Sporting News/AOL Fanhouse

Remember Times Select? That should tell you all you need to know about what a fool's errand it is to try to monetize opinion. Best collection of columnists and voices in the free world, and it was an utter failure.

 

Good lord ... re: rankings. You know that those preseason pieces are due in freaking early April, before some people even finish spring ball, right? No need to crack on anybody for those.

 

Then why even do the polls in first place?

What's the big deal - I enjoy looking back at the predictions. Certainly anyone who predicted accurately would be touting it now. It cuts both ways.

Still think TSN prediction of Miami at # 4 though was a stretch.

 

Word for word.

Glad to see someone smack down the "TV isn't journalism!!!" crowd, and inform those who don't understand online marketing, all in one fell swoop.

Bravo.

 

Or, Brava.

 

I wasn't trying to suggest that TV has ruined journalism, so try not to have that as your takeaway from what I said. Lugnuts, you're right that ESPN has done some very good work in print. And I agree, 30 for 30 has been tremendous.

But a talking-head culture has invaded all sectors of media -- it's all over the news side too -- and I think that's lamentable. I don't hold TV responsible for that. What I was trying to say is that the average reader/viewer gravitates toward that stuff. That's not TV's fault, but that has an influence on what types of content we decide to do.

You're also right that a lot of papers don't know how to use video on the web. We try to be ESPN, so we have reporters sit in front of a camera and discuss whatever local stuff we have going on. If you're in a major market, it probably works. But I've seen numerous suburban/community papers that are all preps, all the time, having guys sit there on camera to break down Friday night's game between East Podunk and West Podunk.

Zzzzzzzz.

To me, if you're going to do video -- especially if you're not at a major metro -- the content of the video needs to be the people you cover, not your reporters doing a (very) poor man's version of PTI.

And Lugnuts, you're right on the money with the SEO/marketing argument. That's a battle I fight at my place. We have a solid website, including a significant amount of web-only content, but every week I hear from readers who have no idea it's there.

So I don't blame TV, but I think a lot of papers have adopted some of the worst parts of TV.

 

True, but no one really saw Jacory Harris having the awful season he did. His sophomore season portended some pretty good things.

I didn't mean to get chippy, but I write one of the FCS conference previews for both TSN's football and basketball mags, and the deadlines are ridiculous. I understand why they are what they are. Other magazines/previews have continually pushed the timeline up so they can have mags on the shelves in May. But my football one was due on April 5 last year. And the basketball one was due in early July. Really tough to be accurate when you're that far out from the season.

 

Now I see why the TSN basketball preview doesn't include team schedules anymore. Teams are still negotiating games during the summer.

 

This thread leads the league in tangents.

 

Yeah, Bobcat and I are surely staying on topic in our minds.

 

Inspired by this thread (and Huffington Post getting bought), Kindred writes ...

http://sportsjournalism.org/sports-media-news/needed-5-million-and-fast-for-a-very-good-journalistic-cause/

 

Good stuff, as usual, and worth reading if only for the use of the word drecksite.