Recently there has been more and more talk amongst media outlets of sharing content, especially for sports. Media Post laid out an extensive plan with many of the top newspapers looking to share editorial over the next few months , which will certainly give outlets that have already cut back on travel the advantage of having some fresh, albeit less local, content. It fills pages, and probably exposes some writers and columnists to a larger audience than before, and may actually create some double duty for beat writers who may have to file one story for the local team and one with additional quotes for the road team. From the aspect of saving additional jobs and keeping content fresh for those papers, it works. Where it doesn’t work will again be in the loss of point of view or quality writing, or additional access for writers who may get to know an athlete, a coach or a team just that much more when he or she is with those athletes every day. Although in this time many professional teams have a skeleton crew traveling with them for long trips anyway it may not make that much of a difference, but for times when there is extra access needed…or blog notes or a breaking story…the lack of a road presence may not play well with a shared content idea. Still it is a calculated risk papers will take. However into that void comes opportunity. Locally, any number of sites are popping up to fill the gap in local coverage. In the Hudson Valley Region of New York, writer Rich Thomaselli has launched the Hudson Valley Sports Report to give more coverage to local sports now not being covered by newspapers that had cut back. Enterprising publicists will also be able to track which stories and which writers are getting more play on a regional level, and can increase the breath and scope of their clients’ coverage by pitching a columnist who can potentially have a piece syndicated to many markets as opposed to just one. The gap will also create opportunities for enterprising bloggers who get access to expand their following as well. Now will any of this make money or drive traffi. Unknown. It will cut costs and use economies of scale for newspapers who continue to go through lean times as they adapt to a new business model, but whether the shared sites, or even these low cost alternatives can become a profit center remains to be seen. The fact is that media coverge of the past is fading into memory and the current day coverage remains in flux in an economy that remains sketchy. Figuring out which media outlets will grow, and then merchandising that coverage, will be the biggest challenge.
Some other good reads…The Buffalo News had a great piece on local colleges using twitter to manage their messages…The Florida Sun Sentinel has a q and a with Dolphins owner Steve Ross…and the site Soccer By Ives has a good q and a with Red Bulls head Eric Stover…
