Sporting News launches digital daily ...

I like the concept, though whether or not it will make a profit is the big question. Bet this is what The National would have gone to, had it survived.

 

... and Sam Huff has two previous posts, both ripping the Atlanta sports editor. Hmmmm.

I would guess that the PDF-type page mockups meant to get people to sign up weren't done by journalists, but I dig those heds. The deck on the main story, for example:

"Joba's debut,
has NY buzzing"

I learn something new about punctuation every day. Well, actually, two things about punctuation there if we want to be technical.

And that main hed on another page: "The Boston Celtics' ..." I've never seen it before, but now that ya mention it, I looove starting a headline with "The."

http://www.sportingnewstoday.com

And the design is so ... retro. That "Odds & Ends" rail and that TODAY logo. I am getting '80s flashbacks, early '80s ... I get chills. It's ... as if ... as if that whole design revolution never happened! Nineteen eighty-one, yeah! Fuck USA Today!

 

Interesting that on its own website, when announcing the move, its umpteenth re-invention, Sporting News called this new thing a "daily digital national sports newspaper."

Sports? Who'd have guessed?

A newspaper?

The NYT fixed that one for 'em by calling it a newsletter.

Interesting, too, in that it's new only in degree. The Sporting News long ago sent a daily newsletter of facts, factoids, and opinion to magazine subscribers.

The website announcement included columnist names omitted by the Times, such as Roger Kahn (he's not dead?) and Greg Oden (coming back after knee surgery).

Interesting, finally, to read the users' comments, mostly negative. My favorite is the reader who called customer service to inquire about his subscription. Does he, for instance, get 2 years for his 1-year sub now that the magazine will be published every other week? Customer service had no idea what he was talking about.

 

I get SI Extra e-mails sent to me everyday and I mostly just delete them without reading them. I can't imagine many other people will be signing up just to get this kind of thing e-mailed to them.

 

Ugh, I can't believe I'm posting to a message board but I don't like what I think someone might read into this thread — that I used an alias to rip the guy who gave me my shot at the AJC, a guy I consider a good friend. I'd never do that. Never as in never ever. Nor would I ever criticize someone for voicing an opinion. I certainly have done my share of that.

I've posted here once, maybe twice, to come to the rescue of my old pals at Florida Today, but it was under my name. I have an account. I've even fed the "Pipeline" a hire or two.

I'm a fan of the board — not so much when it gets ugly — but I'm not the posting (or self-promoting) type. It pains me to even type this response but the last thing anyone wants to be known as is a cheap shot artist. Good grief. I guess that's life on the Internet — people can just throw stuff out there under the guise of a fake name.

My e-mail is below. Write anytime. I respond to every query. Have a good night.

Jeff D'Alessio
Editor-in-chief, Sporting News
jdalessio@sportingnews.com

 

Didn't think it was you. I was making the point that Sam Huff, whoever he is, has made just three posts and in each of them he has attacked people (I left out one; he ripped a writer as well). Sorry if that was unclear, but if you are indeed a regular reader you know we have a "no outing" rule and I would never violate that by even hinting at anyone's identity. The comment was solely intended to point out that Sam Huff has never contributed anything but shots at people. I can see why you read it the way you did, but that's not what it was.

 

Good luck to them, I say.
In this enviornment, who among us is fit to cast the first pica pole?

(do layout guys still use pica poles? It's been a while ...)

 

In all sincerity, Jeff, I wish you the best of luck. We don't know each other, at least not that I'm aware, but I do know people who have worked with you and have heard good things. You've got a tough job ahead, but challenges are the environments in which we find our true potential.

Personally, I don't think the newsletter is the cure-all you're looking for. Just as your publisher said in the NYT story, sports fans want on-demand information and something waiting in your inbox simply isn't that. Doesn't mean, of course, that you can't tout stories with longer legs. Forward-looking stories, second-day spins, enterprise and investigations. And, not to be overlooked, the humor columns.

Innovation evolves from trial and error, so play around with it and you'll eventually find what works and eliminate what doesn't.

Just do yourself a favor and have fun with it. Your readers will love you for it.

 

When it comes to Sporting News, there's always someone.
Sportsed doesn't think the digital sports daily is the "cure-all." HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW??? YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET.
You and Ridgeway are criticizing a movie based on a trailer. For God's sake, when I was 16 I was on a date and saw a trailer for a movie that seemed clueless and campy. My date and I both laughed out loud.
The movie?
Star Wars.
Perhaps you guys can at least wait until you see the product until you start ripping? Nah. It's Sporting News. Better to bash early, read later.

 

WHO is using a fake name?

 

Twoback, if we had said we liked the idea, that also would have been before reading it. So I suppose the only acceptable post would be to say, "Good luck, folks!"

I would guess the prototype on the link was put together by marketeers or maybe designers rather than editors. But if they are using amateurish examples to sell people on something, that doesn't show much respect for their potential audience, or the competition, for that matter.

The PDFs aren't going to work on small screens; we can see that much. One edition a day offers nothing that a newspaper doesn't.

I've defended The Sporting News a couple times here, but this just looks like a dumb idea.

 

My paper has a great digital edition.

I could see this working, if done smartly.