The Decline and Fall of Sports Journalism

[burnspbesq]

Gentlemen, ladies ... Seriously?

You can't find anything more important to write, pontificate, and twit about ... than Carlos Boozer's hairline?

[Jarhead]

Gentlemen, ladies ... Seriously?

You can't find anything more important to write, pontificate, and twit about ... than Carlos Boozer's hairline?

One's hairline can only be interesting to someone who enjoys watching it recede.

[loldevilz]

Gentlemen, ladies ... Seriously?

You can't find anything more important to write, pontificate, and twit about ... than Carlos Boozer's hairline?

like Russell Brand unfollowing Katy Perry on twitter?

[sagegrouse]

There was a minor flap a few weeks over a "writer" for Forbes giving unsolicited advice to poor youths and recommending learning about computers etc. The context is unimportant, only that is was controversial.

Turns out, according to a guest on an NPR program, he was a blogger, not a Forbes correspondent, who gets paid totally on the number of "hits" on his blog (and, therefore, the Forbes site). Ya think there is temptation to blog outrageous falsehoods for the purpose of stirring controversy and to generate site visits?

Thus, we may soon be getting the electronic equivalent in sports of the headlines like, "An Alien is Inhabiting My Body," that show up in mags at the supermarket checkout counter.

sagegrouse

[CameronBornAndBred]

Turns out, according to a guest on an NPR program, he was a blogger, not a Forbes correspondent, who gets paid totally on the number of "hits" on his blog (and, therefore, the Forbes site). Ya think there is temptation to blog outrageous falsehoods for the purpose of stirring controversy and to generate site visits?

I hate this so much...but it's not going away anytime soon. More visits to the sites, more ad revenue. Classic example is Armond White who would regularly post reviews on Rottentomatoes.com that deliberately went against the grain of all other critics. But when you looked at the number of comments his review on the New York Press' website got (all calling him any number of names) it didn't take a genius to realize he was racking up tons of money for both himself and his employer. He'd call Bambi the worst movie ever made, and then explain why Jason Vs. Chucky Vs. Godzilla deserves an Oscar. Roger Ebert summed him, and the likes of the other "writers" that this thread is dedicated to in this way.

However, after being presented with a list of films that White had liked and disliked, Ebert withdrew his overall support of White's work, writing "It is baffling to me that a critic could praise Transformers 2 but not Synecdoche, NY. Or Death Race but not There Will Be Blood. I am forced to conclude that White is, as charged, a troll; a smart and knowing one, but a troll."^[71]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armond_White

[Dev11]

There was a minor flap a few weeks over a "writer" for Forbes giving unsolicited advice to poor youths and recommending learning about computers etc. The context is unimportant, only that is was controversial.

Turns out, according to a guest on an NPR program, he was a blogger, not a Forbes correspondent, who gets paid totally on the number of "hits" on his blog (and, therefore, the Forbes site). Ya think there is temptation to blog outrageous falsehoods for the purpose of stirring controversy and to generate site visits?

Thus, we may soon be getting the electronic equivalent in sports of the headlines like, "An Alien is Inhabiting My Body," that show up in mags at the supermarket checkout counter.

sagegrouse

Charles Dickens was paid by the number of words he wrote, so its not like this is a new phenomenon.

Then again, I remember being forced to read Dickens in high school and thinking he was long-winded and boring. Go figure.

[throatybeard]

Gentlemen, ladies ... Seriously?

You can't find anything more important to write, pontificate, and twit about ... than Carlos Boozer's hairline?

Sample size?

[moonpie23]

you can take "sports" off your thread title ...

[burnspbesq]

you can take "sports" off your thread title ...

I could ... If this was the public policy page.

[weezie]

Oy, sports journalism...don't the baseball writers think they own that one?