Seeking info

[writestuff1]

A friend of mine and I have a growing web site concerning prep sports in our area. We have a second site that is devoted to the professional and major college sports teams in our area that we are lookking to beef up. We are considering adding some sort of sports wire service to our second site so that we can get national stories and art. We are looking for NFL, NBA, MLB plus college football and basketball. We don't really need the other sports for what we are focusing on. I know there is AP, The Sports Network, etc. Anyone know how much such services might cost a web site? Are there cheaper alternatives to AP and The Sports Network. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[spikechiquet]

Enjoy lookking for that info.

FYI....AP is expensive as hell.

 

[writestuff1]

I know it is. That's why I'm seeking any ideas on alternatives and anyone who might have insight on cost.

 

[Floyd R. Turbo]

In journalism, just like everything else, you normally get what you pay for. If you're looking for cheap content, you're going to get bad content. Sounds like you're like many of the new breed that doesn't understand that sports writing is a profession and vocation. And I'm one of the old geezers in the biz who keeps fighting to keep sports writing as a profession, and I keep resisting the fact that every sports fan and their dog is trying to start a magazine, a blog and a web site, and they've made it so sports writing is becoming a hobby.

 

[schiezainc]

In journalism, just like everything else, you normally get what you pay for. If you're looking for cheap content, you're going to get bad content. Sounds like you're like many of the new breed that doesn't understand that sports writing is a profession and vocation. And I'm one of the old geezers in the biz who keeps fighting to keep sports writing as a profession, and I keep resisting the fact that every sports fan and their dog is trying to start a magazine, a blog and a web site, and they've made it so sports writing is becoming a hobby.

But you get to go to games! For free!

 

[writestuff1]

I've been in the journalism profession for almost 30 years. Like most on this site, I lament what has happened to the profession. Instead of just bitching about it, I'm trying to find a new avenue to survive. I came to this site to ask for help from folks who might have some insight. I'm not some "gee whiz, I get to go to games" sort. I've busted my ass in the profession. I've worked at small daily papers and have more than paid my dues. All I ask from this site is smart responses, not smart-ass responses.

 

[RedHotChiliPrepper]

All I ask from this site is smart responses, not smart-ass responses.

Then you've come to the wrong place because buried deep somewhere in the smart-ass responses there might be something helpful. But smart-ass responses are what is done best here.

 

[Floyd R. Turbo]

If you've been in the biz 30 years, you should know you're going to get what you pay for.

 

[BrianGriffin]

I've been in the journalism profession for almost 30 years. Like most on this site, I lament what has happened to the profession. Instead of just bitching about it, I'm trying to find a new avenue to survive. I came to this site to ask for help from folks who might have some insight. I'm not some "gee whiz, I get to go to games" sort. I've busted my ass in the profession. I've worked at small daily papers and have more than paid my dues. All I ask from this site is smart responses, not smart-ass responses.

Stats inc. can provide data. Sports Network is the most viable alternative content provider besides AP I can think of. You could partner with something like Bleacher Report, but I'm sure you don't want to go down that road.

 

[writestuff1]

Brian, thanks for the info. My buddy and I have been doing this for over a year with no money behind us. In fact, my buddy works four freelance TV gigs to try and make this work. I'm the writer for our site while he's the video guy. We're not a bunch of amateurs. We're trying to do something for ourselves as opposed to doing it for others and then just getting tossed aside. We'd like to have a little more control of our lives. So, cost is a factor.

See, Floyd R. Turbo, that type of response wasn't so hard, was it?

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

If Floyd's responses bothered you that much, you probably need to grow a thicker skin.

 

[schiezainc]

I'm sorry but I just don't get the people who think blogging is going to lead to some revolutionary payday or career.

Is it true that some people have turned running a blog into success? Sure. But, guess what? Some people also turned playing high school football into a career. They're called NFL players. The overwhelming majority play until they can't anymore and then, poof, move on to the real world.

Blogging could, in theory, pay off for you but this isn't 1996. The internet revolution has already happened, become passe, become reinvented and happened again. That train has sailed.

For every 500 people who blog, I imagine two or three might make a life out of it, one that pays the bills. But those people were going to be successful anyway.

If you think you're good at this stuff, I wish you luck. I would never want to tell someone they can't achieve their dream because, hey, with enough hard work anything is possible.

But I don't see how this type of thing can lead to anything but a lot of work on your end and disappointing results. It's like that old joke about newspapers and the internet goes where the newspaper guy says that making money on the internet can be done in three steps where step one is present the content, step three is make the money but no one has figured out step two.

Again, good luck but expect a lot of smart-ass remarks from the finer people here.

 

[Versatile]

The AP sports alternatives I know of are The SportsXchange, Stats and The Sports Network. The content is terrible, in my opinion. I don't know why anyone would want to read bad content on the Internet, which is loaded with good content, but Bleacher Report has become pretty successful.

 

[Screwball]

Why do you want to spend lots of money (whatever the amount) to provide information easily found elsewhere on the Internet? If you've got an authoritative local site, more power to you. But why would someone use your site instead of ESPN to see if the Lakers won, and how would you possibly get enough of those readers to justify the investment?

 

[Tarheel316]

Floyd is speaking the truth. Anyone who who doesn't like smart-ass responses probably is out of place on this board.

 

[Stitch]

I want to go to some blog or my pro news and I'm sure the masses will, too. The public likes cut-rate operations. Hators gotta hate.

 

[Tarheel316]

You better believe they're gonna hate!

 

[sgreenwell]

Why do you want to spend lots of money (whatever the amount) to provide information easily found elsewhere on the Internet? If you've got an authoritative local site, more power to you. But why would someone use your site instead of ESPN to see if the Lakers won, and how would you possibly get enough of those readers to justify the investment?

Speaking as someone who ran a personal blog for more than a year, this times a thousand. Any post that was about me, or my area, did much better than something on a general topic that was already saturated by Internet coverage (pro sports, music, hit television shows). Find a niche and develop it, and after you're wildly successful, maybe that's when you try to get credentialed for pro sports coverage, or look into running AP.

 

[da man]

In journalism, just like everything else, you normally get what you pay for. If you're looking for cheap content, you're going to get bad content. Sounds like you're like many of the new breed that doesn't understand that sports writing is a profession and vocation. And I'm one of the old geezers in the biz who keeps fighting to keep sports writing as a profession, and I keep resisting the fact that every sports fan and their dog is trying to start a magazine, a blog and a web site, and they've made it so sports writing is becoming a hobby.

BTW, Floyd, just want you to know I've missed your TV commentary.

Which raises the question: Suck eggs.

 

[Floyd R. Turbo]

I need that photo. I've been looking for that. Brings back great memories, doesn't it?