SB Nation pulls Daniel Holtzclaw longform piece

I fear we're going to spend the prime of our careers on the losing side of this argument but maybe the Hogan verdict and this Holtzclaw thing changes that. The sad reality is, the slow death of newspapers has changed the farm system. The path we took -- prove you can write 500 words before you write 1,000 -- doesn't exist anymore. So lots of younger writers are being asked to take major league at bats without time in the minors. It's unfair. It sucks. But it's the new world.

 

Writing magazine-length features for a living was probably always a 1 percenter dream in terms of journalism grads, and it still is, but now the people who don't quite get there (either because of talent, ambition or lack of opportunity and connections) have a rougher landing as a fallback. And that sucks. You have to really REALLY want it more than your peers (which might include people younger and older) and get lucky too. So I'm not 100 percent sure what to tell people looking for advice. Work harder than anyone you know and get lucky? That's the reality. It's probably closer to making a living writing fiction than we realize.

Whatever the answers are, I miss this kind of thread on SJ, which is probably more educational and helpful than grad school and way less expensive. This is kind of how I learned. Reading stuff here, before we became a haven for political fights.

 

This thread is fantastic. Really, really good stuff.

 

Shut up, lefties!

 

As I read through the report, I was struck by how mundane all of it seemed. The idea you'd hold your tongue about your thoughts on a story written by someone that's more senior or forceful, that doesn't seem all that unusual. I see lots of stuff that goes into a paper that I'm pretty sure is trash. I'm some dipshit non-editor in his late 20s, yet I've been the only other set of eyes on a ton of copy that goes straight to print or online for respectable publications (so only one white male is reading, for those counting).

I guess I'm saying I don't think SB Nation's threadbare approach isn't bad, but I'm saying it's not some sort of rarity of a shitshow. Really good editors are damn hard to find on all fronts.

 

Bingo, Rags, Bingo.

Where are the revenues ?

Venture capital does not = revenue.

There's a great article in one of the trades from a few weeks ago... I'll try to dig it up this weekend.... Essentially it said-- at this most recent Upfront advertisers are turning back to cable TV and broadcast and moving away from Internet.

Why ?

Nobody can value a click.

There's a frantic struggle right now to find a correlation between an ad viewed online and sales of that product or service.

None exists.

Yet.

In broadcast and cable, the link is much more reliable -- particularly in the cases of live events and appointment viewing.

If you want to know about trends and where the real money is-- follow the Upfronts and see where and what companies are buying.

 

The scary thing, Luggy, is that they've had 20 years now to try to figure out the value of this stuff. OK, only about 10 when it comes to video advertising, but that's still a while.

They were able to figure out the value of an ad impression on TV a helluva lot quicker.

 

It's being worked on, wicked.

Just reading the last few pages again and thinking....

There was always so much talk about Grantland and if it was profitable.

I think the answer is, nobody knows.

ESPN's ad sales people do such a phenomenal job with creatively pitching sponsors on cross-platform opportunities. So they say to a Nike-- you'll get commercial break X, Y & Z on this live game... You'll be the presenting sponsor on talk show X... And we'll throw in online ads on our digital platforms. The entire package is attractive and far-reaching. SB Nation can't offer sponsors that kind of diversified package under a single brand name.

As for the future of longform ... It's niche but there's definitely an audience for it. People still love to read and discuss. I prefer longform to books now. If I start a longform and don't finish, there isn't the guilt that there is with an unfinished book. I crave my cerebral, deeply-reported reads-- but in today's modern age-- books are daunting. Longform occupies a sweet spot, and you craftsmen and women can seize on that. Even market yourselves that way.

I think success in longform will come with establishing small niche brands, probably within larger companies. Readers have to be sure: If I go there and open this link, I know 100% it will be worth my while.

And the secret sauce: When the metrics point to not only how many... But also to who is reading your material-- now we're talkin'. You longformers are going to love some of your demographics. You might skew a tad older (maybe not) but I guarantee you're read by people with money to spend. Once the ad people get the names, ages, salaries, addresses, kids, pets of every single person who clicks your story... Then the money starts coming in to fund your projects.

New world indeed.

 

Now I just want to be held.

 

Are they "damn hard to find" or has their skill set been declared virtually worthless?