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Washington Times sports

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by JayFarrar, Mar 21, 2011.

  1. VJ

    VJ Member

    Considering TWT went without a sports section for 444 days, pretty sure nobody is depending on it for standings, box scores, etc. anymore.
     
  2. YGBFKM

    YGBFKM Guest

    Good point.
     
  3. Den1983

    Den1983 Active Member

    I understand your point. The ME prefers to have agate, even on some days, because she buys into the thinking that it's what we've done, it's what we do, et cetera. If it was up to me, there'd be no more agate.

    Some may see that as gypping the readers, but our readers have yet to complain once. If they were to argue, of course we'd put it back if that's what they wanted. But I don't think they do, or care. That tells me they don't read the paper for the agate like the old days.
     
  4. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    I have no problem with not running agate, but if your readers don't complain, why even put it in the other three days? That's what I don't understand.

    I had an SE who wanted to run NHL/NBA roundups every so often -- when we had the space (i.e. days we didn't have one of his 30-inch prep basketball atrocities to run). Well, we had fans of two or three teams in each pro league wanting news. If you don't want to run it, fine, just be consistent on it and let the readers know why.

    Sorry for the threadjack. Liked the WT front, good effort on a first day back touching all bases.
     
  5. Versatile

    Versatile Active Member

    I think this is one of the most important things for all members of The Washington Times staff to consider. They have the opportunity to start fresh and should take full advantage of it.

    We still get phone calls if we miss one MLB box score. Why? Because we've always run them all. We always have. It's just what we've always done.

    But there is no "we've always" anymore for The Washington Times. You don't want to reinvent the wheel, but you can experiment with things and see if there are more efficient ways to do things.

    I love my job, but I admit, I'm jealous of the opportunity provided those at The Washington Times -- even if it means working for perhaps the least stable (at least mentally, if not financially) media company in the world.
     
  6. Johnny Dangerously

    Johnny Dangerously Well-Known Member

    I said this a lot in 1998: When everyone has access to the same information, you'd better be able to set yourself apart in some meaningful way. For some, that way is telling good stories, providing analysis, bringing years of experience to bear, making people think -- putting all the informational clutter in some perspective, or putting a face to it. Maybe even entertaining people along the way. I still believe it.

    Some places are big enough to be able to do that and package it with the same raw data available all over the place. Those places are becoming increasingly rare. The rest of us have tough choices to make.

    What I do well is tell stories. I don't work at a place where we can give people what we once did. If you do, that's great. I might be wrong, but as I look around at everything that's happened since 1998, I don't see a lot of agate in my professional future, and I don't see much of a future built around agate.
     
  7. Fran Curci

    Fran Curci Well-Known Member

    Setting yourself apart: great local coverage that cannot be found elsewhere blended with your paper's take on national sports news plus all the basic information you need. All in one place. Or, you better have truly unique, killer content, a la the Wall Street Journal.
     
  8. SteveRep44

    SteveRep44 Member

    I didn't mean to start all this but I think it's a good discussion. I have an affection for that 'basic information' because that's what I did. Yup, the wire guy.

    With what the section is right now, I understand decisions are tougher than they probably should be.

    Meant to ask -- how many editions and just what are the deadlines?
     
  9. If I"m reading a story about our local NHL team trying to make the playoffs, I'd like the convenience of looking elsewhere on the page to glance at the standings and see where they fit in. And when I do, I can see what's going on in the other divisions/conference as well. In this case, I think the agate is necessary.

    Box scores? Maybe less so. I know when we dropped weekly NBA stats we didn't hear a peep. Although weekly baseball averages still draw calls when we don't run them in Sunday's paper. That might be an outgrowth of the fan base, though. Maybe baseball fans are less computer savvy than NBA fans (older?).
     
  10. Cigar56

    Cigar56 Member

    It's pretty much a fact that newspaper readers are mostly older, and want traditional newspaper features like comics, obits, crosswords -- and agate. Older readers want what they want, and pointing them online for stuff doesn't make for a good relationship. I say this fully aware of the trade offs. However, because of the aging newspaper readers there are some things that should not be cut. Each editor has to decide what those things are. Tastes of older readers must be accommodated because they are impossible to replace. We all know that today's web savvy kids are not going to become newspaper subscribers, so you gotta take care of what's there.
     
  11. reformedhack

    reformedhack Well-Known Member

    Am I the only one amused by how many people are telling Moddy what he should and shouldn't put in his newspaper?

    (Good luck, Mike. I envy your opportunity to create something new and different.)
     
  12. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    This is probably the approach we'll take to start - like now with the Caps jockeying for position, etc. Full NHL agate? probably not.
     
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