NSJC Seminar: America’s Insatiable Appetite for Sports, and the New Media Careers it’s Creating
Sept. 7, 2009 2:35 a.m.
By John Oehser
National Sports Journalism Center Web Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – As Mark Silverman sees it, his industry has changed.
Silverman, the president of the Big 10 Network, said a critical change in the sports media landscape has to do with perspective. That perspective, he said, should influence how sports media entities – and people choosing sports media as a profession – brand themselves.
The world of sports media is fast-paced, Silverman said. And even the current economy, it is thriving. Silverman said to a young person, the field may seem very broad. As such, he said the key change – and the key to success – is perhaps a bit counterintuitive.
Because these days, Silverman said in a very real sense smaller is better.
“As media evolves, it’s the opposite of what it used to be,” Silverman told a group of students and professionals at the 2009 Society of Professional Journalism Convention and National Journalism Conference at the Westin in downtown Indianapolis August 27-29.
“It used to be, you’d want to go as broad as possible. Today, you want to be more narrow. You want to really create a product that your core audience really wants to see. The more you define your niches, the better you can deliver a product that’s most interesting to your audience.
“I’m very comfortable focusing on what a Big 10 fans wants to see.”
Silverman was one of four prominent sports media professionals speak at, “America’s Insatiable Appetite for Sports, and the New Media Careers it’s Creating,” with the others being:
* Pat Forde, senior sports columnist for ESPN.com.
* Lynn Hoppes, senior director of Page 2 and commentary and ESPN.com.
* Tim Franklin, director, National Sports Journalism Center and Louis A. Weil, Jr. Endowed Chair, Indiana University School of Journalism.
Franklin said despite the recent economic downturn, sports media in many ways is thriving. There are, he said, projections that online sports advertising will double in the five-year period ending in 2012. He also said the 10 largest sports blogs collectively bring in tens of millions of dollars in revenue annually.
“What does all this new growth mean?” Franklin asked. “It means there are going to be new opportunities for professionals . . . It’s also going to mean new advertising revenue flowing into sports media, which will result inevitably in more jobs in sports media.
“The big winner in this are readers and viewers. They’ll have more choice for sports consumers than ever before.”
Other highlights:
* Hoppes on advice for young journalists: “Don’t do what every one else is doing. Don’t say, ‘You know what? I’m going to write a blog.’ How many blogs are out there? How do you differentiate yourself from everybody else.”
* Hoppes on ESPN’s success: “What we saw was there were gaps in everything that was going on in the world. We tried to fill them.”
* Forde on his transitioning from a newspaper writer/columnist to a multimedia entity at ESPN.com: “I never imagined I’d do anything but write. They keep calling. You keep saying yes, and keep doing more of it. . . . It’s been an amazing learning process for me.”
* Forde on advice for young journalists: “Learn to diversify yourself as early as possible. Don’t picture yourself as just, ‘This type of journalist,’ because nobody’s just this type of journalist anymore. . . . The more things you can demonstrate competence in, the better off you’re going to be.”
* Silverman on the Big 10 Network: “Our key objective this year is just to get better. When you’re a new company, typically you have your growing pains and you make some mistakes and you keep getting better at it. When you’re a new TV network, those mistakes are on the air and everyone sees what you’re doing. You’re very exposed.”
National Sports Journalism Center Web Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – As Mark Silverman sees it, his industry has changed.
Silverman, the president of the Big 10 Network, said a critical change in the sports media landscape has to do with perspective. That perspective, he said, should influence how sports media entities – and people choosing sports media as a profession – brand themselves.
The world of sports media is fast-paced, Silverman said. And even the current economy, it is thriving. Silverman said to a young person, the field may seem very broad. As such, he said the key change – and the key to success – is perhaps a bit counterintuitive.
Because these days, Silverman said in a very real sense smaller is better.
“As media evolves, it’s the opposite of what it used to be,” Silverman told a group of students and professionals at the 2009 Society of Professional Journalism Convention and National Journalism Conference at the Westin in downtown Indianapolis August 27-29.
“It used to be, you’d want to go as broad as possible. Today, you want to be more narrow. You want to really create a product that your core audience really wants to see. The more you define your niches, the better you can deliver a product that’s most interesting to your audience.
“I’m very comfortable focusing on what a Big 10 fans wants to see.”
Silverman was one of four prominent sports media professionals speak at, “America’s Insatiable Appetite for Sports, and the New Media Careers it’s Creating,” with the others being:
* Pat Forde, senior sports columnist for ESPN.com.
* Lynn Hoppes, senior director of Page 2 and commentary and ESPN.com.
* Tim Franklin, director, National Sports Journalism Center and Louis A. Weil, Jr. Endowed Chair, Indiana University School of Journalism.
Franklin said despite the recent economic downturn, sports media in many ways is thriving. There are, he said, projections that online sports advertising will double in the five-year period ending in 2012. He also said the 10 largest sports blogs collectively bring in tens of millions of dollars in revenue annually.
“What does all this new growth mean?” Franklin asked. “It means there are going to be new opportunities for professionals . . . It’s also going to mean new advertising revenue flowing into sports media, which will result inevitably in more jobs in sports media.
“The big winner in this are readers and viewers. They’ll have more choice for sports consumers than ever before.”
Other highlights:
* Hoppes on advice for young journalists: “Don’t do what every one else is doing. Don’t say, ‘You know what? I’m going to write a blog.’ How many blogs are out there? How do you differentiate yourself from everybody else.”
* Hoppes on ESPN’s success: “What we saw was there were gaps in everything that was going on in the world. We tried to fill them.”
* Forde on his transitioning from a newspaper writer/columnist to a multimedia entity at ESPN.com: “I never imagined I’d do anything but write. They keep calling. You keep saying yes, and keep doing more of it. . . . It’s been an amazing learning process for me.”
* Forde on advice for young journalists: “Learn to diversify yourself as early as possible. Don’t picture yourself as just, ‘This type of journalist,’ because nobody’s just this type of journalist anymore. . . . The more things you can demonstrate competence in, the better off you’re going to be.”
* Silverman on the Big 10 Network: “Our key objective this year is just to get better. When you’re a new company, typically you have your growing pains and you make some mistakes and you keep getting better at it. When you’re a new TV network, those mistakes are on the air and everyone sees what you’re doing. You’re very exposed.”
