tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131289420618991795.post3031299182266459957..comments2023-06-17T08:53:42.643-04:00Comments on ShysterBall: How the MSM Gets Blogging WrongCraig Calcaterrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190345915954808542noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131289420618991795.post-82446781600473905922007-10-08T12:56:00.000-04:002007-10-08T12:56:00.000-04:00Pete -- excellent points about the tone of these b...Pete -- excellent points about the tone of these blogs. My view is that good writing comes from a writer being comfortable with his own voice, no matter the format. There are hundreds of Deadspin wannabes out there, all doing poor Will Leitch impressions. Actually, I think they're doing Deadspin commenter impressions; Leitch has been wrongly tagged by many as snarky and cutesy when in fact there is a core of earnestness to his stuff that makes him quite an endearing writer. But I digress.<BR/><BR/>Some people -- you for example -- do better with long form. Others do better with quick hits. Some people can do snark really well, while others simply come off as mean-spirited. Like anything else, form should follow function, and the commentary should follow the news. <BR/><BR/>So many media outlets seem to get this wrong, forcing their bloggers to be Deadspin ripoffs, or Simmons ripoffs, or else forcing crusty beat writers to be hip which is never going to work. Which is not to say that the crusty beats shouldn't blog -- they should simply be allowed to develop their voice in a natural way. <BR/><BR/>As for you blog, you should do whatever the hell comes naturally. If you aren't inclined to write personal stuff in the first instance, you shouldn't force yourself to do it simply to post more often. Indeed, while you don't update often, it's always high quality stuff. I suspect that's because you believe in the subjects you tackle.<BR/><BR/>There's certainly a place for that. The blogosphere would probably be a nicer place if some of us didn't pollute the tubes with filler as often as we do.Craig Calcaterrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00190345915954808542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131289420618991795.post-40885171188486353352007-10-08T11:04:00.000-04:002007-10-08T11:04:00.000-04:00C, I get your point.Newspapers like the Globe and ...C, I get your point.<BR/><BR/>Newspapers like the Globe and Mail ( which I read ) are flailing away without rhyme or reason trying to fend off obsolescence. The Globe sports section ( digital version ) has recently increased substantially it's blogger content. They have, as you note, repurposed their beat writers to provide blogentary as well as regular columns / beat articles. They know newspapers are dying and the Web is booming and they want to be part of it. The difference that I perceive between these writer's columns / beat articles and thier blog entries is tone. The blogs tend to be more flippant and personal. Everyone seems to want to be Will Leitch ( I don't read Deadspin although Mr. Leitch was polite enough to respond to an email I once sent him ) but we're not all funny, ironic hipsters. <BR/><BR/>I'm 45 and was raised on newspapers and in particular the general interest sports section. I now read only 1 general interest sports section ( The Globe - online at that ) with any regularity. Even the sports sections in our local - Ottawa - papers I barely glance at. The age of general interest in anything - including sports - is vanishing. Thanks to the Web, the amount of baseball information / opinion that I consume is now limited only by my appetite as opposed to decades past when I would go to a "specialty" magazine shop to find a Baseball America or Sporting News. <BR/><BR/>The newspaper web sites as well as the "sports megasites" all want us to "join the conversation" and the increase in blogging content is part of their attempt to do that. It's scattershot ( and I suspect ineffective ) but they don't seem to know what to do beyond throwing as much crap against the wall as possible in order to see what sticks. The holy grail for these companies is to become the Facebook for sports fans. I.E. I'm a subscriber to ESPN.com and they want me to "update my profile" and "share my interests". This past winter I blogged a bit on Fan Nation ( it was still in Beta ), Time Warner / SI's attempt at cornering the sports / social networking "space". <BR/><BR/>I don't even know what to do with my own ( pretty much dormant ) baseball blog. I find myself emulating the traditional "column" but isn't blogging supposed to be personal? If blogging is personal, is there anything noteworthy about me personally? Probably not.<BR/><BR/>I don't know....I am gonna buy one of those "Caucasians" shirts though...Eric Tomshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00632341548970196518noreply@blogger.com