Sleeping With The Enemy?

Did anyone see this tidbit about the WWL?

http://apse.dallasnews.com/2009/apr2009/041709espn_content.html

What really interests me is the degree of varying opinions among SEs in the industry about this arrangement.

Thought?

 

did i miss the part where it says the beat guys aren't getting paid for their contributions?

 

The SEs who say they expect some benefit from this baffle me. In what way has previous cooperation with ESPN -- or for that matter "convergence" with local electronic media -- begat any tangible benefits (like, you know, m-o-n-e-y you can count) for newspapers? One definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. They have their heads up their ass in some Internet fantasy world in which it will pay off someday ... someday ... someday. If the new ESPN Chicago doesn't make clear what ESPN's ultimate goal is in major local markets, I don't know what to say. Partnership my ass.

 

Nope, you did not. I believe all the payment they need is spelled out right here in the bolded part:

 

This arrangement is a partnership for ESPN, not for the newspapers, or their writers.

 

that's what i figured

kind of a hole in the story? not even addressing whether they'll get paid

 

Hey, here's a great idea.
In addition to giving away our content free on our own Web site, let's have our beat guys provide their notebooks -- free of charge, of course -- to ESPN...maybe even go on Baseball Tonight right on deadline instead of, you know, filing their stuff to us first.
That will give our readers another reason not to bother buying the paper tomorrow. But it will get us great exposure on ESPN and will be really good for our guys' egos.


Fucking brilliant.

 

Exactly, spnited. All this seems to do is drive readers to ESPN and give the paper less unique content. Why read the paper when you can just go to ESPN and get this stuff there?

 

Yep, looks like another win-win situation for ESPN. What's that old saying, "Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer?"

 

Same thinking in letting all your people moonlight in electronic media, giving away the store in ways that line only their pockets but not the newspapers'.

I use the word "letting" in the sense that newspapers could have gotten out in front of stuff like radio shows and regular TV gigs -- and some sports sections did -- to sponsor or produce their own. But to let that bought-and-paid-for knowledge and expertise just drift out the door to local radio/TV outlets, where potential readers can get a quickie and free version, in the belief that the extra exposure to the troops could be turned into cold hard cash has been extreme stupidity.

 

Stupid is as stupid does Joe.

Channeling my inner Forrest Gump.

 

Further proof that a lot of dumb, desperate, unimaginative people are running sports departments these days. Complete amateurs, many of them.

They probably just hope they can get an ESPN job out of it. And like overworked writers need their egos boosted by being on air with Eduardo Perez and Chris Singleton.