It's true - people buy the newspaper for sports

I'm on my tablet 10-15 hours a day these days.
Not much of that is spent on the local paper, though.

But it's the right place to look, I agree. It's the magic wand.

 

I'd like to see the numbers from last year, two years ago, five years ago and 10 years ago.

 

The article said 404, and the study described the methodology more in the section neatly labeled methodology. It's far from a scientific study, however.

 

The problem isn't the readers. Readers want information. We provide information. We generally provide better, more in-depth information than TV and web sites.

The issue is advertising.

If we can crack that nut, Moddy and I can at least limp along until retirement.

 

Just because it has a section titled methodology doesn't mean it is. It wouldn't past muster in an undergrad research methods course. I read the 404 participants part, but that doesn't answer my question.

 

Online interviews conducted from January 2nd through January 8th, 2013
Male sports fans 18 to 54
Sample Size: 404 interviews
201 Regular sports pages readers (2x or more/week)
203 Non-Regular sports pages readers (1x or not at all/week) but access sports information from another source

 

It may be the magic wand for delivering information in a way people like to read it (which is pretty important).

But is it providing sufficient ad revenue? Can it ever exist on its own without leaning on the crutch of the print ads?

How many ads do you bother to click on in any given tablet session with a newspaper?

 

Seems like the most promise in media/tablet advertising is the model where, in order to read a story, you have to sit through a 20 second video ad. It would be like TV in the pre-TiVo/DVR era. You want to watch "Seinfeld?" Sit though an ad for jeans. You just have to make your "Seinfeld" worth the time. Easy to say, hard to do. But it would certainly offer advertisers real metrics showing them that "300,000 people watched this ad for Tide detergent before getting to read Maureen Dowd" as opposed to random accidental clicks on banner ads above or below the column.

I know Salon tried this years ago, then went away from it. Maybe it was simply ahead of its time. Or maybe it was flawed in that advertisers saw no value or readers dropped so severely it was worthless. Wish I knew.

 

That's why some sites are really pushing video -- you have to sit through that ad to watch the video.

 

I still recommend ad blockers. They make for a better Web experience. On this site, for instance, the posts are about an inch wider because there's no ad next to them, so the posts fill the extra space.

In addition, I never see advertisements before videos. Hulu is a little unwieldy because it makes me watch a blank screen telling me Hulu can't display advertisements for the entire length of what would have been the commercials, but that's the only site like that.

 

My apologies. I thought you had asked how many people participated. Misread your post.

 

Moddy, I feel your pain -- I do. Changing careers isn't easy for anyone, especially if you've done the same work for 30 years. And, finding a new job of any sort when your over 50 can be very tough.

I get why you want to stick it out, and stay in the industry. And, given your position in the industry, you have a better chance of making it.

What I think people find concerning is the encouragement given to younger people to "take a risk" and "follow your dreams" to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Folks are describing low paying jobs in podunk towns as good opportunities:

Paris, TX

Elizabethtown, KY:

In an industry that's growing, getting in -- even on the ground floor -- is key. You get your foot in the door, work hard, and make your way up the ladder.

But, you guys are not in a growth industry. Just getting in isn't enough. Too many people still want to get in, and are willing to work for peanuts for everyone who is entering to be successful.

If you didn't have an internship with the Boston Globe (or a similar caliber paper), like Chad Graff did, then you're not likely to get hired to work pro beat, like he did.

The path isn't through Elizabethtown, KY or Paris, TX.

While there may exceptions, they're going to be rare. Now, more than ever, you need the credentials. You need the internships. You need the resume.

It's irresponsible to be encouraging kids out of school to move to Paris, TX in search of a sports writing career.

It boarders on cruel to suggest to a 27-year-old, who's been working in Poduck for years, and is still not working full time, or making better than $11.00 an hour that he should stick at it.

Sometimes the best advice is not what people want to hear, but some of these people need to hear from people they respect that they need to look at other opportunities.