The downfall of CBS Sports

[cranberry]

Our friends over at The Big Lead scorched CBS Sports. Deservedly. It's been sad to watch the place disintegrate.

Low Morale at CBS Sports.com as it Eschews Reporting in Favor of Aggregation

Maybe the "crass, overbearing" Anthony Mormile will want to stop by and explain what happened?

 

[LongTimeListener]

It's an interesting story, but what the **** do all those guys ripping CBS Sports for aggregation think The Big Lead actually does?

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

I think some of the Longform Inc. names lorded around here would have their minds blown if they were exposed regularly to their numbers of pageviews.

 

[LongTimeListener]

This is difficult to read for anyone still in the business (or who cares about it at all).

Swanson, the former managing editor at CBS Sports.com, says, emphatically, “no consumers give a **** who breaks stories. Everyone has them within minutes. We thought there was value, but there’s none. This isn’t opinion. This is empirical.”

But can anyone mount an argument against that statement?

 

[Michael_ Gee]

The logical extension of Swanson's statement is the argument against it. If all news organizations believe it, then eventually no stories at all will get broken, and journalism will be nothing but press releases, happy talk by business, government, and all other institutions. There's ample evidence people will first stop believing the media and then stop consuming it.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Sure, at the endpoint. As for now, there are thousands of sites for CBS, The Big Lead and others to crib from.

 

[BDC99]

This story really pisses me off. How about the argument that if you don't have good reporters you have nothing to ****ing aggregate? The ****ing greed and selfishness is mind blowing.

 

[cranberry]

It's an interesting story, but what the **** do all those guys ripping CBS Sports for aggregation think The Big Lead actually does?

I chuckled about that.

 

[BDC99]

I chuckled about that.

Definitely a good point.

 

[CD Boogie]

I found it alarmingly sad that Elling would take a job overseas to continue his career as a golf writer, while leaving his wife and young kids behind for long stretches. I know it's hard to switch gears and think of yourself in a new career, but come on, man, only professional athletes can legitimately go overseas to market cap on their eroding skills. A golf writer doing that seems like the height of delusion. Go into communications, PR, whatever, but don't do that. That seems crazy to me, but obviously he had his reasons.

 

[poindexter]

His reasons are probably a mortgage and young kids.

 

[CD Boogie]

Sure, the only job he could get that would pay his mortgage was overseas...maybe the only job that would allow him to basically continue doing the same job, with the same sense of self. There are plenty of jobs stateside that could capitalize on his skills. It's a tough pill to swallow, but chasing a disappearing career overseas is just that.

 

[BDC99]

Sure, the only job he could get that would pay his mortgage was overseas...maybe the only job that would allow him to basically continue doing the same job, with the same sense of self. There are plenty of jobs stateside that could capitalize on his skills. It's a tough pill to swallow, but chasing a disappearing career overseas is just that.

Can't disagree, but it's not always so simple.

 

[Amy]

More about Elling's decision to go overseas:

Plan B for out-of-work journalist: Go to Abu Dhabi and make lots of money

For everyone who remembers how I got to sj, it's obvious the story about cbssports.com is a little personal. I have watched what's happened over the last 3 1/2 years concerned for people who are friends and through the lens of what this would have meant to and for Craig. At least he didn't see what the site has become. I have assumed he would have been among those fired. What reason was there to keep him when they didn't have writers?

 

[KYSportsWriter]

I used to frequent CBS Sports several times a day, especially when Doyel and the like were around.

Now, I rarely visit. I'll go there if ESPN or some other sites are being wonky just to look at scores, but that's it. It's depressing what that site has become.

 

[cranberry]

After Scott Miller, Danny Knobler and Heyman left, I told the intern who does our office clips that I never want to see a CBS story included; that she should find the original source.

 

[JimmyHoward33]

Yahoo must get value out of Woj......but there's only one Woj, that's the exception rather than the rule and it seems CBS had no exceptions. Rather than try to find one they just said the hell with it?

 

[Ace]

I am glad we are questioning a writer's career decisions here. He probably jumped to a job overseas away from his family without a thought.

 

[cranberry]

Everyone should check in here when they're making difficult life decisions. We have plenty of folks who know exactly what other people should do as long as they've read a paragraph or two about them.

 

[HanSenSE]

More about Elling's decision to go overseas:

Plan B for out-of-work journalist: Go to Abu Dhabi and make lots of money

For everyone who remembers how I got to sj, it's obvious the story about cbssports.com is a little personal. I have watched what's happened over the last 3 1/2 years concerned for people who are friends and through the lens of what this would have meant to and for Craig. At least he didn't see what the site has become. I have assumed he would have been among those fired. What reason was there to keep him when they didn't have writers?

I think I speak for everyone on the board when I say seeing Craig mentioned in the story hit me like a ton of bricks.