The Athletic keeps growing .......

I think your point about Bosa is somewhat valid. But I don't think Bosa walked his statements back because of criticism from sports media. I think it was in large part due because he was moving to a team where he would be a rookie in a locker room that is majority black. People generally want to get along with the group they are entering.

 

It's a great look for The Athletic. They hired a writer who was working in a tiny market who had very limited writing experience. His exposure at The Athletic got him one of the most high-profile beat jobs at any newspaper.

 

Yeah, they hired super young on the A's beat as opposed to someone with more experience and a big following, and they picked out someone talented enough that the Boston Globe hired him to cover the Red Sox which is an incredible job. One of the criticisms of the Athletic early on was that they mostly just hired big names and veteran newspaper retreads and aren't doing anything to help develop young writers. Julian getting this job after getting his first real break at the Athletic is a big check mark in the positive column for them on that end.

I'm not an A's fan but I've read some of Julian's stuff and found it quite good. He played college and semi-pro ball before he went into sportswriting so the perspective and insight he brings are kind of unique compared to most baseball beat writers. He's going to kill it at the Globe.

 

"Retreads" seems a bit harsh. Also, after the first few offices were staffed, The Athletic has hired -- IMHO -- a lot of writers with surprisingly little experience, especially given the relatively small number of editors they have. The product is very good, but it would be better if stories were posted with more timeliness and were shorter in the majority of cases.

 

But that kind of goes against The Athletic's stated purpose. It's not traditional beat coverage. It's behind the scenes details, longer features, and in-depth analysis. It's the stuff that takes more than an hour after a game to do.

Could some writers be more prolific? Sure. Some need some editing, too. But I'd say most of the content is in line with the site's mission.

 

It's all a matter of degree. They certainly advertise themselves as the go-to source for coverage of your team. If the Phillies play a night game, I don't expect to see a story an hour after the game. But I often don't even see a story at 9 the next morning. In my view, that doesn't meet the mission. As for length, it's great that they have no arbitrary limit, but common sense and rules of good writing should prevail. FWIW, I've noticed that the editing on ESPN.com has gotten shockingly lax.

 

That tends to be what happens when you fire a bunch of editors.

 

Editing everywhere has gotten lax because no one values it anymore.

 

Just announced beat writers for all 12 WNBA teams and two national reporters. I wonder how many are contractors.

 

Is there enough of an audience there? I don't see it.

 

No offense, but how can you cover the WNBA? Even a well staffed organization like The Athletic can't justify it via the number of views/clicks. Cmon, this would be overworking the employees which is something they've prided themselves not doing. This coverage isn't needed/warranted by hits.