Jones/ESPNMAG

I love Dave Eggers. Seriously, a man crush.
Odd that you quoted him, it was Eggers that came up with the original design for the ESPN the Magazine. Created the whole thing, all the templates.
I don't think much of what he did is still in use, but still.

This could be an interesting conversation. Is it better to throw stones than to to try to make something better? Is it better to take the gig and make it better or is it better to be the man outside?
But, I suspect, we won't get that.
Instead, it will be some name calling and some other nonsense.
*sigh*

 

Before this veers off into something irretrievable, it's worth noting that The Jones still works for Esquire, too.

 

I rip it because I read it, or try to anyway.

Here's the newest issue I received: It's 80 pages. Nothing worth reading until page 42, a story on the A-11 offense. It's Ok, but for someone who reads a lot of sports it's not very interesting and way late. Then a decent sidebar on what the Steelers D thinks on the offense.

Then a story on Prince George's County and prep basketball. Good idea, good story.

Then some shilling on "why the bowls matter." a few good anecdotes, just two pages though.

A boring q&a with oklahoma star courtney paris

an e60 story on an MMA fighter (not interested, but it looks good)

and then on to the super-useless league by league notes and rick reilly's knee slapper.

that's the issue. i left out all the beginning nonsense for obvious reasons.

ESPN does have great writers working for them, and they put out good stories, but i'm not so sure about the people working behind them (editors off all kinds; seems like some fine-tuning would make the stories and content sing a little better, and the layout is too distracting for most adults)

 

The sock puppet ghostwrote it for him.

 

I've never met Jones, much less gotten to know him well enough to consider him a friend. Nevertheless, I share jgmacg's disbelief that anyone could consider CJ "above it all," something I can't say I've seen in his posts here. Maybe that makes me clueless, maybe not. Your call.

But if ESPN wants to give him money to write for them, more power to him. And whether or not he ever had any noble intentions about making the magazine "better," his presence in its pages ensures that.

Just so long as I don't have to read anything by DJ Stu.

 

Indeed. The Jones is one of my two favorite writers right now. Taibbi is the other.

 

You mean that counter-culture publication?

 

I want to re-chime that writing the centerpiece for ESPN in the Outside the Line feature is very freeking impressive journalistically.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=drjandalexandra

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=sandiegohs

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=buffalo58

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3047543

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=ghanasoccer

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=pata

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=3672808

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=willows

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=phiri

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=bostock

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=cerda

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=wilsonhigh

Do you notice a trend?

 

As far as the magazine itself goes, I subscribe to 21's theory, that the hip-hop graphics lend themselves to an assumption that the product is shallow.

That said, if they wanted me to write a feature for them, I'd be honored, because I know who has been.

 

This is very, very well said, Cran. Exactly what I think.

 

That Eggers thing is the best damn thing I've read this week, and a good reminder to stop being such a damn coward in my own professional life.