ESPN has destroyed Mike Reiss' Patriots blog

ctpatsfan77 · Aug 28, 2013

OK, based on Reiss' comments, I will say that this is "not good," but it is not yet "destroyed." [It appears to me at least that "loss of control" means that he is no longer solely in control of what gets published, which is not quite the same as no control at all.]

Ian · Aug 28, 2013

Uncle Rico said:
Pretty much how I see it. Used to be that the local guys would write about an Insider item then link to it. Now it comes in much more heavily branded. They also got fancier with their labeling of things like live chats (like the one that starts with Reiss at 1).

Bit jarring at first sight, but the good stuff is still all there.

I see what they did. They've set it up where anything related to the Patriots is now in one place instead of a bunch of different spots (same thing when you click on any other team). Makes it a little less annoying I guess.

Uncle Rico · Aug 28, 2013

Ian said:
I see what they did. They've set it up where anything related to the Patriots is now in one place instead of a bunch of different spots (same thing when you click on any other team). Makes it a little less annoying I guess.

Maybe less annoying in concept but a bit annoying in execution. Right now the top two items are podcasts for PTI and Around the Horn — both of which mention the Rolling Stone Hernandez story somewhere in their 20-minute-plus program ... among many other subjects. Talk about trolling for clicks. So I guess every show or column of any sort that even mentions the Pats will get posted on the blog? Hmmm.

JoeSixPat · Aug 28, 2013

Buchanty said:
Seems that Mike Reiss is not comfortable with the changes either: He just posted this on his Live Chat in response to a question

Mike Reiss

George, I will be honest with readers, as you know from reading over the years. Yes, I have lost control of the blog. I don't know if it's permanent. Lot of things fluid now.

I am hoping this does not signify a parting of the ways

Reiss will be picked up by someone if fired - if he quits his contract may preclude him from writing for a competitor

Obviously ESPN has the authority to take anything he writes and make it pay per view and Reiss doesn't like it, because by definition that hurts readership though it may help ESPN's profit.

I'm on Reiss' side on this obviously. Frankly I think this whole ESPN experiment is just dumb - 24/7 sports - that's like a 24/7 cooking channel or round the clock music channel.

It's going to be a financial disaster.

Will Ferrell Ron Burgundy ESPN Audition - YouTube

Ian · Aug 28, 2013

Uncle Rico said:
Maybe less annoying in concept but a bit annoying in execution. Right now the top two items are podcasts for PTI and Around the Horn — both of which mention the Rolling Stone Hernandez story somewhere in their 20-minute-plus program ... among many other subjects. Talk about trolling for clicks. So I guess every show or column of any sort that even mentions the Pats will get posted on the blog? Hmmm.

I completely agree with you there. I understand the idea to make it one destination for information and condense everything to one page (so that people who click "Patriots" can finally go to one page to read Reiss, Yates, and whatever other columns are available on the team if they so desire) but they honestly need to go back to some of their previous designs and organize it a little better. Hopefully they figure it out and react to some of the feedback I'm sure they're already hearing.

Throwing all of it in one big list doesn't make any sense, but as I said in the Yahoo! thread it seems easier to just throw everything in either a Wordpress template or another CMS system and do it the way they all appear to be headed....I just don't get it.

Joker · Aug 28, 2013

you know...if someone had some nerve and a little financial backing they could very well put together quite a formidable roster of writers from the membership HERE...after all, we critique everything THEY (mainstream) write and consistently lay bare the blatant hypocrisy and favoritism of the monolithic sports giants. There IS a market for "Fans for fans" writing.

Ian · Aug 28, 2013

Joker said:
you know...if someone had some nerve and a little financial backing they could very well put together quite a formidable roster of writers from the membership HERE...after all, we critique everything THEY (mainstream) write and consistently lay bare the blatant hypocrisy and favoritism of the monolithic sports giants. There IS a market for "Fans for fans" writing.

Yes - and we do our best here to try and provide a little of that

dales804 · Aug 29, 2013

Ian said:
I completely agree with you there. I understand the idea to make it one destination for information and condense everything to one page (so that people who click "Patriots" can finally go to one page to read Reiss, Yates, and whatever other columns are available on the team if they so desire) but they honestly need to go back to some of their previous designs and organize it a little better. Hopefully they figure it out and react to some of the feedback I'm sure they're already hearing.

Throwing all of it in one big list doesn't make any sense, but as I said in the Yahoo! thread it seems easier to just throw everything in either a Wordpress template or another CMS system and do it the way they all appear to be headed....I just don't get it.

It's just annoying how any mention of the Patriots in an article gets posted on the blog now. Like the W2W4 for the Giants is on there right now and it's all about the Giants but has "New England Patriots" mentioned once so it gets posted in the Patriots blog.

Brady'sButtBoy · Aug 29, 2013

What I want to know is where do the nimwits pulling the switches get the idea that the changes they cook up (see Yahoo Sports as well) are what the visitors to the site desire?

What are trying to accomplish? Make more money? Well, if that's the objective than they are proceeding in the wrong manner. Slashing the number of visitors is only a plan for disaster. Man, would I love to have been in on the discussions for usurping Reiss's blog.

ESPN Pointy head - "Yeah we have this site that's been built up through years of hard, accurate, trustworthy reporting attracting a huge following. My thought is we should stop doing most of what has worked fantastically until now and that will make it even hotter property."

Other Pointy heads at table - "Sir, you are brilliant, just brilliant. Can I get you another latte? Please?"

Oswlek · Aug 29, 2013

JoeSixPat said:
Reiss will be picked up by someone if fired - if he quits his contract may preclude him from writing for a competitor

Obviously ESPN has the authority to take anything he writes and make it pay per view and Reiss doesn't like it, because by definition that hurts readership though it may help ESPN's profit.

I'm on Reiss' side on this obviously. Frankly I think this whole ESPN experiment is just dumb - 24/7 sports - that's like a 24/7 cooking channel or round the clock music channel.

It's going to be a financial disaster.

Will Ferrell Ron Burgundy ESPN Audition - YouTube

Well, at least Ron was correct about the cultural disaster part.

signbabybrady · Aug 29, 2013

Brady'sButtBoy said:
What I want to know is where do the nimwits pulling the switches get the idea that the changes they cook up (see Yahoo Sports as well) are what the visitors to the site desire?

What are trying to accomplish? Make more money? Well, if that's the objective than they are proceeding in the wrong manner. Slashing the number of visitors is only a plan for disaster. Man, would I love to have been in on the discussions for usurping Reiss's blog.

ESPN Pointy head - "Yeah we have this site that's been built up through years of hard, accurate, trustworthy reporting attracting a huge following. My thought is we should stop doing most of what has worked fantastically until now and that will make it even hotter property."

Other Pointy heads at table - "Sir, you are brilliant, just brilliant. Can I get you another latte? Please?"

To me it seems like there was no real thought put into the changes other than how can we drive more clicks in other areas of our sites. Certainly seems like a lot of added content and content that most could care less about. If they limited it to actual articles and not link to every podcast and crappy espn show (PTI or ATH) it might have been acceptable possibly even an improvement but as it looks now it is just way to much content that does not belong.

I am not sure if this is intentional or not (might just be a glitch) but I have even noticed that blog entries seem to have the read full post icon even if the full post was already there as if they are trying to make you think there is more so you click on the full post link and they get an extra page view. If they try to save space on the main page and only show half the article fine but these are full articles made to look like there is more so you click.

Uncle Rico · Aug 29, 2013

Brady'sButtBoy said:
...
ESPN Pointy head - "Yeah we have this site that's been built up through years of hard, accurate, trustworthy reporting attracting a huge following. My thought is we should stop doing most of what has worked fantastically until now and that will make it even hotter property."...

Sadly, that's the sort of stuff that Google Analytics can't measure. All about the metrics.

Brady'sButtBoy · Aug 29, 2013

I get the whole clicks thing. I'm just making fun of the fact it so often seems that people with little actual understanding of why a product is successful get to decide how to 'improve' it. The fact they've taken control of the blog away from Reiss (see Reiss quote where he states this is the case) only proves my point. It's like ESPN is saying- "the guy who made this blog great, well, we just don't need him." It's almost absurd...

dales804 · Aug 29, 2013

For anyone that cares to do so, you can leave feedback on the changes here.

signbabybrady · Aug 29, 2013

dales804 said:
For anyone that cares to do so, you can leave feedback on the changes here.

here is my feedback that I sent them:

Why am I seeing National stories and stories from other local sites in the ESPN boston blogs? When I want national coverage I go to the parent ESPN site.

I go to ESPN Boston because I love the local coverage and because I love Mike Reiss and you guys have effectively burried the local coverage and Mike's great analysis with Crappy links to PTI, ESPN New York, and other national stuff that I can just as easily find on the parent site. The new formatt really ruins the local feel that made ESPN Boston different from ESPN.com.

It may not mean much to lose one reader but if the ESPN boston site keeps feeding me national stuff I likely will go back to the local news paper blogs rather than finding the same things in ESPN.com in ESPNBOSTON.

SVN · Aug 29, 2013

his response on his chat today

Max and Mike, I see quite a few comments similar to yours in this chat. I think over the last four years, we've established a community that is straight-forward and honest, so I'm going to shoot you straight here: I have lost control over the tone and direction of the Patriots blog on ESPNBoston.com. Since I started a Patriots blog back in 2003-2004, back at the MetroWest Daily News and then at the Boston Globe, I've always had control, for the most part, of the tone and direction of the blog. Over the last three days, that has changed as ESPN has introduced its NFL Nation project. Based on the personal investment I've put into it, there are a lot of emotions that come with that, and still a lot of questions ahead as to how things will unfold going forward as it relates to the tone and direction of the blog. I'm going to stay positive at this point, knowing that any time there is change there is some level of patience involved.

I hope he leaves ESPN and goes somewhere else and associates himself with a better network. I stopped watching ESPN almost completely except for games. Their reporting is not that great at times either. Look at James Walker on the AFC-East blog- all he writes about is dolphins even though its an AFC-East blog,except when he has to bash the Pats on something.

Uncle Rico · Aug 29, 2013

SVN said:
his response on his chat today

Max and Mike, I see quite a few comments similar to yours in this chat. I think over the last four years, we've established a community that is straight-forward and honest, so I'm going to shoot you straight here: I have lost control over the tone and direction of the Patriots blog on ESPNBoston.com. Since I started a Patriots blog back in 2003-2004, back at the MetroWest Daily News and then at the Boston Globe, I've always had control, for the most part, of the tone and direction of the blog. Over the last three days, that has changed as ESPN has introduced its NFL Nation project. Based on the personal investment I've put into it, there are a lot of emotions that come with that, and still a lot of questions ahead as to how things will unfold going forward as it relates to the tone and direction of the blog. I'm going to stay positive at this point, knowing that any time there is change there is some level of patience involved.

Click to expand...

I hope he leaves ESPN and goes somewhere else and associates himself with a better network. I stopped watching ESPN almost completely except for games. Their reporting is not that great at times either. Look at James Walker on the AFC-East blog- all he writes about is dolphins even though its an AFC-East blog,except when he has to bash the Pats on something.

Really sounds like he was blind-sided by this change. Like SVN I don't pay much attention to ESPN in general ... but it seems like these changes would have come with some over-the-top promotion saying how great they are. Did I miss that? or did that just plop it on us (and, apparently, guys like Reiss)?

dales804 · Aug 29, 2013

SVN said:
his response on his chat today

I hope he leaves ESPN and goes somewhere else and associates himself with a better network. I stopped watching ESPN almost completely except for games. Their reporting is not that great at times either. Look at James Walker on the AFC-East blog- all he writes about is dolphins even though its an AFC-East blog,except when he has to bash the Pats on something.

I'm guessing Walker is now the Dolphins blogger for their "NFL Nation" and the AFC East blog is just a collection of posts from all four teams' blogger in the division.

Ian · Aug 29, 2013

signbabybrady said:
I go to ESPN Boston because I love the local coverage and because I love Mike Reiss and you guys have effectively burried the local coverage and Mike's great analysis with Crappy links to PTI, ESPN New York, and other national stuff that I can just as easily find on the parent site. The new format really ruins the local feel that made ESPN Boston different from ESPN.com.

I thought that was the whole purpose of ESPN Boston was to give it (and the other cities) more of a local feel and to create a more direct connection with those readers. But clearly things are changing.

spacecrime · Aug 29, 2013

mgteich said:
No one is forcing you to read the blog.

And no one forced you to comment. So what. You're entitled and so was he.

The guy said ESPN screwed up Reiss's blog. Whether he HAS to read the blog or not is irrelevant.

Even if you DO like constant ads for ESPN Insider, it doesn't mean everyone does. Some liked it the way it was and I don't see why they aren't allowed to voice an opinion without a "If you don't like it, don't read it" comment.

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