Downfall of The Buffalo News

[nfreeman]

Another one bites the dust:  Tim Graham is leaving per twitter.

[North Buffalo]

Well I'm only complaining about the Buffalo news content I get on Sabrespace that I'm not allowed to read.

Called it on TBD... I leave at that.

[Brawndo]

Another one bites the dust: Tim Graham is leaving per twitter.

The Athletic will be covering the Bills as well he is my bet to be one of their Beat Writers

[That Aud Smell]

Graham is a pretty exceptional talent. I am sure he has a landing spot.

[nfreeman]

The Athletic will be covering the Bills as well he is my bet to be one of their Beat Writers

 

Graham is a pretty exceptional talent. I am sure he has a landing spot.

 

I think Brawndo has it right here -- and that he is much closer to their caliber than any of the other TBN alumni.

[IKnowPhysics]

Word is that TBN contracted Jack Goods.  https://twitter.com/GoodsOnSports/status/1008758937389293568

 

Young contract workers instead of the expensive older full time employees?

[Brawndo]

Word is that TBN contracted Jack Goods.  https://twitter.com/GoodsOnSports/status/1008758937389293568

 

Young contract workers instead of the expensive older full time employees?

Probably, they are looking for a Sabres Writer

 

http://apsportseditors.com/buffalo-news-seeking-sabres-reporter/

[Eleven]

Probably, they are looking for a Sabres Writer

 

http://apsportseditors.com/buffalo-news-seeking-sabres-reporter/

 

Please, Bill Hoppe, please move here from Olean.

[That Aud Smell]

I sense that the local paper will go the way that the local broadcast affiliates have gone in hiring their talent: Hire young people, pay them jack squat, and rotate them through on a regular basis.

Word is that TBN contracted Jack Goods.  https://twitter.com/GoodsOnSports/status/1008758937389293568

 

Young contract workers instead of the expensive older full time employees?

[Eleven]

Probably, they are looking for a Sabres Writer

 

http://apsportseditors.com/buffalo-news-seeking-sabres-reporter/

 

Also, why isn't TBN giving Moritz a shot?  She fills in for Vogl and Harrington occasionally and does a good job.

[Winston]

https://twitter.com/bytimgraham/status/1008760752231067648?s=21

^

Little post-BN beef between TG and Harrington.

[WildCard]

https://twitter.com/ByTimGraham/status/1008757053689561089

By the way, a pay wall is the single dumbest thing you can do for articles. I really don't care that much about what you have to say, and can find a million other places for free, that are probably better, than to pay for your opinion. You're better off releasing it for free and making the money of ad revenue. But hey, that's on you, I'll just never visit your website 

[Brawndo]

Please, Bill Hoppe, please move here from Olean.

That should not be a problem, I believe based on Past Twitter Posts he actually lives in Williamsville, but do not quote me on that.

 

  

Also, why isn't TBN giving Moritz a shot?  She fills in for Vogl and Harrington occasionally and does a good job.

This is an excellent point

[That Aud Smell]

Also, why isn't TBN giving Moritz a shot?  She fills in for Vogl and Harrington occasionally and does a good job.

 

because they're hiring a 24 year-old, whom they'll pay so little that he'll have no choice but to move on in 2-3 years.

[Lanny]

https://twitter.com/ByTimGraham/status/1008757053689561089

 

By the way, a pay wall is the single dumbest thing you can do for articles. I really don't care that much about what you have to say, and can find a million other places for free, that are probably better, than to pay for your opinion. You're better off releasing it for free and making the money of ad revenue. But hey, that's on you, I'll just never visit your website

There is no ad revenue

 

“In the (recent) past, you could attempt to make money online by going for scale – a high number of clicks – but that is becoming increasingly difficult. Even a very high-end website, like the New York Times, has online ad rates of about $8 CPM (cost per thousand impressions). Most newspapers and websites are much lower than that – and the number is falling every year.

 

Even very well read stories for large outlets may only generate $75 or $100 in revenue online. Not enough to pay a writer for a day’s work, let alone add in an editor, or any other costs associated with a large company producing content.”

 

https://theathletic.com/40690/2017/02/27/letter-from-the-editor-why-the-athletic-has-a-paywall/

[WildCard]

There is no ad revenue

 

“In the (recent) past, you could attempt to make money online by going for scale – a high number of clicks – but that is becoming increasingly difficult. Even a very high-end website, like the New York Times, has online ad rates of about $8 CPM (cost per thousand impressions). Most newspapers and websites are much lower than that – and the number is falling every year.

 

Even very well read stories for large outlets may only generate $75 or $100 in revenue online. Not enough to pay a writer for a day’s work, let alone add in an editor, or any other costs associated with a large company producing content.”

 

https://theathletic.com/40690/2017/02/27/letter-from-the-editor-why-the-athletic-has-a-paywall/

So how do other websites without paywalls do it then?

[TrueBlueGED]

https://twitter.com/bytimgraham/status/1008760752231067648?s=21

^

Little post-BN beef between TG and Harrington.

They're both turds. The only difference is Graham is a turd who can write.

[Lanny]

So how do other websites without paywalls do it then?

It seems like most are struggling. Larger entities can cover with revenue from other sources.

Edited June 18, 2018 by Lanny

[Eleven]

because they're hiring a 24 year-old, whom they'll pay so little that he'll have no choice but to move on in 2-3 years.

 

Not from the job description that was posted above. Plus she's already on staff.

Edited June 19, 2018 by Eleven

[That Aud Smell]

Not from the job description that was posted above. Plus she's already on staff.

What do you see in that job description that is inconsistent with the strategy I inferred — that TBN wants to go young and cheap (and perhaps even fungible) with its beat reporters? I read the job description as consistent with that approach.

 

In any case, and as was noted upthread, a 2017 graduate Tweeted that he’d taken a beat Sabres gig with TBN, if only on a probationary basis.

 

As for Moritz, I suspect that TBN will not give more seasoned (more expensive) writers any preferred gigs; assuming Sabres beat coverage is preferred. More likely, they’d look to limit her opportunities, frustrate her ambitions, and hope that she quits on her own (so they can hire a kid with a shelf like of 2-5 years to replace her).

 

Or maybe she just didn’t want the gig — maybe the travel is an obstacle for her.

[Eleven]

What do you see in that job description that is inconsistent with the strategy I inferred — that TBN wants to go young and cheap (and perhaps even fungible) with its beat reporters? I read the job description as consistent with that approach.

 

In any case, and as was noted upthread, a 2017 graduate Tweeted that he’d taken a beat Sabres gig with TBN, if only on a probationary basis.

 

As for Moritz, I suspect that TBN will not give more seasoned (more expensive) writers any preferred gigs; assuming Sabres beat coverage is preferred. More likely, they’d look to limit her opportunities, frustrate her ambitions, and hope that she quits on her own (so they can hire a kid with a shelf like of 2-5 years to replace her).

 

Or maybe she just didn’t want the gig — maybe the travel is an obstacle for her.

 

Preferred candidate has NHL coverage experience is what made me think they want someone who's not right out of school.

 

Moritz has travelled to cover the team before; she is single with no children as far as I know.  Her mom is healthy.  I don't see obstacles there but I also don't know her life.

 

You may be right on the TBN strategy with respect to her, though.

Edited June 19, 2018 by Eleven

[That Aud Smell]

Preferred candidate has NHL coverage experience is what made me think they want someone who's not right out of school.

 

Moritz has travelled to cover the team before; she is single with no children as far as I know. Her mom is healthy. I don't see obstacles there but I also don't know her life.

 

You may be right on the TBN strategy with respect to her, though.

NHL coverage experience with the college newspaper, maybe.

 

TBN seems to be doing two things of late: Aligning itself with the moneyed classes of WNY and throwing expenses overboard as fast as it possibly can.

[dudacek]

Cheaping out on content for a paid product is not a recipe for longevity in media.

[bunomatic]

Does print media not use an editor anymore ? Spell check is not always your friend and some of the articles I've come across are atrocious. Read one today where they meant to say tenuous but said tennis. This drives me crazy that it gets out without somebody seeing it. I've actually seen these mistakes in the headlines as well. There's no excuse imo.

[dudacek]

Does print media not use an editor anymore ? Spell check is not always your friend and some of the articles I've come across are atrocious. Read one today where they meant to say tenuous but said tennis. This drives me crazy that it gets out without somebody seeing it. I've actually seen these mistakes in the headlines as well. There's no excuse imo.

First guys they lay off are the ones on the copy desk.

Their excuse is you refuse to pay his salary.