ND's Talking Heads ... The good, bad & ugly

[gkIrish]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jesus. First bit of Sports Illustrated’s new writing I’ve seen. This is high school. <a href="https://t.co/0sYjODyzi2">pic.twitter.com/0sYjODyzi2</a></p>— Cian (@Cianaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cianaf/status/1180661632290230272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bryan Shapiro getting slaughtered here...the comments are just brutal

I have never been a fan of his commentary so this isn't really surprising to me.

 

[fightingirish26]

lol
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bad Luck Brian here... genuinely feel for the guy. <a href="https://t.co/4ItvX2MKJk">pic.twitter.com/4ItvX2MKJk</a></p>— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/RedditCFB/status/1181044200529448961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Henges24]

What is going on here?

Obviously it looks like lazy writing but am I missing anything else?

 

[clashmore_mike]

Interesting tweet from Tom Lemming. Appears he was at the BG game. Also appears Peter Schivarelli & Chicago have a suite at the stadium (or maybe it's at a condo near the stadium? The Fertita's built a man cave near the stadium also)

Did I catch a glimpse of them on the field at halftime? I wasn't paying attention to the halftime report during the game watch.

Lemming does a good job hiding the fact that he's a ND homer.

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Yep they were on the field and played a couple songs at halftime again.

 

[ThePiombino]

What is going on here?

Obviously it looks like lazy writing but am I missing anything else?

Not missing anything -- just lazy, hackneyed writing. But he's becoming a poster child for the sinking ship that is SI apparently lol

 

[IrishLion]

It's kind of unfortunate, really.

I'm not a huge Coach D fan, but he doesn't deserve to be the poster child for the mess that SI is in with Maven.

He didn't get hired for his writing. He got hired to provide in-depth analysis on the X's and O's. And now a bunch of random internet schmucks think he's an unqualified hack that got a job on the cheap.

The kicker is that he got hired BEFORE SI had to fire everyone... really bad luck for Coach D lol.

 

[IrishLax]

It's kind of unfortunate, really.

I'm not a huge Coach D fan, but he doesn't deserve to be the poster child for the mess that SI is in with Maven.

He didn't get hired for his writing. He got hired to provide in-depth analysis on the X's and O's. And now a bunch of random internet schmucks think he's an unqualified hack that got a job on the cheap.

The kicker is that he got hired BEFORE SI had to fire everyone... really bad luck for Coach D lol.

I think everyone should be very clear though that the "staff" of writers he hired to work underneath him are literally former message board posters from ISD, some of which got banned on that site. There are no professional writers on the staff.

Is this his fault? No, Maven is the ones trying to follow the SBNation model of unpaid or underpaid bloggers producing content while keeping overhead low. But he also chose to put himself into this position, and I know other reporters who passed on this job because they knew exactly what kind of setup they would be walking into.

 

[gkIrish]

I think everyone should be very clear though that the "staff" of writers he hired to work underneath him are literally former message board posters from ISD, some of which got banned on that site. There are no professional writers on the staff.

Is this his fault? No, Maven is the ones trying to follow the SBNation model of unpaid or underpaid bloggers producing content while keeping overhead low. But he also chose to put himself into this position, and I know other reporters who passed on this job because they knew exactly what kind of setup they would be walking into.

It's an extremely questionable career move that reeks of taking the money without really thinking about any other long-term consequences. If Maven fails, he could be completely shunned from the industry.

 

[ACamp1900]

Silly Side:

Every time this thread gets bumped I immediately have the Talking Heads pop in my head...

 

[dublinirish]

It's an extremely questionable career move that reeks of taking the money without really thinking about any other long-term consequences. If Maven fails, he could be completely shunned from the industry.

the dude is probably only being paid per article too, likely no benefits or health insurance etc through this mode of employment. its a very, very head scratching decision. He's not even an editor or anything.

 

[pumpdog20]

If I'm Driskell, I'm calling Lou up tomorrow and asking to be taken back.

Not sure why he left. I would have guessed he was next in line when Lou left, which can't be too far out.

 

[IrishLax]

the dude is probably only being paid per article too, likely no benefits or health insurance etc through this mode of employment. its a very, very head scratching decision. He's not even an editor or anything.

Actually, the "site lead" position that was being shopped around was a pretty good setup. I've seen what they were offering, and at least on the surface I understand why it would be enticing. I'm going to see if I can get permission to share a snippet of the job description.

But yeah, all of the people on his "staff" are almost certainly getting paid peanuts on a per-post basis to produce content.

 

[dublinirish]

https://deadspin.com/how-sb-nation-profits-off-an-army-of-exploited-workers-1797653841

FYI from a while back but Deadspin profiled SBNation and their shady practices which IMO is the playbook Maven is likely using also

 

[IrishLion]

Actually, the "site lead" position that was being shopped around was a pretty good setup. I've seen what they were offering, and at least on the surface I understand why it would be enticing. I'm going to see if I can get permission to share a snippet of the job description.

But yeah, all of the people on his "staff" are almost certainly getting paid peanuts on a per-post basis to produce content.

https://deadspin.com/how-sb-nation-profits-off-an-army-of-exploited-workers-1797653841

FYI from a while back but Deadspin profiled SBNation and their shady practices which IMO is the playbook Maven is likely using also

The Athletic swooped in with a legit business model for people that are sick of bullshit ads, videos and clickbait slideshows.

So for now, the only options are for sites to try the same sub-based model, or to go the SB Nation route.

It's cheaper and easier to go the SB Nation route, where you pay some "cool kids" a bunch of money to act as editors, and hope you find some gullible schmucks that will produce a bunch of content on the cheap for the click revenue.

 

[IrishLion]

Also, there has never been a more tone-def press release than the statement 'The Maven' put out about how they're going to revolutionize and improve the quality of SI.

YOU LITERALLY FIRED ALL OF THE GOOD WRITERS. ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT PROVIDED ANY OUNCE OF QUALITY... YOU GOT RID OF THEM.

 

[greyhammer90]

The Athletic swooped in with a legit business model for people that are sick of bullshit ads, videos and clickbait slideshows.

The Athletic is already starting to slip on that mindset as well. Their app is beginning to offer videos to watch and they are really pushing their podcasts recently. It's not even close to ESPN's cluttered mess of a site, but the whole "only black and white ink stories" thing is already sliding backwards.

 

[IrishLion]

The Athletic is already starting to slip on that mindset as well. Their app is beginning to offer videos to watch and they are really pushing their podcasts recently. It's not even close to ESPN's cluttered mess of a site, but the whole "only black and white ink stories" thing is already sliding backwards.

I thought their plan was to move to video/digital, with the promise of quality production and no ad breaks, and to keep them from auto-playing at the convenience of the users.

As long as they avoid crappy auto-play ads, followed by auto-play video that bogs down the rest of their pages, they should be good.

I'm not a subscriber, but I do have the app and use it for the 'three free articles per month' deal. I like their setup for the most part.

 

[IrishLax]

The Athletic is already starting to slip on that mindset as well. Their app is beginning to offer videos to watch and they are really pushing their podcasts recently. It's not even close to ESPN's cluttered mess of a site, but the whole "only black and white ink stories" thing is already sliding backwards.

The moment they include a single ad, I am out. Until then, they can add whatever supplemental content they want.

 

[zelezo vlk]

People want podcasts anyways.

 

[IrishLion]

People want podcasts anyways.

I'm way late to the movement, but I'm a podcast guy now. It's nice to be able to just put the headphones in and absorb content when you find entertaining and/or well-informed individuals.

I hadn't really considered subscribing to The Athletic, just because Twitter is so good for immediate sports content, but their growing podcast network (of all things) is what might finally make me take the plunge.

I think Sampson and Fortuna do okay with their 'free' weekly ND podcast, but the big thing is that most of their national guys (primarily Andy Staples) have a good handle on ND and how to cover the team without just using generic/phony talking points.

DISCLAIMER: Their 'free' podcast episodes usually have an ad-read at the beginning.

 

[gkIrish]

The moment they include a single ad, I am out. Until then, they can add whatever supplemental content they want.

Same. I don't care if they offer podcasts or videos as long as I am not forced to watch them or watch or read any ads. I will cancel immediately the second I see an ad.

 

[greyhammer90]

I agree with everyone saying that the supplemental stuff isn't a big deal, but I suspect it's going to get slippery sloped... hope I'm just paranoid.

 

[Irishize]

Interesting tweet from Tom Lemming. Appears he was at the BG game. Also appears Peter Schivarelli & Chicago have a suite at the stadium (or maybe it's at a condo near the stadium? The Fertita's built a man cave near the stadium also)

Did I catch a glimpse of them on the field at halftime? I wasn't paying attention to the halftime report during the game watch.

Lemming does a good job hiding the fact that he's a ND homer.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It will be hard to top yesterdays lunch with these three lovely ladies and the Hall of Fame rock group Chicago. There was not enough room on the wall behind us to fit in all of their gold and platinum albums. A terrifically modest and unassuming group of rock superstars. <a href="https://t.co/oCgKjmDSKV">pic.twitter.com/oCgKjmDSKV</a></p>— Tom Lemming (@LemmingReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/LemmingReport/status/1180842019851255814?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Lemming may not have been the first recruiting guru but he promoted himself & his product to leave the impression he was. I think he’s a Chicago guy correct? He always knew where his bread was buttered so he’d always overrate the ND recruiting classes b/c he knew that was a big chunk of his target audience at the time. Plus, ND usually did have a top 3 class during those early years.

After the Cerrato era ended, NDs classes started to dip & I’d bet Lemming still had them rated higher than any other outlet. He’s probably toned that down over the past few decades but I have rarely paid attention to him w/ the advent of 247, Rivals, etc.

 

[Irishize]

Yep they were on the field and played a couple songs at halftime again.

considering all the Boomers that make up the ND fans in the stadium on game day, I can see where Chicago would see ND as their best bet to cash in.

 

[Irishize]

If I'm Driskell, I'm calling Lou up tomorrow and asking to be taken back.

Not sure why he left. I would have guessed he was next in line when Lou left, which can't be too far out.

I think it’s too late. They immediately bumped Vince Dedario up to analyst. I think he works at PFF but has contributed to BGI in the past.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Actually, the "site lead" position that was being shopped around was a pretty good setup. I've seen what they were offering, and at least on the surface I understand why it would be enticing. I'm going to see if I can get permission to share a snippet of the job description.

But yeah, all of the people on his "staff" are almost certainly getting paid peanuts on a per-post basis to produce content.

I know nothing of the sports journalism world but based on the interweb content-for-pay I am familiar with it's probably a pyramid scheme with one person at the top who manages an amorphous blob of contributors who are paid with a future resume line of indeterminate value.

 

[dublinirish]

I think it’s too late. They immediately bumped Vince Dedario up to analyst. I think he works at PFF but has contributed to BGI in the past.

Crab cakes guy?

 

[Irish#1]

I agree with everyone saying that the supplemental stuff isn't a big deal, but I suspect it's going to get slippery sloped... hope I'm just paranoid.

You have the right to be paranoid. It's like cable. Most of you are too young to remember, but cable when it first came out was commercial free because you paid a monthly subscription. They slowly over time added commercials and told you it was to keep from passing along rising costs to the subscriber. You figured a few commercials were better than seeing your cable bill go up.

 

[condoms SUCk]

You have the right to be paranoid. It's like cable. Most of you are too young to remember, but cable when it first came out was commercial free because you paid a monthly subscription. They slowly over time added commercials and told you it was to keep from passing along rising costs to the subscriber. You figured a few commercials were better than seeing your cable bill go up.

Whaaaaaaaaaa :0 nooooo way. I never knew that!!!

 

[IrishLax]

You have the right to be paranoid. It's like cable. Most of you are too young to remember, but cable when it first came out was commercial free because you paid a monthly subscription. They slowly over time added commercials and told you it was to keep from passing along rising costs to the subscriber. You figured a few commercials were better than seeing your cable bill go up.

Wtf is this true?!?