The National, reborn?

Why hasn't that rich guy from Mexico -- or hell, even Frank Deford himself -- revived the concept of The National as a Web site?

Printing and distribution were the only major snags in that national sports daily's plan the first time around. But just think what it could have been if the Internet had been more fully available. Now it would be much more economical to produce, and hiring writers in just about every big-league market would cut down on the need for travel expenses, another huge expense of sports departments.

Sure, there are Web sites like ESPN.com, CBS Sportsline.com, etc. And of course MLB.com and NFL.com. But none of those is based on rounding up the ABSOLUTE best sportswriting and sports editing talent, the way The National was.

That paper was a beautiful thing while it lasted.

 

For ESPN/CBS/Fox/MLB/NFL, the Web site is just a part of a huge media empire. They can afford to spend $$ on the Web product and give it away for free because it supports TV. A National-like site wouldn't be able to compete.

 

There would seem to be little appetite for another daily national sports newspaper either. USA Today fills a void for those who want decent coverage of all major national sports.

What The National did best, hard-hitting enterprise and in-depth reporting, is not what the country seems to be clamoring for these days.

 

You are right and that is too bad. Since most of us got into this business with hopes of doing those exact things far more often than we get the chance now.

 

Damn you Joe! I fell victim to the thread title. I live in hope that for the last 15 or so years my local newsstand (though I've had four or five localities in that time period) has neglected to carry it. Maybe one morning I'll wake up and realize the whole thing has been a dream and I'll be able to pick up a National and read it with my morning biscuit.

:'(

 

Joe, we've been through this before along here. To make a long story short, it's all about $. No one has the money sink into an endeavor like that. If any one can pull it off in my opinion right now, it's USA Today. They have the resources and everything in place to do it hitting the ground running.
But let's face it, people are "too busy" to devote their time to reading.

 

As a National alum (reporter), I would love to see thenational.com come into existence, with the same sort of innovative spirit and cajones we had in 1990-91. Some of you are under the mistaken belief that such a Web site can only succeed as part of a media empire that includes TV, publication, etc. That simply is not true. Case in point is rivals.com, even with its purchase by yahoo. Also, The National, while it had great reads every day, was not as enterprise-intensive as some in here would have you believe. It was all about rich, thorough reporting given in a variety of formats, and some terrific columnizing by the likes of Norman Chad, Scott Ostler, Mike Lupica and Tom Friend that filled you up every day without leaving you bloated.

One concession, perhaps. thenational.com would have a weekly tab edition distributed nationwide that would be all those things that TSN needs to be in order to flourish. Just to give all this a print presence and therefore serve as a marketing vehicle annoucning itself to the world.

And, yes, I never get tired of these threads about The National.

 

Clutch, as an alum, wouldn't you agree that if Gannett really want to, it could put out a creditable National edition?

 

We have the National. Hell, we have several Nationals. Look at the rosters at ESPN.com and Yahoo and to a lesser extent, CBS Sportsline.

 

We're talking print, not cyber space.

 

I took this to mean that he wasn't talking about print.

 

Yes, but the buscuit doesn't taste nearly as good as I remember. I enjoyed it being a print version too.



Maybe I just need to find a new biscuit place.