The National's 20th birthday!

i'd say that espn's foray into local markets like chicago is taking the national's model into the digital age -- it's the national without paper costs or distribution problems. in that sense, the national simply was an idea that came too soon. THIS is exactly the time when a nation-wide sports mag with local branches could happen. it's just happening on the web -- not paper.

 

It was a good product, but there was little tangible impact on the business besides creating lots of openings to replace people who had gone to The National. I worked in two markets in which The National had a "local staff," and I can't remember them beating us on anything we cared about. Except for us getting more space in the Monday paper to run seps on every NFL game, I do not recall us being given any additional resources to fight off The National. No extra bodies, for sure.

In both markets, we had several local dailies to compete with and we paid far more attention to them. At one place, I was the only desk guy who read The National regularly (of course, a few of them didn't read even their own section). Even so, I cherry-picked maybe a half-dozen National stories to read in every issue because I was monitoring at least a half-dozen newspapers every day.

I think most of us wanted it to work because if it had been legit competition, it would have meant more toys for us--better space, more bodies, maybe even some raises to keep us happy. However, upper management correctly perceived it as not a threat.

I think USA Today had a far greater impact on changing sports journalism. For one thing, many top newsroom managers and publishers were afraid of USA Today, at least initially, and reacted to what it did. By the time The National came around, most metro newspapers had big-boy sections with national beats, copious agate and a greater focus on enterprise. There really wasn't a lot of bulking up left to do.

 

Maybe, but "web National" goes nowhere on its own. Only ESPN footing the bill through its TV revenue makes it possible.

 

The National came to Toronto in September, 1990. I don't think they had an office here and I don't remember any coverage of the Leafs or Blue Jays. I just loved being able to get it even if more often than not the copy I got at the Union Station newsstand was a day old. I went to Vegas for the Douglas-Holyfield fight that October and it was great to buy it out of a box on the street. I still have a few in a box in the basement. Haven't looked at it in ages.

I know my brother, a horse racing junkie, has a few copies of Racing Action, the short-lived competitor to the Daily Racing Form. I know DRF incorporated some of their stuff into its product.

 

What I want is a paper or a website free of video and bullshit pop ups. I want easy links and a clean website. I want insight on all of my fantasy players. I want to get to this info in one spot without having to wade through Reilly and Simmons and Sportscenter clips or PTI popcasts or twitter feeds.

Create one guy per sport and use ap wire for the gamers and boxes.

You can expand from this base as the site grows.

 

I pretty much concur with this.

I tried to get it every day, but if I missed, no big deal.

What I remember -- beyond the box score graphics being so out of register that sometimes one color plate was 2-3 inches away from where it belonged -- is suddenly a bunch of DeFord ego-maniacs being everywhere.
One guy -- who is still a prominent national writer -- interrupted and fucked up a one-on-one interview I was doing. I nearly punched him out then, but I got him aside, stuck my finger in his chest and told him if he ever did that again, I was going to kick his ass up one side and down the other.
Later, at an NCAA Regional, there was a hassle over press seating. All of DeFord's ego-maniacs were in prime spots. Us, who covered the team daily and had for years, were elsewhere. I knew the SID and was going to tell him how fucked up this was, but my boss told me he would take care of it. My boss brought it up to the PR guy, who said, "Well, they are national media." My boss calmly pointed out that we were an 80K and we had a bigger circulation. For the next round of games, we had better seats.

 

Fixed.

 

The year or so I worked for The National seems like a dream. Great editors, good pay, realistic travel expense budgets. I also remember other writers from other papers in market doing the behind-my-back-but-knowing-I-could-hear-them routine of badmouthing The National, blah, blah, blah.

Our world was a better place with it here---and that's true for everyone, including the rude naysayers.

By the way, Frank Ridgeway, I did break my fair share of stories in my market.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/

 

Ah, that's right thanks. I believe it was based on the British paper Racing Action.

 

That and USA Today are the two current places that jump to mind for me.

Another problem I have, and I don't know how mant others agree with this, is let's say the Raiders trade Gallery for a draft pick. Not huge NFL news, but decent news.

Of the 249 NFL writers on ESPN.com, will they all have this info? Will I miss this info if I just read the AFC West blog? There is just such a glut of information, I want to know that one location will give me all the info I need.

Buster Olney's blog is probably the closest thing I have seen to doing this.

 

The National was a sports writer's dream, but it was too much for the reader.

People just don't have time to deal with a new copy of SI five days a week. I really believe the Internet has changed the way we read. I used to read one or two books a week. After years of short-burst, quick-change reading online, I've read maybe six books in the last year. I really have to fight my impatience.

I think we're accustomed to darting around to check on subjects that interest us, and that's become daily routine for most of us. But how much time do people have to devote to following sports? You watch games on TV, watch Sportscenter, read your local paper, check your favorite sites or boards. Assuming you work and would like to know your kids' names, there just isn't time for something like The National on a daily basis.

I'm in the business, and I found myself backlogged with copies. It was all "I'll get to it," and papers shoved in my computer bag. Even with flights and delays and down time in hotels, I never really caught up.