the trash can is burning. violation of the rules. harm to nature and people. bad ecology. flat vector illustration
Good morning, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) sports fans.
Here’s my question for you today: Did The Athletic actively make a choice to set a fire on the brand it created for its readers?
I would argue, yes, yes, it did. The Athletic was started as niche sort of website – readers would purchase subscriptions for their favorite college football teams – that was the big draw. Of course, there’s so much good stuff on the site, that was also a draw – but what pulled people into the site was the niche. The Athletic went out and hired some of college football’s most experienced, veteran college football beat writers – so readers know that they were getting the real scoop because these folks had access. Andy Bitter, who worked at the Roanoke Times as the Virginia Tech beat writer, was one of the major league employees who received a layoff notice.
Then, of course, The Athletic lays off many of these beat writers (including the Washington Huskies beat writer – and, oh, yeah, I actually think Washington has a chance to be in the College Football Playoff next year). From what I can tell, they also laid off the Oregon and Colorado beat writers. It is true that the media is a business – and business can be unforgiving. But trying to entice people to come back to The Athletic is a bad look when your niche is kind of dead. If they want me back as as a subscriber, it’s going to take more than giving me a discount for $1.50 per month covering a year. Hire these folks back, please!
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