Mass exodus of UK football journalists to American website 'The Atheletic'

[Bruce Wayne]

Pretty sure they're going to have a bigger presence than the Bury Times to be honest.

For clubs at that level, but those going from a broadsheet won't do. It's not uncommon for a piece in one of the bigger publications to get 6/7 figure readership, which I'd imagine is slightly more appealing for someone wishing to divulge all than what this new place will get (at least to begin with).

 

[JimmyK]

For clubs at that level, but those going from a broadsheet won't do. It's not uncommon for a piece in one of the bigger publications to get 6/7 figure readership, which I'd imagine is slightly more appealing for someone wishing to divulge all than what this new place will get (at least to begin with).

I don't know. I think the really big hitters that they've got (Pitt-Brooks, Kay etc) have enough of a reputation and enough of a relationship with good sources to ensure they aren't cast aside. The normal beat writers aren't coming from broadsheets with that sort of readership, just look at where ours are coming from. I assume its the same with all the others, so most of them will now have much more of an audience. O'Keeffe will now become 'the Everton writer for The Athletic' when he says something, and it will carry some weight with fans of other clubs in a way that being a staff writer for the BBC doesn't.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I don't know. I think the really big hitters that they've got (Pitt-Brooks, Kay etc) have enough of a reputation and enough of a relationship with good sources to ensure they aren't cast aside. The normal beat writers aren't coming from broadsheets with that sort of readership, just look at where ours are coming from. I assume its the same with all the others, so most of them will now have much more of an audience. O'Keeffe will now become 'the Everton writer for The Athletic' when he says something, and it will carry some weight with fans of other clubs in a way that being a staff writer for the BBC doesn't.

Maybe, but I would still bet that his articles get a lot more views on the BBC than they do on The Athletic, which from a PR perspective is all they're really interested in. Traffic and brand recognition (of the publication rather than the journo) are what make O'Keefe valuable (to the club), not the quality of his writing.

 

[SerenityNigh]

Let C throw you a discount and put one sterling back on his pocket

*some sterling, I hope they give you more than 1£

 

[SerenityNigh]

Oh, just read the “Bad News O’Keeffe” piece and, Come On You Athletic. This is going to be a fun ride.

 

[Connor]

*some sterling, I hope they give you more than 1£

Forgot all about this scam, sorry, referral scheme.

 

[SerenityNigh]

Forgot all about this scam, sorry, referral scheme.

You know tons more Blues than me. If you aren’t buying Amazon free for a few months, I’m terribly disappointed.

 

[Connor]

You know tons more Blues than me. If you aren’t buying Amazon free for a few months, I’m terribly disappointed.

Just remembered me that I need to cancel my Amazon this week.

 

[TheBigIguana]

I have the Athletic already for American sports and last year the Prem coverage was really poor. I read O'Keefe today and it was honestly very good. I wouldn't subscribe just for the Everton stuff, I'll copy and paste it in here if people really want to read it, but if you have interest in other sports or the other teams in the Premier League the writing is generally good and worth the price especially while the sale is on.

 

[AmericasToffee]

I have the Athletic already for American sports and last year the Prem coverage was really poor. I read O'Keefe today and it was honestly very good. I wouldn't subscribe just for the Everton stuff, I'll copy and paste it in here if people really want to read it, but if you have interest in other sports or the other teams in the Premier League the writing is generally good and worth the price especially while the sale is on.

Please don't, aside from a few snippets

 

[TheBigIguana]

Please don't, aside from a few snippets

Only if someone asks. I'm not going to do it just to do it. I can PM or whatever. I think people on here would appreciate what will probably be the only substantive Everton content from professional writers without having to pay for it if they have no interest in the rest of the site.

 

[AmericasToffee]

Only if someone asks. I'm not going to do it just to do it. I can PM or whatever. I think people on here would appreciate what will probably be the only substantive Everton content from professional writers without having to pay for it if they have no interest in the rest of the site.

That still undercuts the entire model. The Athletic doesn't spam us with ads or other crap because they are subscription based. I appreciate wanting to share their content, but it is a slap in the face of the people providing the content by taking their work and giving it away.

 

[TheBigIguana]

That still undercuts the entire model. The Athletic doesn't spam us with ads or other crap because they are subscription based. I appreciate wanting to share their content, but it is a slap in the face of the people providing the content by taking their work and giving it away.

You're right. But this also seems like a raw deal for UK fans. The only quality Everton writing around stuck behind a $60 a year (not sure exactly what the UK price is) paywall on a site that might only be producing 3-4 articles they want to read a month. If on occasion someone sees a headline they want to finish in that scenario I'm going to say yes. I don't blame you for not wanting to.

 

[Deleted member 28206]

It’s utter turd. Been reading this week, it’s high quality click bait.

 

[atrottel]

You're right. But this also seems like a raw deal for UK fans. The only quality Everton writing around stuck behind a $60 a year (not sure exactly what the UK price is) paywall on a site that might only be producing 3-4 articles they want to read a month. If on occasion someone sees a headline they want to finish in that scenario I'm going to say yes. I don't blame you for not wanting to.

It's 30 quid on offer for the year at the moment. If it isn't interesting after that, I'll bin it. A year's a good period to see if they can keep the quality up.

So far it looks like a Sports Illustrated with far more detail about football. I had a look last night around the Everton and Premier League stuff, as well as the Denver Broncos (that I keep an eye on from a past time in Colorado). A lot of articles that looked interesting, definitely enough to be going on with. Plus they have good writers (even the Broncos one is an ex-Denver Post and Sports Illustrated).