Jump to content

ETSN GOING DARK


NODAYSOFFTX

Recommended Posts

I was shocked they lasted as long as they did considering the competition with newspapers and TV. I thought maybe they get picked up by local newspapers to use for their sports coverage.  Regardless, they put out great content. Hate to see them go.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ETSN had some decent large sponsorships for a while...if you get enough of those its possible to sustain, but if one big one drops things get real tough (and I think that's what happened here)........IMO the only way to really maintain a site like that long term is through a subscription model....and sadly people like getting news for free so its tough to get people to pay for it...ETSN really bucked the trend making everything free...but to get that kind of coverage you've got 2 full time salaries and then you've got to have a free lance budget for photos etc...that $$ has to come from somewhere

There's a similar site that started up out in the Abilene area called Big Country Preps; similar model to ETSN, they don't have as many big sponsorships, but they are subscription based so it'll be interesting to see how they do.....ETSN lasted 6.5 years which was a good run...Clint and Chandler are good reporters who love East TX hope they land on their feet and stay in the biz

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really really hate this. ETSN was my *preferred source for East Texas sports. Excellent articles, photos, and podcast. The studio shots they would do during the early summer were a local tradition for fans of TxHSFB.  Just a massive loss to local sports in East Texas, especially for smaller programs.

Not only that, but Clint and Chandler are great guys and consummate professionals. Their coverage has unearthed so many excellent local stories. But times are really tough for more rural area journalists. So many are forced to head to the big city to make a living at it. It's our loss. 


(* - No disrespect intended to you Matt, but Texas Football has to cover the whole state. Nevertheless, I do appreciate how often y'all do cover East Texas, considering how far-ranging your coverage area. 😀)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, JTFAN99 said:

I was shocked they lasted as long as they did considering the competition with newspapers and TV. I thought maybe they get picked up by local newspapers to use for their sports coverage.  Regardless, they put out great content. Hate to see them go.  

I thought they'd outlast the papers. Most newspapers are on their way out and the internet is the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's the advertising-based model of journalism that is over. This means there will be far fewer paid journalists in the future.

Even on the Internet, journalism will only be available if users are willing to pay for it. See Matt Stepp's reply.

Look at it this way. If you are on Facebook or other social media, you are an unpaid journalist for Mark Zuckerberg or the owners of the other social media sites. 

So there will still be journalism. It just won't be a profession. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, RandyJohnson said:

Not in the too distant future...print media (ie. Newspapers) will go the way of the Dinasour (as in Extinction)

Unfortunately...sadly !

One of the print media's major problems is they have gone overtly political.  They have chosen sides and no longer report the factual news.  They are out to influence public opinion instead of present the unbiased news.  It's also happened at ESPN ... Sad but true ...

Edited by KirtFalcon
  • Like 1
  • Stinks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, KirtFalcon said:

One of the print media's major problems is they have gone overtly political.  They have chosen sides and no longer report the factual news.  They are out to influence public opinion instead of present the unbiased news.  It's also happened at ESPN ... Sad but true ...

I'm pretty sure there was nothing political on ETSN..the site was strictly HS sports....the site went dark because they were totally reliant on ad revenue...their 2 big sponsors decided to get out of the local sponsorship business....had zero to do w/politics...remember DQ also bailed on the Big Game of the Week...as a corporation they just decided to go a different direction...

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎1‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 7:48 AM, 36gut said:

It's the advertising-based model of journalism that is over. This means there will be far fewer paid journalists in the future.

Even on the Internet, journalism will only be available if users are willing to pay for it. See Matt Stepp's reply.

Look at it this way. If you are on Facebook or other social media, you are an unpaid journalist for Mark Zuckerberg or the owners of the other social media sites. 

So there will still be journalism. It just won't be a profession. 

Other than sports, is there a such thing as true journalism anymore anyway?  I hate to see free sites like ETSN go away.  I thoroughly enjoyed that site. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎1‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 2:24 PM, MattStepp said:

I'm pretty sure there was nothing political on ETSN..the site was strictly HS sports....the site went dark because they were totally reliant on ad revenue...their 2 big sponsors decided to get out of the local sponsorship business....had zero to do w/politics...remember DQ also bailed on the Big Game of the Week...as a corporation they just decided to go a different direction...

I wasn't implying that ETSN had gone political.  Clearly they haven't .... I was referring to print media in general, as well as ESPN ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, blackflag79 said:

Other than sports, is there a such thing as true journalism anymore anyway?  I hate to see free sites like ETSN go away.  I thoroughly enjoyed that site. 

No, there is not. It's all about "advocacy journalism" nowadays. I had a trial lawyer friend growing up (you may have known him as well; he was to Gilmer back then what Goudarzi is now) who said to me as long as 40 years ago that there was no such thing as "objectivity" and thus no such thing as "objective journalism."

He was correct. It's just more obvious now.

Everyone has a slant and a "narrative" and it is impossible as human beings for any of us to eliminate our subjectivity totally.

People can't even agree on a common set of facts anymore. Each side (or ALL sides, as often there are more than two) calls out the other as "fake."

I do agree, though, that when ESPN went political, that was the final straw for a lot of people. I would imagine that a lot of unemployed former executives of that network now regret having been involved in that suicidal strategy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At least in sports you can't fake statistics.  They are almost absolute depending on who's keeping them, but they should be close regardless.  I didn't mean to get political.  I know there's a forum for that, but I couldn't help myself.  I hate to see true journalism dying in our society.

And, yes, I likely know the person you're referring to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, KirtFalcon said:

I wasn't implying that ETSN had gone political.  Clearly they haven't .... I was referring to print media in general, as well as ESPN ...

You are right....I saw ESPN and thought it was ETSN....must have been a long day for me lol 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's just a tough business.  I worked in sales for the Cameron newspaper for a while and was the sports editor for 5 years before having to resign due to the nature of that business.  Advertising is everything.  Hated to see FSSW lose the "Big Game of the Week".  I know DQ was one of their big sponsors and that is what also sponsored FSSW.  

 

You must be innovative and find other ways to generate revenue.  Do a preseason magazine.  Have sponsors for polls.  Try to get some sort of subscription material (power poll, etc.).  It's just very difficult to make it on advertising alone.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got out of it three years ago. I could see where things were going.

[POLITICS]As much as the national media excoriates Trump on the regular, he's been the single greatest economic engine for them since the Lewinsky scandal. He has kept them artificially relevant for the duration of his administration. If you think the recent cutbacks to newspapers are bad, just wait 'til Trump is out of office. It's gonna be a ghost town. But I digress...[/POLITICS] 

Unfortunately, a lotta sports reporting is an innocent victim. 

More than anything else, journalism needs to find another revenue model. Sports journalism especially. I don't believe paywalls are the answer. Granted, giving everything away for free isn't the answer either, but that genie's already out of the bottle

I know a lot of local and regional sports guys. They're extremely hard-working, highly-skilled, and passionate about what they do. They work ridiculous hours for #### pay and take undeserved criticism. All because they believe in what they do. 

ETSN had a great idea with corporate sponsorship...  and it's do-able until it ain't.

We are all poorer for having lost them. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...