We usually spend time discussing new gadgets or the latest online or mobile usage trend, but today, we're going to kick it old school. One of The Baron's great pleasures in life is reading the work of Gary Smith. Smith has worked for Sports Illustrated for the last 25 years and is one of the greatest writers of his generation. I know what you're thinking. He's just a sports writer. Well, he is a sports writer, but he's so much more than that. If you don't believe us, check out this review from The New York Times. In case you're too lazy to click over, they refer to him as "the most decorated journalist you’ve probably never heard of."
Smith, who has won four National Magazine Awards, just released a new book, Going Deep: 20 Classic Sports Stories. In it, he compiles his 20 favorite stories. I don't know which of his stories are in there -- other than a few listed in the above link. My personal favorite? The story about the black basketball coach who broke down barriers in a Mennonite community in Ohio. If you have the next 45 minutes free, you can read it here. Enjoy.
Gary Smith: One of the Great Writers of His Generation
Newspapers Spar with AP over Rates, Coverage
First, let me say welcome to our friends at PoliticizeMatters. The blogosphere is a better place with you in it. Now, on with the show.
The Newark-Star Ledger today published an edition without any content from the Associated Press. There is some question as to whether this is a protest of new AP rates or simply a way to save some cash and see if any readers complain. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune recently told the AP that it will cancel its AP contract in 2010. In that case, the move was financially motivated. Interesting.
While newspapers have gone hyperlocal with their coverage, I always thought the AP model worked because papers could get a huge wealth of stories for a minimal fee. Maybe the fee isn't as minimal as I expected, though it's still cheaper than hiring large-scale staff. The rates themselves are based on what type of coverage the paper uses (breaking news, international, national, etc.). Ultimately, the AP needs these member papers as much as they need the AP, so I'm sure if several papers move to this model, then the AP will be forced to adjust its pricing structure.
The problem would be if the papers just decide to go with local and breaking news coverage. People already look only at the headlines -- if that -- as witnessed by the McCain campaign's effective headline-grabbing strategy. No one cares that McCain used the "lipstick on a pig" line to Hillary. They just know that McCain's people screamed about it when Obama used it on their campaign. This is a problem. Overall, we are no longer a society well-educated on the issues. We just know who we like and who we don't. That's what informs our decisions.
Certainly, if this no-AP policy were to come to fruition, people could go online and find out international news and major national stories and they can watch on TV, but I would argue that there is already a lack of awareness of what's happening in the world and in this global economy, America can't afford that.
Web-Only Series Only a Dream at This Point
One of the few places the web has not taken over is in producing original video content intended for large audiences. There have been no real web series of note at this point despite the hoards of folks who now watch TV shows online. Mike Hale had an article on this in yesterday's New York Times. Hale lists off some current web series and explains where they are lacking.
A few things to keep in mind here: The web's fragmented landscape could mean that it's difficult to gain a large audience. In addition, the strength of the web is its ability to allow anyone to create content. If you can't pull in the large audience, it may not be worthwhile to create high-quality content -- particularly when several quick entertaining clips were created by 100 other users. The only way to effectively distribute these series is through established studios and networks which have the money to produce a quality series, but if significant ad dollars aren't there -- and why would they be if the large audience isn't there? -- then it's going to be a struggle to get web-only series off the ground.
That said, as a laboratory for content, nothing beats what the web provides. The viral nature of content still gives young writers and creators a chance to produce something worthwhile of mass attention. It will be a while, however, before we see a breakthrough web-only series.
