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The Athletic (2 Viewers)

pantherclub said:
Dumb question maybe but how much does a writer make there?
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I think writers top out pretty quickly because everyone would love to do it. 
 

Ive known a few beat writers over the years and they did ok, but they were far from rich. They did a lot of supplemental things like writer excerpts for books or do contract work for national magazines to preseason write ups and stuff like that. I know two of the Athletic writers and while I’d never ask their salaries, I think the move was more of a quality of life type thing rather than financial. 

 
bigmarc27 said:
I think writers top out pretty quickly because everyone would love to do it. 
 

Ive known a few beat writers over the years and they did ok, but they were far from rich. They did a lot of supplemental things like writer excerpts for books or do contract work for national magazines to preseason write ups and stuff like that. I know two of the Athletic writers and while I’d never ask their salaries, I think the move was more of a quality of life type thing rather than financial. 
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I think I saw an article (maybe posted in this thread?) that said they start at about $70k, with the higher profile folks making over $100k.

 
Yea way too many beat writers there for them all to be making 70. Sure some do but not many. 
 

Mandel, Staples, Feldman and other big names draw subscriptions and make well over 6 figures I’m sure. 

 
pantherclub said:
thanks

but the math isnt adding up for this to exist in the long term. 
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their target for subscribers was 1 million by the end of this year.  If they reach that, it would mean revenue of $57 million per year, according to their previous figure of $57 per subscriber.

If 30 writers make 200,000; 50 writers make $100,000; and 220 writers make $70,000; that's $26.4 million in expenses for their writers.  I do find it hard to believe that they would be paying some of the writers that much, as some just contribute on occasion and I would assume are happy to do it to increase their own cred and have plenty of flexibility, but i suspect that gets us in the ballpark.

I guess that's a pretty high percentage to be spending on payroll (as it doesn't even include other non-writing positions), but they are trying to scale up right now.  They can presumably get to 2 million subscribers without increasing the costs for writers by that much.  If they can keep the momentum and VC funding flowing, they could be in a strong position going forward.

 
Long Ball Larry said:
their target for subscribers was 1 million by the end of this year.  If they reach that, it would mean revenue of $57 million per year, according to their previous figure of $57 per subscriber.

If 30 writers make 200,000; 50 writers make $100,000; and 220 writers make $70,000; that's $26.4 million in expenses for their writers.  I do find it hard to believe that they would be paying some of the writers that much, as some just contribute on occasion and I would assume are happy to do it to increase their own cred and have plenty of flexibility, but i suspect that gets us in the ballpark.

I guess that's a pretty high percentage to be spending on payroll (as it doesn't even include other non-writing positions), but they are trying to scale up right now.  They can presumably get to 2 million subscribers without increasing the costs for writers by that much.  If they can keep the momentum and VC funding flowing, they could be in a strong position going forward.
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That 26.4 is just in salaries and doesnt include the other operating expenses and expenses of a traveling reporter.   Something seems way amiss about this business model.  I know it says they have venture capital money but even that runs dry after a bit.  Seems like a huge gamble to leave a traditional newspaper reporting job to joint the Athletic

 
pantherclub said:
That 26.4 is just in salaries and doesnt include the other operating expenses and expenses of a traveling reporter.   Something seems way amiss about this business model.  I know it says they have venture capital money but even that runs dry after a bit.  Seems like a huge gamble to leave a traditional newspaper reporting job to joint the Athletic
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:confused:  

staying at a traditional newspaper job would be the biggest gamble of all.

 
Long Ball Larry said:
:confused:  

staying at a traditional newspaper job would be the biggest gamble of all.
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Sortof maybe but at least its consistent.  The local writer from teh Charlotte Observer for the Panthers, jourdan rougue left the Observer and went to the Athletic.   She probably get a huge raise but is it worth it if TA goes under in 18 months?  I doubt the charlotte observer is anytime soon and then trying to find another job has to be a nightmare in that field

 
pantherclub said:
That 26.4 is just in salaries and doesnt include the other operating expenses and expenses of a traveling reporter.   Something seems way amiss about this business model.  I know it says they have venture capital money but even that runs dry after a bit.  Seems like a huge gamble to leave a traditional newspaper reporting job to joint the Athletic
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Exactly. The Nhl All-Star game was somewhere last year (Vancouver??) and the athletic sent all the beat writers there. Why?? Imagine the incredible expense to do that. 

 
pantherclub said:
Sortof maybe but at least its consistent.  The local writer from teh Charlotte Observer for the Panthers, jourdan rougue left the Observer and went to the Athletic.   She probably get a huge raise but is it worth it if TA goes under in 18 months?  I doubt the charlotte observer is anytime soon and then trying to find another job has to be a nightmare in that field
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i'm not sure that you are really thinking about the media landscape very well.  average observer reporter gets $33,500 (https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/charlotte-reporter-salary-SRCH_IL.0,9_IM162_KO10,18.htm).  I don't know exactly how that corresponds to the beat writers, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is close.

Possible Bankruptcy For Observer Parent Company

Last week the Charlotte Observer’s parent company, McClatchy, announced it will stop printing Saturday editions at all of its papers next year. The California-based company, which also owns the Raleigh News & Observer and the Rock Hill Herald, is about $700 million in debt. 

The IRS has declined the company’s request to defer making payments to its pension plan. That’s raised the question of a possible bankruptcy.

Tony Mecia: So when you say, "Well, what does it mean for the Observer?" I mean, it's sort of hard to know. No company wants to be in bankruptcy. There are a lot of things that are unpredictable about being in bankruptcy, but it's not necessarily a bad thing for the operation of the Observer and the other newspapers if they can shed some of that debt and come up with a plan that makes them viable going forward.

Terry: The Observer, like a lot of papers, has struggled in recent years. You asked a few current and former leaders in Charlotte media what they thought the future of news coverage in the city looks like. What were some of the responses you got?

Mecia: Yeah, I would say the most overwhelming response I got is one that -- and this is nothing new, really, or surprising -- but printed papers have not been succeeding for a while. And that the trend line is much more toward digital publications, towards online publication. I mean, you see the Observer moving this direction as well. You see other news organizations that are in other media moving that direction. And so what I'm hearing is that the future is maybe instead of having a newspaper be the main center of media in a city, that you're going to have a lot of smaller media. That each are a little more niche, that have their own area that they look into and that provide very different things to their readers or consumers.
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Where do you have more flexibility?  Where do you have more chance to be seen by other outlets for future jobs?  Where can you be more in synch with the more cutting-edge ideas?

Obviously the Athletic is a risk and could easily collapse.  But I think that the Athletic is a gamble with a much better potential payoff than staying with a local paper.  

 
I re-upped for another year using a gift subscription to myself.  That brought the annual cost down from $60 to $40.

There was an interesting article yesterday behind the Washington Post paywall that talks about The Athletic's salary structure:
 

Flush with venture capital cash, the Athletic offers those journalists attractive salaries: $50,000 a year for entry-level reporters and mid-six figures for more accomplished writers. (Full-time employees get equity in the company, too.) It has even managed to raise the salaries of writers it hasn’t hired: It offered to one prominent ESPN writer more than $500,000, nearly double that writer’s salary, according to people familiar with the negotiations; the writer ultimately stayed at ESPN for less than the Athletic’s offer but still got a big raise.

All that venture funding brings a Silicon Valley ethos to the company. A dashboard tracks how stories perform against expectations, and every writer gets goals for how many subscribers their articles should convert. A corporate travel system spits out the average cost of hotels and provides Amazon gift certificates to employees who book cheaper accommodations. Aaron Reiss, 24, who left the Kansas City Star to cover the Houston Texans, praised another perk: an editor who specializes in helping develop young writers. “What newspaper would have that?” he asked.
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There are still a lot of questions about the long-term viability of the enterprise.  They're not profitable and are still actively raising capital.  In light of the recent acquisitions of The Ringer and Barstool Sports, the article speculates about some potential buyers and provides three potential end-game scenarios.

If it’s bought by a company that wants to expand the model, the Athletic could help stabilize the industry for the long term. Someone else could buy the company and cut costs, leaving the fate of the fabled beat writer uncertain again. Or, the disaster version: The company can’t find a buyer near its valuation, the capital runs out, and the thing goes upside down.
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Subscription can be had for a couple dollars for a year for new subscribers. Lots of codes from TMobile subscribers floating around. See thread on slickdeals. I was able to get a free year. Others are selling for a dollar or two.

 
East Coast Bias said:
Subscription can be had for a couple dollars for a year for new subscribers. Lots of codes from TMobile subscribers floating around. See thread on slickdeals. I was able to get a free year. Others are selling for a dollar or two.
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I have a code if anybody wants it for free...

 
East Coast Bias said:
Subscription can be had for a couple dollars for a year for new subscribers. Lots of codes from TMobile subscribers floating around. See thread on slickdeals. I was able to get a free year. Others are selling for a dollar or two.
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I thought they’d be gone by 2025 but sounds like I may have to move that up a few years. 

 
I have five 30 day guest passes if anyone wants to try it out. You'll have to provide payment info, so make sure you cancel before 30 days if you end up not wanting to subscribe.

I got a cheap subscription in January and I'm surprised by how much I like it.

Reply to this post if you want a code to keep the thread bumped and I'll PM the code to you.

 
It's an incredible site  :shrug: .

The access to hometown writers for every sport in every city saves so much paywall aggravation. The deep dives they do are awesome. The analytics focus is really cool. 

I know Toronto is a key key market for them, which helps, but it's worth every penny IMO. 

 
I think its worth the money as well, great coverage and good fantasy content.  Also some solid podcasts.

One wrinkle they don't do tennis for some reason...

 
Yeah, I really like the Bills reporters they have. Tons of great content and I enjoy the podcast that 2 of them do. For me it’s worth subscribing just to support those guys and enable them to keep doing what they’re doing.

 
McBokonon said:
I have five 30 day guest passes if anyone wants to try it out. You'll have to provide payment info, so make sure you cancel before 30 days if you end up not wanting to subscribe.

I got a cheap subscription in January and I'm surprised by how much I like it.

Reply to this post if you want a code to keep the thread bumped and I'll PM the code to you.
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I have been meaning to try out The Athletic, so I will take a code. Thanks.

 
I just signed signed up for a free week a few days ago. Better remember to cancel. Looks good so far, though. 

 
McBokonon said:
I have five 30 day guest passes if anyone wants to try it out. You'll have to provide payment info, so make sure you cancel before 30 days if you end up not wanting to subscribe.

I got a cheap subscription in January and I'm surprised by how much I like it.

Reply to this post if you want a code to keep the thread bumped and I'll PM the code to you.
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Same here - I have five as well

 
The $12/12 months link doesn't work anymore.  Looks like $42/year is the current offer.  If anyone still has a 30-day guest code, I'm interested.

 
Skipdog77 said:
I'm the exact opposite.  If I click a link to a story and it takes me to some talking head/video, I immediately close.  I'd rather read a story than have someone tell one to me. 
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Same. My one wish is for printer friendly versions of the stories because I still like to print them out at work and read at home or other places when I have some downtime. 

 
Just renewed for another year for $60. I don't think all of the beat writing is great, but some of it is, and a lot of the other articles are outstanding.

 
I let my subscription lapse when I didn’t see them run another 1 year/$25 deal over the holidays like I had taken advantage of the last couple of years. There is definitely some good content there but I don’t really miss it. I’m sure I’ll subscribe again next time they offer a killer deal, but I’m not in a rush. 

 
It's basically all I read for sports news now. Their hockey coverage is so much better than anywhere else. 

They let Andrew Stoeten go which was disappointing for Blue Jays coverage but I think that's because he was completely hammered on the last podcast he did (it's worth a listen in a trainwreck sort of way).  

 
Just a heads up for current subscribers. 

I got in on a $12 subscription for the past year, but was having trouble finding any good deals I could use to renew.  I like it, but not enough to pay the full price, so had a reminder set to cancel it before the auto-renewal went through.  I just went in to cancel and was offered the next year for about $22, which was good enough for me.

If anyone found a better deal, let us know.

 
jhib said:
I just went in to cancel and was offered the next year for about $22, which was good enough for me.
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Did the same recently when my previous $49.99 annual subscription was due for renewal at the new $72.99 annual rate. If they would have just grandfathered me in at $49.99 on auto-renew, I wouldn't have even noticed/cared. But they sent me an email that it was going up on my next renewal, so I went to cancel and they offered me $22 for year. Trying to gain $23 from me cost them $28  :shrug:

 
Yeah, I too rode the cancel train in the summer until they came at me with $22 or something for the full year.  Geddy-up.  LOVE the Athletic, but I have a price point.

 
Latest Brady #1 article is incredible... 

Brady perpetually has a whiteboard at his home gym with the date and location of the next SuperBowl. 

Edelman first saw the board in 2013.... Brady had 3 rings to this point. 

Edelman: "Bro how crazy is it you're going after Montana" 

Brady: "I ain't going for Montana, I'm going for Jordan" 

He's since passed Jordan 

 
One of my favorite guys covering the Bills, Matthew Fairburn, is moving to Boston to cover the Patriots. Sucks. Patriot fans are going to enjoy what he brings to the table.

Kind of crazy that ESPN’s Buffalo best reporter just left this week as well to go cover the Dolphins.

Bills finally are legit Super Bowl contenders and 2 of their biggest reporters are moving to other teams to cover Week 1 of the season.

If the Bills manage to defy the football gods and actually win a ring, would be weird to be those reporters to have covered them for so long and then not be there in the city to experience writing/covering a championship team.

 
GroveDiesel said:
One of my favorite guys covering the Bills, Matthew Fairburn, is moving to Boston to cover the Patriots. Sucks. Patriot fans are going to enjoy what he brings to the table.

Kind of crazy that ESPN’s Buffalo best reporter just left this week as well to go cover the Dolphins.

Bills finally are legit Super Bowl contenders and 2 of their biggest reporters are moving to other teams to cover Week 1 of the season.

If the Bills manage to defy the football gods and actually win a ring, would be weird to be those reporters to have covered them for so long and then not be there in the city to experience writing/covering a championship team.
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That is bizzare. Lifer pats fan here, but the Bills are the top team in the AFC East this year 

 
GroveDiesel said:
One of my favorite guys covering the Bills, Matthew Fairburn, is moving to Boston to cover the Patriots. Sucks. Patriot fans are going to enjoy what he brings to the table.

Kind of crazy that ESPN’s Buffalo best reporter just left this week as well to go cover the Dolphins.

Bills finally are legit Super Bowl contenders and 2 of their biggest reporters are moving to other teams to cover Week 1 of the season.

If the Bills manage to defy the football gods and actually win a ring, would be weird to be those reporters to have covered them for so long and then not be there in the city to experience writing/covering a championship team.
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I saw that too.  It's unfortunate.

On the other hand, I think it's pretty awesome that we have several good Bills-related podcasts that are typically up on YT within a few hours of the end of each game, and on a regular schedule throughout the week.  I remember in the olden days a) having to sweat whether the Bills game was even on this week as an out-of-market fan (no longer an issue), b) never being able to see any replays besides what they chose to show on PrimeTime, on their schedule not mine (no longer an issue), c) not getting any reaction at all to the game until the next morning when I can check out the Buffalo papers online, and d) not even being able to do that during the super bowl years because the freaking internet barely even existed at the time.   

It's way better being a sports fan now than it was back then.

 
General Malaise said:
Yeah, I too rode the cancel train in the summer until they came at me with $22 or something for the full year.  Geddy-up.  LOVE the Athletic, but I have a price point.
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I really enjoy it, too, but with no dedicated Duck reporter anymore I may let it go.  I just subscribed to Tyson Alger's new site, I-5 Corridor as I've always liked his Oregon coverage, and I can appreciate a guy trying to make a go of it on his own.

 
Eephus said:
Bearish report in Bloomberg today

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-22/the-athletic-searches-for-a-buyer-and-many-more-subscribers

The Athletic still isn't profitable and is estimated to have about eight months of cash reserve.  The founder is considering introducing advertising because subscription revenue isn't keeping it afloat. Their pivot to video and podcast content was unsuccessful and has already been cut back.
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That blows. Its a great site.

 
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