At least J. Person went out with a bang --- NY Times buys The Athletic --- "...turn out the lights, the party's over..."

[Waldo]

25 minutes ago, jayboogieman said:

The better question is why are you clicking on and then watching that kind of mess in the first place?

Lol, just scrolling and auto play. I like to know what is out there because I can't trust being told anymore, the sources and intent are too questionable. Family and ex-friends really provide most of that. To avoid it I would have to hide from it which would make me vulnerable to reality. 

[SizzleBuzz]

1 hour ago, trueblade said:

I've been part of two companies that were acquired. This kind of thing is what the acquiring company ALWAYS says. In my experience it's proved be either an outright lie or a "well, that's what we wanted but things have changed and now we're fully integrating [previous company] into [new owner], oh, and BU-BYE."

[Donald LaFell]

3 hours ago, ladypanther said:

Maybe the Observer will get to keep Ellis a little longer then.  He is a good young sportswriter.

Ellis is interesting because I think he has a full time job at the BMW plant in Spartanburg, would be a hard thing to give up entirely for sports journalism. 

[kungfoodude]

4 hours ago, Tbe said:

You act like those little stations were forced to sell at gun point.
 

The athletic was spending over $50 million while making $35 million. It was probably a year or so from shutting down.

Selling it at least gives it a chance to live on a while longer.

Not sure you understood the point I was making.

[Carl Spackler]

2 hours ago, L-TownCat said:

News media is dying.  Let it die.  It’s all lies and half truths to push a narrative.  Good riddance.

What do you think should replace it, then? Facebook?

[Cary Kollins]

1 hour ago, L-TownCat said:

No mention of Obama removing the restrictions for propaganda to the American people?

If we’re getting specific let’s be fair to both ignorant ass sides.

LOL wut?

 

Quick google search shows you’re probably referring to a debunked Facebook post. Good lord no wonder half this country has gone off the deep end.

[ladypanther]

1 hour ago, Donald LaFell said:

Ellis is interesting because I think he has a full time job at the BMW plant in Spartanburg, would be a hard thing to give up entirely for sports journalism. 

I was talking about this Ellis:

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article257073997.html

[Brooklyn 3.0]

3 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

You think Twitter features more accurate reporting than in-depth reports in news, and that those in-depth reports are opinion? Sounds like the problem lies with you

No.

I said, why are people paying for opinions (articles on Athletic)? Seems like a waste of money. If you want up-to-the-second news (not always found on the Athletic) ... it's found on Twitter (from reliable accounts).

[Khyber53]

6 hours ago, Waldo said:

That entire industry is in decay. I have no idea how to salvage any of the quality that is left. Its not going to happen for free.

Journalism is being phased out and the rise of entertainment as news is rampant,  opinion is not journalsim. It's a cancer that needs to be figured out or we are headed to Idiocracy level reality. It's already here sadly.

 

As one of those effectively phased out over the years, you're right.

[Waldo]

10 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

As one of those effectively phased out over the years, you're right.

I hate hearing that even more than the talking head BS stuff they churn out.

[Yup]

National journalism is nearly dead. Most of what's left is propaganda suited to whichever bit of the political spectrum you choose to belong. Local journalism has already turned to dust in its grave.

[CPcavedweller]

Great, another political tool for the New York Times. More cultural tyranny rather than straight sports coverage. 

[EgoDogg]

7 hours ago, Waldo said:

That entire industry is in decay. I have no idea how to salvage any of the quality that is left. Its not going to happen for free.

Journalism is being phased out and the rise of entertainment as news is rampant,  opinion is not journalsim. It's a cancer that needs to be figured out or we are headed to Idiocracy level reality. It's already here sadly.

It's bad. Digital Media is my career (SEO being the primary focus), and the company I was with the last 5 years was just acquired by a mega corp / media publisher. Since the acquisition, it's all about churn + hot take + volume as the priority. Quality has gone out the window. Oh, and ad infesting the site and alienating core audience by flooding the homepage with shopping content.

Currently working on moving towards a more ideal situation, but much (not all) of the industry only cares about one thing.... Revenue (obviously), but the path many take is morally disgusting.

Revenue = Ad Impressions
More Ad Impressions = More Clicks
More Clicks = More Hot Takes / More clickbait
More clickbait = More websites following the lead
Etc.

Glad to see they'll be operating independently for now. But it's a matter of time before The Athletic uses the same playbook & policies as The New York Times

Edited January 7, 2022 by EgoDogg

[EgoDogg]

5 hours ago, trueblade said:

I've been part of two companies that were acquired. This kind of thing is what the acquiring company ALWAYS says. In my experience it's proved be either an outright lie or a "well, that's what we wanted but things have changed and now we're fully integrating [previous company] into [new owner], oh, and BU-BYE."

Didn't see your comment before saying something similar. But that's exactly how it goes down. It takes a while to get fully incorporated. Probably not before January 2023, but it's only a matter of time.