Sure, and we went over that in the previous Site Stuff. Plain and simple, hope inspires investment, same as with pretty much any walk of life.
Is the reporter's job made better?
Again, sure, but for very different reasons.
An experienced journalist's always prioritizing content upon embarking to cover any event. Meaning the raw material that makes for good reading, viewing, listening, whatever. A win or a loss doesn't define that in isolation, of course, as there's occasionally spectacular content to emerge from a loss. But it makes a difference, especially over the longer haul.
If I walk into the Pirates' clubhouse in July, as I did in Seattle, and the losing's already become all-engulfing, my only hope of engaging in useful conversations will be to find players willing to share with me what's what. That happened out there. In a big way. And it wasn't just players but also coaches and others. Some just came to me.
But for the most part, for the better part of 3-4 months, there's nothing. The clubhouse can be empty after a lot of games, or close to it. (No one will ever shout, 'Hey, everyone, there's Alexander Canario!') And all that's left for content is a whole lot of what, nowhere near the needed how. What's more, even when the players are there, no one wants to say much, if anything. And worse by far, the consumers couldn't care less about game detail, specifics, etc., so there can't be the fun inside-baseball, walk-me-through-that-at-bat kinda story.
And yeah, that'll bring the reporter down. Because the content sucks and, in turn, you can feel like it's your fault somehow.
Repeating for emphasis: It's not the losing itself that gets you down. It's the effect of the losing on the content. Big difference there.
I could say a lot of the same about the Steelers, but only as far back as Cincinnati. That was a tough room out there, but players were eager to talk and be accountable. Then, Green Bay happened, and there was nothing of the sort. One player who might be the nicest young man in the universe, who might never have turned down an interview request in his life, spoke to me as I approached, "Not today, brother. Just not today." He was polite, but my column was hurt for it. I needed his insight. Neither I nor you got it.
Then there's this here hockey scene.
I've still got the Penguins' game here today against the Jets, but I've already gotten more A-list material in the couple days just now in St. Paul, Minn., than I'd gotten on baseball in maybe a full year. Combining all of the availabilities.
If you missed my column from there, the volume of people quoted, the tales told, the pictures painted, the insight offered ... I couldn't get that at PNC Park in a full summer. And it's really primarily because the Penguins are winning. Meaning that every goal counts, every shot counts, every save counts ... and every question that's asked counts because all of those goals, shots and saves matter to you, the consumer.
It's fun. It's exhilarating at times.
I missed this. I'd follow this anywhere over slogging through more blah columns about losing.
MILITARY DRIVE AT 546
Our annual Military Drive to 1,000 had a nice week, with 51 contributions, bringing our total to 546. But we're only 10 days away from the deadline of Veterans Day, Nov. 11, and another such week will leave us way, way short of the goal, obviously.
We've missed that goal just once, and that was in the COVID year. Let's never do that again.
If you're interested in covering the cost of a free subscription for a veteran, at $20 each, email me directly at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com with how many you'd like so that I can thank you personally, after which I'll pass you along to Dali for processing.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Yet again, the newspapers didn't travel to cover the Penguins on this trip to St. Paul and here. We're everywhere. Because hockey matters in Pittsburgh. Because that's what you tell us you want. And because that's literally the only right way to do the job.
• The Downtown HQ/shop's open all weekend with crazy hours, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, then 9 a.m. to noon Sunday leading up to Steelers-Colts kickoff across the river.
• The issue for some Apple app users where the top of the app was bleeding into our home page has been resolved by the developers.
• With so many new subscribers -- we're at 522 since beginning the push to bring over our multimedia viewers/listeners -- we're also seeing too many gray faces in the comments. To change that, put up your own avatar by visiting your Profile, then adding a pic right up there in the top circle by the camera icon. If it doesn't take at first, try a smaller file.
• Paying subscribers live here ad-free. If you aren't subscribed yet or if your subscription's expired: This is our subscribe page. From there, make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/restart at the monthly or annual level. We also offer mega-discounts for students, seniors and special workers.
• Feel free to add a generous review on our Google business listing, our Appleand Spotify podcast channels and, arguably most important, our own official app pages, whether it's the Apple or Android version.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers were 813,425, with 30,246 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, Oct. 23-30. Our most-read original piece was my Friday Insider with exclusive information on the Penguins' imminent sale, at 10,420.
• Our video views for the past week, also Oct. 17-23, were 217,679. Our most-watched program was the Monday Daily Shot of Steelers, at 20,370.
THE ASYLUM
Site Stuff: The winning angle
Is business helped by winning?
Sure, and we went over that in the previous Site Stuff. Plain and simple, hope inspires investment, same as with pretty much any walk of life.
Is the reporter's job made better?
Again, sure, but for very different reasons.
An experienced journalist's always prioritizing content upon embarking to cover any event. Meaning the raw material that makes for good reading, viewing, listening, whatever. A win or a loss doesn't define that in isolation, of course, as there's occasionally spectacular content to emerge from a loss. But it makes a difference, especially over the longer haul.
If I walk into the Pirates' clubhouse in July, as I did in Seattle, and the losing's already become all-engulfing, my only hope of engaging in useful conversations will be to find players willing to share with me what's what. That happened out there. In a big way. And it wasn't just players but also coaches and others. Some just came to me.
But for the most part, for the better part of 3-4 months, there's nothing. The clubhouse can be empty after a lot of games, or close to it. (No one will ever shout, 'Hey, everyone, there's Alexander Canario!') And all that's left for content is a whole lot of what, nowhere near the needed how. What's more, even when the players are there, no one wants to say much, if anything. And worse by far, the consumers couldn't care less about game detail, specifics, etc., so there can't be the fun inside-baseball, walk-me-through-that-at-bat kinda story.
And yeah, that'll bring the reporter down. Because the content sucks and, in turn, you can feel like it's your fault somehow.
Repeating for emphasis: It's not the losing itself that gets you down. It's the effect of the losing on the content. Big difference there.
I could say a lot of the same about the Steelers, but only as far back as Cincinnati. That was a tough room out there, but players were eager to talk and be accountable. Then, Green Bay happened, and there was nothing of the sort. One player who might be the nicest young man in the universe, who might never have turned down an interview request in his life, spoke to me as I approached, "Not today, brother. Just not today." He was polite, but my column was hurt for it. I needed his insight. Neither I nor you got it.
Then there's this here hockey scene.
I've still got the Penguins' game here today against the Jets, but I've already gotten more A-list material in the couple days just now in St. Paul, Minn., than I'd gotten on baseball in maybe a full year. Combining all of the availabilities.
If you missed my column from there, the volume of people quoted, the tales told, the pictures painted, the insight offered ... I couldn't get that at PNC Park in a full summer. And it's really primarily because the Penguins are winning. Meaning that every goal counts, every shot counts, every save counts ... and every question that's asked counts because all of those goals, shots and saves matter to you, the consumer.
It's fun. It's exhilarating at times.
I missed this. I'd follow this anywhere over slogging through more blah columns about losing.
MILITARY DRIVE AT 546
Our annual Military Drive to 1,000 had a nice week, with 51 contributions, bringing our total to 546. But we're only 10 days away from the deadline of Veterans Day, Nov. 11, and another such week will leave us way, way short of the goal, obviously.
We've missed that goal just once, and that was in the COVID year. Let's never do that again.
If you're interested in covering the cost of a free subscription for a veteran, at $20 each, email me directly at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com with how many you'd like so that I can thank you personally, after which I'll pass you along to Dali for processing.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Yet again, the newspapers didn't travel to cover the Penguins on this trip to St. Paul and here. We're everywhere. Because hockey matters in Pittsburgh. Because that's what you tell us you want. And because that's literally the only right way to do the job.
• The Downtown HQ/shop's open all weekend with crazy hours, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, then 9 a.m. to noon Sunday leading up to Steelers-Colts kickoff across the river.
• The issue for some Apple app users where the top of the app was bleeding into our home page has been resolved by the developers.
• With so many new subscribers -- we're at 522 since beginning the push to bring over our multimedia viewers/listeners -- we're also seeing too many gray faces in the comments. To change that, put up your own avatar by visiting your Profile, then adding a pic right up there in the top circle by the camera icon. If it doesn't take at first, try a smaller file.
• Paying subscribers live here ad-free. If you aren't subscribed yet or if your subscription's expired: This is our subscribe page. From there, make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/restart at the monthly or annual level. We also offer mega-discounts for students, seniors and special workers.
• Feel free to add a generous review on our Google business listing, our Apple and Spotify podcast channels and, arguably most important, our own official app pages, whether it's the Apple or Android version.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers were 813,425, with 30,246 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, Oct. 23-30. Our most-read original piece was my Friday Insider with exclusive information on the Penguins' imminent sale, at 10,420.
• Our video views for the past week, also Oct. 17-23, were 217,679. Our most-watched program was the Monday Daily Shot of Steelers, at 20,370.
• Our company social media: 70,153 followers on Facebook, 59,305 on X, 54,623 on YouTube, 17,427 on Instagram, 7,796 on TikTok, 6,514 on Threads.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• The Downtown HQ/shop's open Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m. next week, while our company merch can all be had in our online store.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Thanks for reading, watching, listening and, above all, for your support of this proud independent venture.
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