Episode 25 of the DSMSports Podcast w/ Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated: Snippets

Best Of... Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch
Episode 25 of the Digital and Social Media
Sports Podcast
On episode 25 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast,
Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated discussed his career
path, how sports media has evolved, the interplay between
sports and social media, and more.
What follows are some snippets from the episode. Listen to
the full podcast on iTunes or www.DSMSports.net
@njh287; DSMSports.net

Sports Podcast
Richard's career path:
Went to undergrad at University of Buffalo, working for his
school paper and then covered the Bills and Sabres
→ Went to grad school at Columbia School of Journalism
→ Worked at Sports Illusrated Kids
→ Then hired by Sports Illustrated, where he worked several
roles and now works with the magazine and digital and is
also an adjunct professor at Columbia University

Sports Podcast
“Ever since I was young, I always loved to read anything I
could get my hands on, especially the sports
section...writing became something I liked to do. I wrote for
my first newspaper at 16...I just love to write...For SI, I've
always tried to find different things to do. I don't think I'm
built to cover just one sport (or beat)
[Richard also edits for SI]

Sports Podcast
“I just sort fell into media...Eight or nine years ago, we had a
media column in the magazine...When I moved to the web, I
pitched (SI) on a weekly column and it has grown since
then...The appetite for it has grown.”

Sports Podcast
“You can make the argument that (broadcasters) are more
well-known than (a lot of athletes)...I've tried to cover sports
media as a beat...I think you've seen a lot of (interest) in this
type of content (nowadays)...
I think Deadspin changed the game a little bit writing about
broadcasters. Now there are a million blogs out there with
some sort of media element to it and I'm one of them.”

Sports Podcast
“For me, Twitter has been a big game changer...an opportunity
to have my own distribution channel. It's not just a self-
promotional tool; the real basis for that feed is to send out
interesting stories and links to people.
I hope people consider me a good curator...social media has
really helped in niche things like I do with sports media. The
good thing about Twitter is you can find people you like and
have (their content) delivered to you.”

Sports Podcast
On the effect of social media on ESPN
“It absolutely is...Just look at the new SportsCenter
set...Every single producer, whether it's ESPN or a local
producer, is watching Twitter and seeing what topics are
trending to capitalize on that...social media has affected
every outlet...ESPN absolutely wants to impact what people
talk about on social media, but they want to react to it, as
well.”

Sports Podcast
“The impact of Twitter is not nearly as great as journalists
think it is...but you can't argue with Facebook's numbers...
(social media) has an impact on all this stuff. What people
are still trying to figure out is how can I make money on
social media if I'm an ESPN or Fox Sports 1?...if you're in
the business of sports media, you have to be on social
media or you're really not doing you or your readers just
because you're not where the conversation is.”

Sports Podcast
“There's no doubt ESPN leads the sports conversation in this
country. Just by the sheer tonnage and power they have.
They're not the only one, but they're certainly (at the top). If
they want to make something a topic (of discussion in
sports), they can do it. You've seen that with the World Cup.
They really put a ton of resources towards it and it has
resulted in great ratings and conversation and viewership.

Sports Podcast
“They (ESPN) lead it, but I think local (media) still has a
massive role in leading the sports conversation...The great
thing is everyone can kind of dictate things nationally, sort
of, if they have the right story. But, generally speaking, with
its tonnage and power, it is ESPN that leads the
conversation.”

Sports Podcast
Helpful Tool: Giphy, a search-able and browse-able database
tool for animated GIFs to share or download
Deitsch on seeing GIFs used in sports coverage: “I admire the
people that do them and do them fast...I admire the
production skill that turn around GIFs in a matter of
seconds, especially from a live sporting even.”

Sports Podcast
“The magazine still is (more) dictated by what are the richest
and best stories we can tell (that no one else is)...There are
still stories there you're not going to find elsewhere...
Our website (and every sports website) pays attention to
Google and Facebook. You have to. If something is
(trending), that means people are interested. So, then you
have to say what can we do with this information to
capitalize...you don't always want to rely on it...
We do use it as a tool and it impacts what we do with the
website. Far less with the magazine (though).”

Sports Podcast
“There is more great stuff in sports media than we've ever had
before because there are so many players in the market and
so many interesting stories...At the same time, because of
trying to chase clicks, there's more absolute (shit) than ever
before...
So, it's really on you. There has never been a better time to be
a reader because there are so many choices, but, with that,
comes the really good and the really bad.”

Sports Podcast
“I think it's good there are more (sports media
outlets)...places like The Cauldron and VICE are good for
sports media because it's inviting people into the market, a
lot of younger people into the market. We'll see if they can
make money, but I think the idea (of it) is really good.”

Sports Podcast
“The value of a scoop is based on what your employer think
of that value, what the reader thinks about the scoop itself,
and what you, as a reader, define as a scoop...
For certain stories, the value is incredible...for other (less
important) stories, there is much less value and (is more of)
a contest between reporters.”

Sports Podcast
I think the good people in the business source really well and
the bad people don't...I've gotten on ESPN a lot before for
lack sourcing. They have gotten better than they were in the
past, but still too often they'll use a phrase like “media
reports” instead of putting the specific media outlet on their
bottom line...
It's a corporate strategy to try to own the news break.
They can do that, and that is their choice, but they get a little
upset when people call them out on it, which I would say is
rather hypocritical behavior...(The funny thing is) No viewer
would really care (and switch channels).”

Sports Podcast
“It's very bothersome to reporters because you invest money
and time on something, it's your story, and then somebody
else in another place is not attributing at all..There's no
doubt it is far more important to people in the
business...but I think it's important to call those when they
are not sourcing correctly.”

Sports Podcast
On sourcing stories that have been “broken” for a while and
reported by many
“If you want to be a journalist with the integrity and accuracy,
you report the original source...People in this business
notice who's good or who's not.”
“Ultimately, the one thing you have that is yours is your
reputation and credibility. It's the one thing you own and
develop and people will make judgment on. Nurture that
and make that the important thing.”

Sports Podcast
“(Twitter) is just a snapshot (of opinion/observation)...I don't
take it as any kind of definite or accurate poll. It's just a
snapshot of people following you; who are, generally
speaking, like-minded to you...
Twitter polls are still incredibly valuable, but you have to
realize it is still an incredibly tiny slice of anything...It's not
scientifically valid. It has value, but you just have to be
careful about proclaiming it to be the absolute truth,
because it is just the absolute truth for a (given) subset.”

Sports Podcast
Share-able stat:
110% more engagement on tweets with photos vs. any others
(next best is tweets with links)
Source: Simply Measured

Sports Podcast
The one sportswriter you can never read enough of and the
sportswriter that is most overrated
He can't get enough of: William Nack
Most overrated: “There are a lot that are not good...Probably
Michael Lupica is the one that comes to mind.”

Sports Podcast
The sportswriter that has made the best transition from
writing to TV/Radio:
“The person who has made the most remarkable transition
from writing to becoming a brand has been Bill Simmons.
It's not really close on that...Simmons has basically built
himself a brand away from writing...
I think Tom Verducci has one the best transition fron being a
writer being on-air. He's basically as good on-air as any
analyst I've ever seen and he is still a good writer.”

Sports Podcast
The sport with the best bloggers and why:
“I think basketball. The NBA is so into analytics and they
really care about they write. They're really interesting – from
the Zach Lowe's of the world to the True Hoop guys. There
is a lot of great NBA writing on the web. Not only is there
great stuff like narrative and the players, but also a lot of
analytics stuff.”

Sports Podcast
The best broadcaster, past or present, for the four major
sports leagues – NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB:
“It's hard to do it singularly because I would normally do it
based on position (play-by-play, analyst, etc.)...In general,
off the top of my head, Al Michaels for NFL, hockey/NHL
Mike Emrick, baseball is Vin Scully, an easy one. Basketball,
I think Marv Albert, probably, or Charles Barkley...
But if I were to do this, I'd do it position-by-position. To judge
an analyst versus a game-caller is two different jobs, so I
would separate it.”

Sports Podcast
The professional women's sport with the best opportunity to
make it relatively mainstream and why:
“Women's tennis and it's already mainstream. The prize
money is really good, the players are well-known and
global, the sport plays at some beautiful cathedrals...so
that, I think far and away, is the one.”
(if you exclude Olympic sport, Richard notes)

Sports Podcast
Which minority has the most room to grow in sports media –
Hispanic, Asian, women, other?
“My answer would be all of the above. Period. Because they
all should and can grown.”

Sports Podcast
The best sports venue food you have had yourself or shared
on Twitter:
“It was pretty fun to be in Turin for the 2006 Olympics and
being able to leave the press center for a nice Italian dinner
in a city that really does food fantastically...(notes a place
where he got some incredible hot chocolate → “It was
basically like drinking liquid of the gods.”)

Sports Podcast
Which Buffalo team will win a title first – Sabres (NHL) or Bills
(NFL)
“If I had to pick now, I'd probably go with the
Sabres...Although it's easier for an NFL team to turn it
around quicker. I would say the Sabres, though, I'm not too
sure either one will anytime (soon).”

Sports Podcast
Richard's Social Media All-Star to Follow:
Richard suggests to go through the people he follows → “To
single out one person who as the ultimate Twitter follow is
just not a correct answer because I follow (so many)
different people for a number of reasons...
“I can't single one out, although, as someone who loves to
read and loves news, I love following the New York Times,
the @WashingtonPost, @BBCWorld, and @AP because I
feel like I'm getting all my news delivered to me.
It is really an impossible question because no one is the
'perfect' Twitter follow.”

Sports Podcast
Where to find Richard and SI and his content:
www.SI.com; SI magazine; @SINow on Twitter
@richarddeitsch on Twitter

Sports Podcast
Thanks so much to Richard for sharing his time, knowledge,
experience, and expertise with the Digital and Social Media
Sports podcast!
Listen to the podcast and find more episodes and content on
iTunes and at www.DSMSports.net.
You can also follow me on Twitter @njh287

Episode 25 of the DSMSports Podcast w/ Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated: Snippets

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Episode 25 of the DSMSports Podcast w/ Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated: Snippets