episode 25 of the dsmsports podcast w/ richard deitsch of sports illustrated: snippets

Best Of... Sports Illustrated's Richard DeitschEpisode 25 of the Digital and Social Media

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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


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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



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“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]



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“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.”



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“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.”



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“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.”



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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.”



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“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.”



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“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.



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“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.”



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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.”



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“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.”



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“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).”



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“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.”



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“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.”



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“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.”



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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).”



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“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.”



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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.”



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“(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.”



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Share-able stat:

110% more engagement on tweets with photos vs. any others (next best is tweets with links)

Source: Simply Measured



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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.”



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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.”



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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.”



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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.”



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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)



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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.”



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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.”)



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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).”



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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.”



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Where to find Richard and SI and his content:

www.SI.com; SI magazine; @SINow on Twitter@richarddeitsch on Twitter



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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


http://www.DSMSports.net/

episode 25 of the dsmsports podcast w/ richard deitsch of sports illustrated: snippets

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