- Feeling boxed in by box scores
Few items in a newspaper generate more passion than sports agate, namely the dinky type with all sorts of data stashed in the back of sports sections. Readers may care far less about that front page investigation of the governor’s conflicts of interest or the earthquake in (fill in blank of faraway nation). Screw up reporting on the mayor, the president or the Middle East (OK, not the Middle East) and you don’t get as much comment as when you omit some arcane data about the PGA, NBA and NFL, though mostly about baseball. It’s why sports editors nationwide were chagrined yesterday with word from the Associated Press, a prime conduit for that data, about agate it will temporarily suspend amid a change in vendors.The AP had told them since April 1 about a vendor change effective May 1 as part of what a spokesman calls “an effort to better position AP Sports products to meet evolving market needs while reducing production costs.” But only yesterday did a memo disclose the grocery list of data that simply wouldn’t be ready as usual next week as a result of the transition. It includes expanded baseball box scores, a review of how each run was scored in games, pitching comparisons and leaders in various categories, among other MLB statistics. There’s also NASCAR and Formula One race care statistics that won’t be ready. But it’s the baseball stuff that will be akin to a junkie’s missed crack hit
Matthew Vita, sports editor at The Washington Post, said his staff will temporarily redesign its baseball page and the paper’s “I.T. and design folks are still sorting through AP’s advisory but right now I’d categorize it as a pretty big annoyance but not a disaster.” Steve Doyle, managing editor of the Greensboro, North Carolina, News & Record says “AP had been up-front” about changing vendors. “But we were surprised to learn that the transition would cause some critical sports information not to be available for readers. The expanded baseball box scores and standings, for instance, may not be ready to go, right when baseball season is heading into its second month. Full NBA boxes score would be a no-go during the playoffs. The list was long.”
Chris De Luca, deputy managing editor for news and sports at The Chicago Sun-Times, said, “I get more calls about sports agate and our sports (TV/radio) calendar than anything.” That’s especially true for older readers who won’t, say, go to ESPN.com or elsewhere online for the information about last night’s ball game. For them, “a missing box score is a crime.” And they’ll be pissed that they won’t know the latest, up-to-date batting averages (like $25-million-a-year Alex Rodriguez of my Yankees now at a pathetic .190). If this just plays out for a few days, fine, life goes on. If it’s much but weeks or months, “it’s an issue,” De Luca said.
- Celebrity groveling beckons
It’s the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner tomorrow night. “Donald Trump declined his invitation to the glitzy event while Bernie Sanders has decided to take a night off the campaign trail to dine with Washington’s elite.” He will join “the requisite Kardashian (well, a Jenner, anyway), the stars of Comedy Central’s cult hit ‘Broad City,’ and even an aristocrat: Lady Mary Crawley (er, that would be ‘Downton Abbey’ actress Michelle Dockery).” (The Washington Post) Few events underscore Washington’s small town nature as much as the groveling over celebrities that will play out. Fox News will bring Vivica A. Fox, wrestler John Cena, Ryan Kwante, Sela Ward, Jeff Goldblum and Matthew Morrison, among others. The Boston Globe will bring Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams of the Globe-inspired “Spotlight.” Full disclosure: as bureau chief for The Chicago Tribune, I refused to invite celebrities for years, then broke down and had Jill Hennessy, then of “Law and Order,” and later S. Epatha Merkerson, also of “Law and Order.” They were great. Ditto the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who split to the hall to have a smoke on occasion (when that was still politically correct). I declined David Schwimmer of “Friends” when he wanted me to book him a hotel under an alias (Rupert Pupkin, Robert De Niro’s character in “The King of Comedy,”) and pay for flying in his then-girlfriend. - An early Odyssey
Its basic premise doesn’t seem path-breaking but it just raised $25 million and has “come out of nowhere to top 30 million monthly uniques using a business model that sits somewhere between a conglomerate of college newspapers and a social network.” (Business Insider) Odyssey has over 10,000 writers, aged 18-28, who produce around one piece a week. It then relies “on the social networks of the individual writers to push out the content to the masses.” The main criteria? “Having a unique perspective.” Sounds, ah, short of path-breaking. But one investor says “he hasn’t been this enthusiastic about a startup since Jonah Peretti pitched him BuzzFeed.” - Times CEO sued
“Mark Thompson, the chief executive of the New York Times and former director-general of the BBC, is facing a multimillion-dollar class action lawsuit alleging that he introduced a culture of ‘deplorable discrimination’ based on age, race and gender at the newspaper.” (The Guardian) It was filed in New York “on behalf of two black female employees in their sixties” who in part suggest a deep, dark secret kept by the company. “Unbeknownst to the world at large, not only does the Times have an ideal customer (young, white, wealthy), but also an ideal staffer (young, white, unencumbered with a family) to draw that purported ideal customer.” The paper said the suit is b.s. (it used more proper language) and “contains a series of recycled, scurrilous and unjustified attacks” on Thompson and Meredith Levien, the chief revenue officer and a co-defendant. - Huffington’s Uber problem
Arianna Huffington is joining the board of Uber and her publication has underscored that the involvement of a top media executive with a top company would not alter coverage of an often very coverable company. Alas, “On April 6, reporter Sarah Digiulio sent a note to some colleagues apprising them of this story in the New York Times: ‘Uber Driver Napped as His Passenger Led Highway Chase, Police Say.’ An editor replied: ‘Thanks, Sarah. Let’s hold on this one please as we’re partnering with Uber on our drowsy driving campaign.'” (The Washington Post) “The brush-off received by Digiulio should end any fanciful thinking that somehow a news organization can cover the news with a conflicted boss.” - You want more Uber news?
Reporter Michael Theis of the Austin, Texas, Business Journal discloses, “A lobbyist for Uber Technologies Inc. has filed an open records request to obtain more than a year’s worth of my emails and text messages sent to city of Austin elected leaders and staff.” (ABJ) Huh? “The request comes after the Austin Business Journal published my cover story April 22 examining the effectiveness of Uber and Lyft Inc.’s lobbying efforts in December and January as Austin City Council was considering controversial revisions to regulations for transportation network companies.” The lobbyist says he was just curious and Uber did not play any role in his request. - A Daily Mail ripoff
The Mail Online has ripped off writers and publications before. (The Guardian) Now it does same with Martin Fletcher, a former big editor at The Times of London, who wrote a piece from Iraq about the description of British war graves. “His article was posted on the Times’s website and within hours was ‘repackaged’ by Mail Online. Its staffer, Euan McLelland, was even given a byline for his clumsy rewriting (wrong age and wrong name of the central figure) of Fletcher’s original.” Fletcher protested about the plagiarism and the piece was taken down. - A good day at the office
Jeff Bezos, boss of Amazon and now The Washington Post, saw his net worth rise $6 billion yesterday, to $60 billion, thus rising to the world’s fourth richest guy. (Bloomberg) If he shows at the Correspondents’ Dinner, don’t pick up the drinks. - Trump’s growing support
The “Morning Joe” crew this morning found violence outside a Trump rally at the Orange County Fairgrounds as likely to further support for him. “This guy is gonna win,” says Donnie Deutsch, an ad guy with an air of studied swagger. “You mean the nomination?” asked Joe Scarborough. “No, the presidency,” said Deutsch. “Fox and Friends” showed snippets of a joint interview with Trump and a seemingly somnolent Bobby Knight, the Indiana basketball icon who came out for him. They were more animated on CNN’s “New Day” as they bid farewell to co-host Michaela Pereira, who’s splitting to have her own show on a sister channel. - Your guess is as good as theirs
“For the last month we’ve been reporting about TEGNA (TV) stations losing veteran talent to buyouts. Some reports say to get a buyout, you have to be over 55 and have worked at the station for more than 15 years. What the monetary deal is, we have no idea.” (Adweek) Guys, why not pick up the phone and ask? - Poor baby
So Comcast is buying DreamWorks Animation, run by Jeffery Katzenberg, for $3.8 billion. “But Hollywood was really only interested in one thing: Why did the intense and bespectacled Mr. Katzenberg, a die-hard animation enthusiast, finally call it a day?” (The New York Times) First, Hollywood, he’s probably not moving to Mars. Second, his share of the deal is about $420 million, which should enable to him to get ample counseling from a life coach and decide what’s next. I hereby volunteer. My rates are competitive. - Job moves, edited by Benjamin Mullin
Ben Mullin is on vacation. Job moves will resume next week.
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