type that covered mind-numbing school board meetings at 23 on their first job out of college.

 

You’re grossly underselling the value of a good producer. Every journo major in the country can get a cheap mic at the mall, talk into their iphone and post a podcast. Producers are an important part of making a place like Ringer sound professional and clean. It makes a difference. I dont care who the host or guest is if it sounds like shit I’m turning it off

 

It reminds me of Simmons' short time as the host of that horrible HBO show. People that I know that worked with Simmons at some point, that didn't hate him on anything...but they wanted him to fail with the HBO show. I was pretty surprised. He apparently believed that he was on the level of a Jon Stewart or Steven Colbert or Jimmy Kimmel/Fallon type. He really wants the sort of credibility a guy like Jon Stewart has with the people that support and follow him.

 

Yes and no.

If you’re starting out, you need a strong producer. Quality of sound and also keeping the pace and segments going.

If you’re Bill Simmons, the producer doesn’t matter much as long as someone knows how to hit the record button and edit the final product. Any serious “host” knows the importance of a premium sound setup and quality control.

Producing is a thankless job and it doesn’t pay well. Yet find me someone who listens to anything based on a producer. It’s hosts, guests and, yes, quality of product.

I’ve been in broadcasting 25 years (and also in print for a decade during this). TV. Sports talk radio (hours doing it live, not recorded podcasts that can any length).

Here’s what the great producers have: contacts with people who will come on, segment or story ideas and, in general, making the product easier to put together. I do three hours a day of live news. When I have one of the 4 good producers, the day is a breeze. When I get one of the 4 bad ones, it’s a fucking siege full of news stories that don’t have any relevance or flow, horrendous writing, misspellings, fact errors and indifference.

The “great” ones (radio or TV) all had one thing in common: they wanted to do the job. As a result, their product was superior and, when it was time, I was happy to make calls to get them over the top on interviews for bigger markets.

Most of the producers I’ve worked with are job people, not career people. They don’t make the extra phone call to break a story. They don’t come with story ideas. For many of them, they were halfway through J-school and realized they didn’t want to knock on a stranger’s door for an interview. At this realization, it’s either change your major, do PR for a mall or be a producer.

The benefits to being a producer (and not a host or on-air): it’s far easier to live in a big market when you’re 25 and no one tweets you or starts a Reddit thread to tell you that you suck at your job.

For a recorded podcast in 2020 - not live, not taking phone calls - the host should be able to do it all.

 

I’m clearly a Simmons defender here and I watched one of those HBO shows and I just wanted it to fail. Wasn’t good. Wrong audience. Weak premise. It probably had a decent producer, though.

 

I don't remember the premise. Simmons has always been bad on television. I don't believe there is a situation he could do on TV that would cover for his shortcomings and lack of general presence. And he doesn't react well to negativity or criticism so when everyone said it was shit after the first week he couldn't fight his way out of it.

 

ESPN show confirms The Decision was fan's idea

 

And..."everyone hates Trump" is somehow a bad thing? Anybody with an actual soul hates his trash ass.

Sheeeeeiiit...I'm at a slightly-under-10K paper in the Midwest, and it's home plate as far as I'm concerned. Crazy how the field dimensions can shift as your life and priorities change.

Anyway, I was a huge Simmons fan back when he wrote and will still give him his props for the lane he carved out for himself...but I'm also not entirely shocked by what's happening to him now. He's kind of always given off that sort of vibe...I've known way too many guys from MA with the same worldview.

 

Is this a good time to mention that for his podcast network, Simmons hired his nephew, who had no podcasting experience at the time?

 

it's not open mic night