New ESPN Pirates blog

We're in the phone book, we're in the phone book!!!!

10 months ago steve_z 17 comments 1 recs |

Comments

Interesting that they picked a brand new blog rather than one of the hundred well established ones out there. Maybe all the other Pirate bloggers didn’t appreciate their front-running.

by ElDuce on Jul 21, 2011 5:54 PM EDT reply actions

I know they asked Pat about it.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Jul 21, 2011 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I was just thinking the other day, when I read that (high profile liberal wonk blogger) Ezra Klein was having 3 other bloggers somehow added to his… something (I don’t think it’s a group blog; I’m not really sure what the intention is. But they’re being bundled together for marketing purposes at least) that we may have reached a point where bloggers stop seeking institutional support and start becoming, essentially, freelance publishers.

There’s always been a blend of strategies, obviously, but there are quite a few blogs out there – political and otherwise – that have all the credibility and readership of traditional media outlets, and it’s easy to see how they could start eschewing the baggage associated with a Washington Post or ESPN and decide that editorial control and continuous identity is more important than big media “security” that may prove fleeting.

by JRoth95 on Jul 21, 2011 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I wasn’t the only one, either, I don’t think. ESPN asks quite a bit of blogs that aren’t entirely independent (say, affiliated with Bloguin like I am, or YardBarker like a couple other guys) and couldn’t promise much in return beyond the branding and nebulous traffic. That’s their right, of course, but it wasn’t something I really wanted to do.

That said, I’m glad they finally found someone. It was pretty lame seeing no Pirate blog on the network, even if that was a testament to there being a bunch of Pirate bloggers that have done fairly well for themselves and put themselves into positions that ESPN’s offer wasn’t the best for a number of us.

http://www.whygavs.com
http://twitter.com/whygavs

by whygavs on Jul 21, 2011 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions

ESPN asks quite a bit of blogs that aren’t entirely independent (say, affiliated with Bloguin like I am, or YardBarker like a couple other guys) and couldn’t promise much in return beyond the branding and nebulous traffic. That’s their right, of course, but it wasn’t something I really wanted to do.

This is the Huffington Post/AOL business model — make money by exploiting people working for nothing. Individuals write without compensation for Name Web Sites in order to gain exposure. The Name Web Site makes out like a bandit, as Huffington did when she too AOL’s money.

I’m sure sweatshop owners are envious.

s.zielinski

by steve_z on Jul 22, 2011 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions

ESPN asks quite a bit of blogs that aren’t entirely independent (say, affiliated with Bloguin like I am, or YardBarker like a couple other guys) and couldn’t promise much in return beyond the branding and nebulous traffic. That’s their right, of course, but it wasn’t something I really wanted to do.

I don’t really agree with this, having just recently read through all the contracts. There aren’t any requirements on content volume or any restrictions on type of content, either. I understand why someone already with SBNation or Bloguin wouldn’t leave, but suggest something nefarious or egregious on ESPN’s end is misleading.

by psporer on Jul 22, 2011 7:24 PM EDT up reply actions