Comments on: The Sweeper: The Future of Soccer Journalism Debate http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/11/18/the-sweeper-the-future-of-soccer-journalism-debate/ Exploring football culture around the world Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:56:38 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: The Sweeper: Is Paid Content the Future of American Soccer Journalism? | Pitch Invasion http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/11/18/the-sweeper-the-future-of-soccer-journalism-debate/comment-page-1/#comment-17322 The Sweeper: Is Paid Content the Future of American Soccer Journalism? | Pitch Invasion Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:06:03 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/?p=4676#comment-17322 [...] Story A couple of months ago, we discussed the ongoing problem of the lack of coverage of MLS in American sports journalism, a problem only [...] [...] Story A couple of months ago, we discussed the ongoing problem of the lack of coverage of MLS in American sports journalism, a problem only [...]

]]> By: Adam http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/11/18/the-sweeper-the-future-of-soccer-journalism-debate/comment-page-1/#comment-15634 Adam Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:18:56 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/?p=4676#comment-15634 This isn't a new conversation--i think every blogger gets around to it eventually, usually after realizing the time spent v income problem that serious blogging entails--but A More Splendid Life catches most of the issues in his summary and its also good to bring the discussion back around. I've said it before but it fits here - I still want to believe that if you combine several of the best blogs out there, carefully choosing those which fill certain niches, content directions, etc, you could build what you guys are talking about-- give Soccernet a run for its money, or even flip ESPN's ratio of Euro/USA to focus more on American soccer. It would immediately become the go-to online destination. That was the original idea behind the superficial Designated Players affiliation between myself, Ives, Original Winger, Offsides Rules, Du Nord. read more about that and this discussion here from a year and a half ago: http://www.thisisamericansoccer.com/fr/our-kure-atoll/ Going back to the dream - So maybe only one of those joining sites/writers does the long form stuff while the others stick to the more popular blog stereotypes of short posts, pretty girls, material gear, and op-eds, but the responsibilities could also be shared, each person's talents focusing on that beat of sorts. Isn't that grouping essentially what every magazine is with their front-of-book, feature, and package sections? I wouldn't buy Vanity Fair without the features, but more people wouldn't buy VF without the celebrities, parties, and culture pages. One of those alone (read: one blog, one writer one focus) will never do as well as the combined worth of it all together. The question does remain however whether enough ads (or subscriptions) could be sold to afford wages for the small (maybe 5 writers/editors, 1 designer/tech) business model. Could a website like that bring in $500,000 a year on ads alone to cover salaries, servers, and expenses? Would people pay to read and be delivered good content? Could ads support it alone? I would love to hear more about that from a wiser business man than me. This isn’t a new conversation–i think every blogger gets around to it eventually, usually after realizing the time spent v income problem that serious blogging entails–but A More Splendid Life catches most of the issues in his summary and its also good to bring the discussion back around.

I’ve said it before but it fits here – I still want to believe that if you combine several of the best blogs out there, carefully choosing those which fill certain niches, content directions, etc, you could build what you guys are talking about– give Soccernet a run for its money, or even flip ESPN’s ratio of Euro/USA to focus more on American soccer. It would immediately become the go-to online destination. That was the original idea behind the superficial Designated Players affiliation between myself, Ives, Original Winger, Offsides Rules, Du Nord.

read more about that and this discussion here from a year and a half ago:
http://www.thisisamericansoccer.com/fr/our-kure-atoll/

Going back to the dream – So maybe only one of those joining sites/writers does the long form stuff while the others stick to the more popular blog stereotypes of short posts, pretty girls, material gear, and op-eds, but the responsibilities could also be shared, each person’s talents focusing on that beat of sorts.

Isn’t that grouping essentially what every magazine is with their front-of-book, feature, and package sections? I wouldn’t buy Vanity Fair without the features, but more people wouldn’t buy VF without the celebrities, parties, and culture pages. One of those alone (read: one blog, one writer one focus) will never do as well as the combined worth of it all together.

The question does remain however whether enough ads (or subscriptions) could be sold to afford wages for the small (maybe 5 writers/editors, 1 designer/tech) business model. Could a website like that bring in $500,000 a year on ads alone to cover salaries, servers, and expenses?

Would people pay to read and be delivered good content? Could ads support it alone? I would love to hear more about that from a wiser business man than me.

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