Sports Media Exchange

My biggest question is whether newspapers would pay enough to cover both the fee and still make it worthwhile for the writer. Papers were notoriously cheap with their stringer fees even in fat times.

 

(think outside the page)

 

Nice pull Mr. Hickling. I have made it a point to never use the "thinking outside the box" line because it used to drive me crazy, so "think outside the page" could find a home with us.

 

Andy....I assume that you are pulling from some really qualified (and under employed) writers ... How exactly do you vet such a group?

 

That's a good question Dan. Fortunately, the three of us have a combined 50 years in the biz and are familiar with a lot of the writers out there right now so there wasn't a need to vet those writers. As for the ones we were not familiar with, we literally go through each resume and each set of clips the same as a hiring editor would and if there is another question or concern, we'll reach out either to the writer's references or to someone else we know who might be more familiar with that person's work.

 

Just to update those out there still following our progress, we were given two very difficult tests right off the bat the past two weeks dealing with NFL preseason games and passed with flying colors.

Here's the feedback we got from one SE:

Quick background. Mr. Nelson called me late the Thursday night before last Saturday's Chargers-Falcons game in Atlanta and I was in Tampa for the Bucs-Dolphins so I did not get the message until Friday morning. Within the span of two hours we were able to find him a writer to do a gamer and a notebook and get that writer credentialed.

Less than a week later we did the same thing for the Miami Herald, literally at the last minute as I got the call on my way to the airport to board the team plane for New Orleans. Again, we found them a writer to do a sidebar and he already was credentialed and was going to be at the game anyway so it worked out smoothly for everyone involved.

Now we are getting the ear of more and more sports editors looking to avoid those last-minute snafus and see if they can save themselves the hassle and potential disaster by lining up coverage well ahead of time. With the extensive database of writers we have at our fingertips it makes our venture that much more appealing, and again, for the writers, too. Our writer in Atlanta had no assignment that weekend and in a span of two hours made himself a nice check and added two more clips for his resume, while our writer in New Orleans picked up a bonus check on top of what he was doing to begin with.

Finally, we are moving much closer to finalizing details with a very, very big fish in the client pool that will further substantiate us in the marketplace. I hope to be able to pull back the curtain on this news sometime next week but I do not want to jinx it.

AK

 

What I really like about Andy's plan is that it's proactive...he's creating projects (really meaningful ones, from what little he's shared with me) that will require the (paid) services of quality writers ... this is different from my small efforts over the years, which have been largely reactive (SE yells "FIRE", I find them a hydrant and hose) ... I think guys/gals are going to like these gigs ....

 

Joe: It all depends.

I get $40 for high school freelancing and I got $125 for an af2 game.

Now, if Andy can get the word out that I am available for, say, all Adirondack Phantoms (AHL) home games or the Saratoga racing meet, or Lake Placid Olympic-style events, or any games at Siena, UAlbany, etc., and those outlets are paying $100 or more -- and I can't get the message out myself -- it's worth it to me to give him a cut.

Yes, I advertise on this board. That's sorta what this is.

 

Billy,

Actually, we scrapped our original idea of creating a larger job board so to speak and went with our more direct pay-for-content model after discussions with a number of SEs from different regions. So in essence we are able to pitch in mass quantity specific stories and events well ahead of time and actually help SEs at papers and other entities plan out their budget by assuring them "staff" writers on specific dates (i.e., all Phantoms home games, the Saratoga race, Siena, UAlbany, etc.) or for specific features they might not have been aware of (i.e., a hometown kid now starting for that small college in New Mexico or that former high school star platform diver who is attempting to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team at a meet in Indy or Fort Lauderdale).

So far in the first group of assignments we have completed the pay model was acceptable on both ends, with the writers still clearing a minimum of $100 after the cut that was taken to cover our overhead.

The way this works now as opposed to a job board is there are instant results for the paper/entity and the writer, as opposed to an SE posting an assignment on here, or basically casting out the fishing line, and waiting for a writer to bite and accept the assignment, or vice versa where the writer posts his availability for an event or group of events and is waiting for some SE to bite and give him the assignment. I know I posted numerous times on here for very timely and appealing coverage and had to keep going back to bump the post yet still never got any bites, and I have heard the same on the other end.

Like Dan explained, we are being proactive and spoon feeding the SEs content that they either did not realize they could use or knew they could use but hadn't been able to either find a writer in that city or hadn't had a chance to search because of his or her other responsibilities. At the same time, we have proven reliable in those "FIRE! I need a hydrant and a hose" scenarios like I described earlier with the San Diego paper and the Miami Herald.

Again, I hope to be able to pull back the curtain on one of the more substantial proactive projects we have been working on next week that will further illuminate the value of what we are doing, especially at a time like this where more and more writers (see the PB Post thread) are finding themselves out on the street.

AK

 

Billy:

Ever hear of the telephone? If you know the schedules for the Phantoms, Siena, etc., it's not hard to look up the papers in their areas that might cover them and call the SE a couple months before the season and pitch your services. That's how I've covered pretty much every home game for the local NFL team for the past four seasons. Made some pretty good bucks out of it, too. Without a middleman.

Now, the Saratoga stuff and Olympic style stuff is a different matter. If SME can locate assignements for those, that mught be worth something. But regularly scheduled games? You should be able to scare stuff up for those on your own.

 

Actually, that brings up a question, Andy? Do you require exclusivity among your writers? Say, if I wanted to use your service to get a gig at, say, a PGA Tour event around here, could I still go out on my own to get my football stuff without using you?

 

I think your service is going to be a big hit with SEs who are poor planners.

Organized SEs of papers covering NFL teams wouldn't be desperate to find a stringer 48 hours prior to an event. They would have taken care of the situation weeks ahead of time.