TJ Simers on changes in Los Angeles Times sports section going into effect Monday

[wheels89]

IMO, that's not going to happen.

Whether or not it should be, the perceived currency for a newspaper beat writer is no longer breaking this kind of news. I know it happened with UT/OU going to to the SEC, and USC/UCLA going to the Big Ten, but neither situation was a hire. IMO, the agents own and control the flow of that news. They don't seek out the local papers.

The perceived currency now, IMO, generally revolves around enterprise features that win awards and are recognized by peers. Beat writers are rarely producing for the reading public. Simers comes from an older school to which few now belong. Folks on a beat barely compete at this point. Everybody's buddies.

It wasn't just one person who wrote the story, it was two -- their beat writer and their national college enterprise writer.

 

[Dog8Cats]

If you put out a top five candidates list the day before a hire is made and the choice isn't on it, that's really, really bad. Like maybe someone new needs to be on the beat bad

Look at LAT sports leadership. Does the background of anyone there strike you as having a line in her or his resume that reads, "Capable of playing the bad cop when fundamental expectations aren't met"?

 

[Alma]

It wasn't just one person who wrote the story, it was two -- their beat writer and their national college enterprise writer.

Yes. And if I'm not mistaken, one or both of those reporters were part of the investigation that got the previous AD to resign.

Now *that* story is one that a plugged in local media is designed to break.

 

[dixiehack]

It takes a good bit of - something - to try and narrow down the universe of possible choices for an athletic director. That goes double for USC, which is less than a decade removed from plucking Lynn Swann out of the ether and giving him the big chair.

 

[PaperDoll]

Thanks to the internet, there's more bad sports writing than ever before.

Thanks to the internet, there's more good sports writing than ever before.

Discuss.

There is plenty of sports writing thanks to the internet, some of which might be both factually accurate and grammatically correct. But is there more good sports reporting?

 

[SixToe]

Writing

Reporting

Not the same thing.

 

[Azrael]

There is plenty of sports writing thanks to the internet, some of which might be both factually accurate and grammatically correct. But is there more good sports reporting?

Good question.

Post-Moneyball, I think there's a great deal more analysis. Of what value and to whom I cannot say.

Over the past decade, I think we've lost clubhouse access, but the truth is we weren't doing enough with it when we had it. So now we're stuck with whatever fake postgame press conference PR departments stage for us.

With the exception of the big outlets covering the big leagues, it feels like things have gotten pretty thin at the beat level.

Of bonus pieces and longer features, let a thousand Lieblings bloom.

 

[dixiehack]

Knowing how much AL.com is driven by clicks and engagement, I'm going to guess stories about eating out. That's half the darn site this summer. One day will be top 5 burgers in Birmingham. Then the next days they repeat it for Huntsville, Mobile and statewide. Then comes the list of reader submissions for places not mentioned. Then they repeat the cycle with barbecue, hot dogs, doughnuts, etc. And half the places the mention in the "stories" (I played along and read for a couple of weeks until the pattern grew obvious) are links to Top Whatever lists they did 2-3 years ago.

All of that to say, someone decided long ago writing for people who like to read is a money-losing proposition.

I don't have an ideal place to stick this, but I think it speaks to AL.com's attitude of "imagine writing for a houseplant, then deduct 10 percent."

https://www.al.com/news/2023/09/lab...ay-how-is-it-different-than-memorial-day.html

 

[SixToe]

Do they have a "Ten Best Labor Day Activities!" story and will they have a Readers Say followup?

 

[dixiehack]

Do they have a "Ten Best Labor Day Activities!" story and will they have a Readers Say followup?

I think there was a separate on "Is Starbucks open?"

 

[Slacker]

I think there was a separate on "Is Starbucks open?"

Need to work on the van redesign, pronto ...

 

[Alma]

Wanted to circle back to this and underline the kinds of stuff national media do now



So here's a little report on the KU QB being available for Friday's game. I ashume the reporter just texted the HC, or whatever, cites it as a "source" and goes along their day. Or that the source is the ESPN broadcast team that talked to the HC this week.

Here's the question: Can a local reporter easily get this confirmation from the coach without the coach thinking he's picking and choosing among the local media? There's nothing to gain for the coach in doing a local reporter a favor; there could be, in theory, something to gain from a national reporter.