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Simmons on sports writing

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Uncle.Ruckus, Jun 6, 2012.

  1. Chris17

    Chris17 Member

    Anybody else see Malcolm Gladwell call writing an "elite profession"?

    Tell that to the guy who writes my paycheck.
     
  2. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    It IS an elite profession, regardless of your paycheck.

    If you don't have pride in what you do, nobody else will feel that way about it.
     
  3. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    Yes. Yes. A million times. Yes.

    I really hate live tweeting pressers for one reason ... you get so busy typing out quotes that you start to not pay attention to what's being said and can go blank when it's time to ask questions. Tweet the highlights afterward -- judiciously -- but nothing that is said in a Tuesday CFB presser is groundbreaking enough to tweet it instantaneously.
     
  4. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    The whole tweeting bit is ridiculous. If you're going to tweet every darn thing said, why should I bother to read the paper (online or in print)?

    This is the whole issue that is killing most sports sections. People know the results. Why bother to read the game story? Do I really care what Simmons or Woody Paige or Adande or whomever thinks about LeBron James or Dwayne Wade? If something happens with them, some poor fool will tweet about it and I'll get everything I really need to know.
     
  5. da man

    da man Well-Known Member

    Twitter is the devil.

    No question.
     
  6. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    I think I agree, but I'm going to have to go over to my TweetDeck and see if others agree, too.
     
  7. SockPuppet

    SockPuppet Active Member

    I dislike and have boycotted Bill Simmons' writing and will continue to do so. I read Grantland when someone links to a Charles Pierce missive, but that's it.

    It could be said that the fact I haven't read and won't read Simmons is professional jealousy. I would disagree. I've got mine, he's got his and good for the both of us.

    Simmons seems to be one of those folks who was born on third and thinks they hit a triple. For whatever reason, his penchant to overwrite (half on topic, one quarter cultural references, one quarter Bill Simmons) struck a chord with the Youth Of America. I find it ironic that newspaper writers are hammered to write shorter because no one has the time to read long stories, yet Simmons can go on and on and on and on and on ... and on ... for 2k, 3k words and everyone thinks he's golden.

    His comment about writing from the couch is ignorant. Sure, it CAN be done. If I covered Game 7 of Boston-Miami from the arena and wrote 750 words while Simmons never left the comfort of his man cave and wrote 2k words, I have no doubt that his story would swamp my story in the all-important click category. OK, fine.

    But his distaste and lack of respect for the grunt work and effort that writers put into covering a beat really pisses me off. Maybe that day-to-day beat grind is becoming less important to sports editors. If that's the case, then piss on the fire and call in the dogs because the hunt is over.
     
  8. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    I find the above baffling ... or someone is lying to newspaper writers. They're told to keep it short because no one reads it, no one turns inside when the story jumps or no one cares. Yet Simmons overwrites and people seem to eat it up.

    So which is it, folks?

    SockPuppet's last graf is bang-on. If Simmons can't appreciate the meat-and-potatoes work beat writers put into their craft, that's his problem. Sure, the fans want "War and Peace" with a Karate Kid and a reality TV reference ... but they're going to want their injury reports and other little nuggets that beat writers mine by working the trenches. That Simmons can neither see nor appreciate it is his problem.
     
  9. daemon

    daemon Well-Known Member

    Simmons clearly doesn't understand the difference between postseason and regular season coverage with regards to the handling of post game reporting. Regardless, the greatest insights from a post game locker room aren't expressed in words. The best way to get the pulse of a team and to understand what the game meant in a broader context is to be around in the aftermath, to read the body language and listen to the tones in the voices and feel the atmosphere in the locker room.
     
  10. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    On game coverage, he has a point... But as we all know, covering cames is the easiest part of being a beat writer.
     
  11. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    I do.
     
  12. podunk press

    podunk press Active Member

    I don't read Bill Simmons. Reason being, I detest all New England sports teams, I get annoyed by people who think they know how to "fix" journalism and I don't have the attention span for 1,000-word columns.

    So I quit reading Simmons about five years ago. I've never been to Grantland. I manage to function somehow.

    If Simmons is going to make a lot of money blogging, it's not going to be because I'm clicking on his stories.
     
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