MUScoop
MUScoop => Hangin' at the Al => Topic started by: jesmu84 on July 23, 2019, 07:36:12 PM
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Interesting conversation here: https://twitter.com/PaintTouches/status/1153645150482157569?s=19
Looks like I won't be subscribing anytime soon
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Interesting conversation here: https://twitter.com/PaintTouches/status/1153645150482157569?s=19
Looks like I won't be subscribing anytime soon
Yep quite the attitude, yet an MU WBB story later today.
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Yikes
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He sort of seems like an A$$ hat. Though I wonder if the issue is how many MU fans subscribe? I mean between two or three podcasts, consistent MUBB social media presence, cracked sidewalks, paint touches and anonymous eagle. Plus Scoop and Dodds board our market might be fairly saturated.
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Paint Touches asked Maillet why there wasn’t more Marquette coverage, Maillet gave his reasons, which seemed both valid and honest, and Paint Touches then offered some unsolicited suggestions on how he could do his job better. If I had Maillet’s credentials and some independent fan site acted like they knew better than me, I might get a little peeved, too.
When Marquette wins, it’s big news in Wisconsin. But we haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game in six years and our biggest story of the offseason was a negative one involving two players who are no longer with the program. On top of that, all parties involved with that story have stayed mum about its reasons for happening, so there’s even less to say. When there’s actually something newsworthy in the world of Marquette hoops, like our potential commitment tomorrow, I have no doubt The Athletic will report on it.
If you want to read interviews with every player on the team repeating the company line about “chemistry” while everyone knows Markus will get all of the shots, all the time (not some of them some, some of the time, or most of them, most of the time, but all of them, all the time), you can, as Maillet suggested, read the Dodds board.
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Paint Touches asked Maillet why there wasn’t more Marquette coverage, Maillet gave his reasons, which seemed both valid and honest, and Paint Touches then offered some unsolicited suggestions on how he could do his job better. If I had Maillet’s credentials and some independent fan site acted like they knew better than me, I might get a little peeved, too.
When Marquette wins, it’s big news in Wisconsin. But we haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game in six years and our biggest story of the offseason was a negative one involving two players who are no longer with the program. On top of that, all parties involved with that story have stayed mum about its reasons for happening, so there’s even less to say. When there’s actually something newsworthy in the world of Marquette hoops, like our potential commitment tomorrow, I have no doubt The Athletic will report on it.
If you want to read interviews with every player on the team repeating the company line about “chemistry” while everyone knows Markus will get all of the shots, all the time (not some of them some, some of the time, or most of them, most of the time, but all of them, all the time), you can, as Maillet suggested, read the Dodds board.
Between poor grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, leading questions, comparing players to people they've never met and in some cases weren't even alive to witness, misstating facts, and generally boring interviews I have found Dodd's board unreadable. If Maillet has some intern do something similar I'd gladly pay to see it.
Note I have not paid for Dodd's site and am only referring to the free stuff.
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If MU were to sign up Alex Antetokounmpo there would be several flattering articles over the years written by this publication and others.
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If MU were to sign up Alex Antetokounmpo there would be several flattering articles over the years written by this publication and others.
Which would confirm how little they know about college basketball.
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Which would confirm how little they know about college basketball.
Eyeballs are all that matters .
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Paint Touches asked Maillet why there wasn’t more Marquette coverage, Maillet gave his reasons, which seemed both valid and honest, and Paint Touches then offered some unsolicited suggestions on how he could do his job better. If I had Maillet’s credentials and some independent fan site acted like they knew better than me, I might get a little peeved, too.
When Marquette wins, it’s big news in Wisconsin. But we haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game in six years and our biggest story of the offseason was a negative one involving two players who are no longer with the program. On top of that, all parties involved with that story have stayed mum about its reasons for happening, so there’s even less to say. When there’s actually something newsworthy in the world of Marquette hoops, like our potential commitment tomorrow, I have no doubt The Athletic will report on it.
If you want to read interviews with every player on the team repeating the company line about “chemistry” while everyone knows Markus will get all of the shots, all the time (not some of them some, some of the time, or most of them, most of the time, but all of them, all the time), you can, as Maillet suggested, read the Dodds board.
I’m glad all the other players around are okay with Markus getting every shot every time, not just some of the shots some of the time. Goodbye to the players who don’t want to play how their coach wants them to and write petitions about it.
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Eyeballs are all that matters .
Except it's a pay site so substance matters.
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Paint Touches asked Maillet why there wasn’t more Marquette coverage, Maillet gave his reasons, which seemed both valid and honest, and Paint Touches then offered some unsolicited suggestions on how he could do his job better. If I had Maillet’s credentials and some independent fan site acted like they knew better than me, I might get a little peeved, too.
I agree with this. If initial stories don’t gain traction, why would they devote resources?
And what content are people looking for anyway? Most of the stuff written in the MJS is too broad and general for people who are plugged into what’s going on.
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Paint Touches asked Maillet why there wasn’t more Marquette coverage, Maillet gave his reasons, which seemed both valid and honest, and Paint Touches then offered some unsolicited suggestions on how he could do his job better. If I had Maillet’s credentials and some independent fan site acted like they knew better than me, I might get a little peeved, too.
Get peeved sure. Roll your eyes and ignore the tweet. But why as a professional representing your company would you go out of your way to isolate potential and actual customers?
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Get peeved sure. Roll your eyes and ignore the tweet. But why as a professional representing your company would you go out of your way to isolate potential and actual customers?
Look at how bad they are at social media for The Athletic WI. He's out of touch.
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Get peeved sure. Roll your eyes and ignore the tweet. But why as a professional representing your company would you go out of your way to isolate potential and actual customers?
Maillet answered your question in his initial response. Marquette stories don’t sell right now. If it was a Packers fan complaining, he may have been more polite. But a couple of MUBB nerds on the Internet is a piss drop in the ocean of Athletic subscribers.
I’m a Marquette fan, and I subscribe to The Athletic. When I want Marquette news, I come to Scoop and also read the articles in the Journal Sentinel. I don’t even think to look in The Athletic. The number of people who subscribe to The Athletic specifically for news on MU basketball is probably slim to none.
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Paint Touches asked Maillet why there wasn’t more Marquette coverage, Maillet gave his reasons, which seemed both valid and honest, and Paint Touches then offered some unsolicited suggestions on how he could do his job better. If I had Maillet’s credentials and some independent fan site acted like they knew better than me, I might get a little peeved, too.
When Marquette wins, it’s big news in Wisconsin. But we haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game in six years and our biggest story of the offseason was a negative one involving two players who are no longer with the program. On top of that, all parties involved with that story have stayed mum about its reasons for happening, so there’s even less to say. When there’s actually something newsworthy in the world of Marquette hoops, like our potential commitment tomorrow, I have no doubt The Athletic will report on it.
If you want to read interviews with every player on the team repeating the company line about “chemistry” while everyone knows Markus will get all of the shots, all the time (not some of them some, some of the time, or most of them, most of the time, but all of them, all the time), you can, as Maillet suggested, read the Dodds board.
Hot take
Dis dude right
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Maillet answered your question in his initial response. Marquette stories don’t sell right now. If it was a Packers fan complaining, he may have been more polite. But a couple of MUBB nerds on the Internet is a piss drop in the ocean of Athletic subscribers.
I’m a Marquette fan, and I subscribe to The Athletic. When I want Marquette news, I come to Scoop and also read the articles in the Journal Sentinel. I don’t even think to look in The Athletic. The number of people who subscribe to The Athletic specifically for news on MU basketball is probably slim to none.
It wasn't my question. I contribute for Paint Touches but Andrei is Paint Touches not me.
So it's okay to be a rude to potential and actual customers as long as they are one of your smaller populations. If I'm running a business, I would tell my employees not to get into petty internet fights on twitter. Seems like the more sound business practice.
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OK, you want news coverage? Start acting like it!
Begin by getting in the NCAA almost every year.
When you get there, win once and while.
Prove your success is not a fluke.
It also might be nice to be outrageous. Al was outrageous and he was a celebrity who put Marquette on the map.
Say what you want about the Cowboy. He was outrageous too (aka, the dancing at mid-court against the Huggie Bear's Mountaineers). He was sought after by the media.
Finally, say things that matter. We're basketball team, not the CIA. Start acting like you can really talk about your team -- you're not losing your edge because you walk the talk.
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It wasn't my question. I contribute for Paint Touches but Andrei is Paint Touches not me.
So it's okay to be a rude to potential and actual customers as long as they are one of your smaller populations. If I'm running a business, I would tell my employees not to get into petty internet fights on twitter. Seems like the more sound business practice.
Jeff Potrykus posts on Buckyville. Tom Haudricourt regularly argues with and calls out Brewers fans (potential and actual JS customers) on Twitter. Social media and the internet in general have given journalists a platform to blur the line between professional reporter and meatball fan. Maillet’s response wasn’t unusual or particularly offensive, in my opinion. It’s just the way things are nowadays. If you or the other folks at Paint Touches don’t enjoy The Athletic’s coverage of Marquette basketball, just cancel your subscription.
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Jeff Potrykus posts on Buckyville. Tom Haudricourt regularly argues with and calls out Brewers fans (potential and actual JS customers) on Twitter. Social media and the internet in general have given journalists a platform to blur the line between professional reporter and meatball fan. Maillet’s response wasn’t unusual or particularly offensive, in my opinion. It’s just the way things are nowadays. If you or the other folks at Paint Touches don’t enjoy The Athletic’s coverage of Marquette basketball, just cancel your subscription.
I don't have a subscription to the Athletic, lack of MUBB coverage is the primary reason why.
As for the rest, fair enough. Maybe I don't follow enough journalists in the twitterverse to know what normal is nowadays. Potrykus is an unprofessional hack. I haven't seen what you've mentioned with Handicort but I honestly don't follow his tweets.
What I do know is that if any of my employees acted that way on twitter while representing my employer, we'd be having a conversation about customer service and protecting the brand.
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Athletic basically filling a void that occurred because Sports Illustrated dropped the ball when the digital age came.
The business while survive as long as they can keep convincing investors to pony up for new rounds of financing and also convincing subscribers to renew their subscriptions.
Honestly, I prefer the content created by the people posting on MU Scoop. It is way more insightful and valuable to the true Marquette fan. We also have a great JS beat writer, Anonymous Eagle, Paint Touches and Dodds Interviews . Collectively that is treasure trove of content. When the season comes the TV production values of FS1 and CBS Sports are fantastic.
In general the college basketball media eco system is very well developed, and serves my needs well.
The other sports I am interested in College Football, PGA Tour and College Lacrosse all have very good and in depth media coverage .
So in general I have no need for the Athletic. Although I was a long term subscriber to Sports Illustrated for many years back in the day.
There was a period when , on the side , I wrote a daily column for a leading financial website. We had tremendous numbers of daily users and all the proper media metrics in terms of high net worth customers that advertising would cr$58eam their j&8eans for. . Many of our contributors were featured on the major cable financial networks and thus our visibility was high. Still with all of that, the business was not a consistent profit maker and had a very low valuation when it was sold. I am pointing this out because at some point the investor money for the athletic will run out and they will be left to survive in the wild. Will be interesting to see how robust their operation will remain when they hit that wall.
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Look at how bad they are at social media for The Athletic WI. He's out of touch.
Jeff “Maillet In” calls himself a Marquette Warrior?
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The assumption the audience isn't there is simply wrong. MU fans are the 17th largest fanbase among kenpom subscribers. Three podcasts, of which Scrambled Eggs alone draws over 10,000 downloads per episode. When followers mattered, we were always one of the top TBT fanbases.
Marquette is a small school, but we have a large online following and one willing to pay for quality content. The problem isn't the fanbase, it's the offerings from The Athletic.
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The back and forth with the guy from The Athletic made Marquette fans look bad, not the other way around.
The same goes for guys who go to other team’s boards and decide to speak for the entire fan base.
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Arguing that the BEPOY and second team all american who has done nothing but bring honor to Marquette is a cancer isn't the best look.
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The back and forth with the guy from The Athletic made Marquette fans look bad, not the other way around.
The same goes for guys who go to other team’s boards and decide to speak for the entire fan base.
Mhm
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I subscribe to the Athletic and read it almost daily. Their coverage of California and Texas teams I find excellent. They have other "pockets" of excellence and a couple of great writers that remind me of Sports Illustrated in its heyday. Their coverage of Wisconsin sports overall - including Bucks and Packers - sucks. The articles are thin in content or not well written, and there just is not very much coverage at all.
I'd like to see it improve. I miss what Sports Illustrated used to be. ESPN the magazine was (is? I don't know if it still exists) was horrible with everything in 100 word (max) blurbs. I enjoy the confluence of sports and good writing and appreciate where the Athletic has brought it back.
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I subscribe to the Athletic and read it almost daily. Their coverage of California and Texas teams I find excellent. They have other "pockets" of excellence and a couple of great writers that remind me of Sports Illustrated in its heyday. Their coverage of Wisconsin sports overall - including Bucks and Packers - sucks. The articles are thin in content or not well written, and there just is not very much coverage at all.
I'd like to see it improve. I miss what Sports Illustrated used to be. ESPN the magazine was (is? I don't know if it still exists) was horrible with everything in 100 word (max) blurbs. I enjoy the confluence of sports and good writing and appreciate where the Athletic has brought it back.
I think Eric Nehm does a great job on the Bucks and Michael Cohen did great Packers work. They just hired Jason Wilde, so it’ll be all seashells and balloons and fluff.
The National folks spend far too much time trying to find tearjerkers instead of doing hard news. The stroking of college coaches is gross
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The assumption the audience isn't there is simply wrong. MU fans are the 17th largest fanbase among kenpom subscribers. Three podcasts, of which Scrambled Eggs alone draws over 10,000 downloads per episode. When followers mattered, we were always one of the top TBT fanbases.
Marquette is a small school, but we have a large online following and one willing to pay for quality content. The problem isn't the fanbase, it's the offerings from The Athletic.
I don't think you understand. The Athletic isn't going to invest in dedicated articles for smaller fanbases. That's really not their thing. And arguing with a guy on Twitter and telling them it should be their thing isn't going to change that.
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I don't think you understand. The Athletic isn't going to invest in dedicated articles for smaller fanbases. That's really not their thing. And arguing with a guy on Twitter and telling them it should be their thing isn't going to change that.
But the post paint touches showed that they have invested in quite a few articles for smaller programs within our own conference
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But the post paint touches showed that they have invested in quite a few articles for smaller programs within our own conference
Awesome.
Maybe I just get annoyed at the whole "people don't wrote enough about Marquette" line that I read on here. Again, are people lacking enough Marquette content in their lives? What would more Athletic content give you that you don't already have?
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I don't think you understand. The Athletic isn't going to invest in dedicated articles for smaller fanbases. That's really not their thing. And arguing with a guy on Twitter and telling them it should be their thing isn't going to change that.
But sports fans cross over to multiple teams. I'm not just a Marquette fan, I'm a Packers, Brewers, and Bucks fan, too.
I was on the fence about subscribing to The Athletic. Marquette coverage would have been the tipping point to get me to subscribe. Now I know I won't be subscribing to them.
I understand the business side. Resources cost money and Marquette fans aren't easy subscriptions. But it is poor business to alienate customers and potential customers.
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Awesome.
Maybe I just get annoyed at the whole "people don't wrote enough about Marquette" line that I read on here. Again, are people lacking enough Marquette content in their lives? What would more Athletic content give you that you don't already have?
I don't believe that MU is lacking coverage hence my post questioning whether the market was saturated. That being said if I was a subscriber and saw a major dip in coverage of my team during the off-season and saw similar or smaller programs not have a dip I do believe it would be worth a conversation.
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Would you rather have a dip in coverage or a raft of negative stories?
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Would you rather have a dip in coverage or a raft of negative stories?
Are these the only two options? Xavier has had 7 articles in July ranging from interview with NBA alumni, summer league talks with former X players, talking about freshman, and even recruiting.
If there's a choice number three that is similar to Xavier's coverage I'd be taking that one and happily subscribe.
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I don't think you understand. The Athletic isn't going to invest in dedicated articles for smaller fanbases. That's really not their thing. And arguing with a guy on Twitter and telling them it should be their thing isn't going to change that.
No, I don't think you understand. The user base, content demand, and willingness to pay for said content is there. What The Athletic's thing is I would imagine is making money off a subscriber base. If they provided quality content, Marquette has a fanbase that has demonstrated they will pay.
The Xavier content is a good example. Similar city size, similar fanbase, there's no reason to supply content for X and not Marquette. Further, JSOnline proved you can grow and build a user base through Matt Velazquez and Ben Steele, and that started when Marquette was down as a program. Ignoring MU as a target is simply a bad business decision for The Athletic in the state of Wisconsin.
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Would you rather have a dip in coverage or a raft of negative stories?
Based on the stuff being written by The Athletic writers, you’ll be hard pressed to ever worry about negative stories.
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No, I don't think you understand. The user base, content demand, and willingness to pay for said content is there. What The Athletic's thing is I would imagine is making money off a subscriber base. If they provided quality content, Marquette has a fanbase that has demonstrated they will pay.
They have? Based on what?
The Xavier content is a good example. Similar city size, similar fanbase, there's no reason to supply content for X and not Marquette. Further, JSOnline proved you can grow and build a user base through Matt Velazquez and Ben Steele, and that started when Marquette was down as a program. Ignoring MU as a target is simply a bad business decision for The Athletic in the state of Wisconsin.
Yes, I am sure you know more about their business model then they do. ::)
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Maillet was at the MJS for years. He's seen the traffic count for MU every day for a decade. He knows what gets clicks.
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Why anyone would need anything beyond Scoop? I'm not just saying that, I mean really.
Nearly every article on mubb gets posted here. Even those behind paywalls .. someone will post a summary or the news tid-bit gets paraphrased and debated. "The article said that blah blah blah."
It's hard to imagine any mubb news escapes notice in the Scoop universe.
Even if it was, our infinite room full of infinite monkeys would eventually post it.
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They have? Based on what?
MU fans are the 17th largest fanbase among kenpom subscribers. Three podcasts, of which Scrambled Eggs alone draws over 10,000 downloads per episode. When followers mattered, we were always one of the top TBT fanbases.
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Why anyone would need anything beyond Scoop? I'm not just saying that, I mean really.
Nearly every article on mubb gets posted here. Even those behind paywalls .. someone will post a summary or the news tid-bit gets paraphrased and debated. "The article said that blah blah blah."
It's hard to imagine any mubb news escapes notice in the Scoop universe.
Even if it was, our infinite room full of infinite monkeys would eventually post it.
This. Especially back when the JS articles were automatically posted on here
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This. Especially back when the JS articles were automatically posted on here
I always try to post JS articles here so they can get page views . We have had excellent beat writers recently .
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No, I don't think you understand. The user base, content demand, and willingness to pay for said content is there. What The Athletic's thing is I would imagine is making money off a subscriber base. If they provided quality content, Marquette has a fanbase that has demonstrated they will pay.
The Xavier content is a good example. Similar city size, similar fanbase, there's no reason to supply content for X and not Marquette. Further, JSOnline proved you can grow and build a user base through Matt Velazquez and Ben Steele, and that started when Marquette was down as a program. Ignoring MU as a target is simply a bad business decision for The Athletic in the state of Wisconsin.
I think the hard truth here is that Xavier has been a much better program recently than Marquette. They are more nationally relevant than we are right now.
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The Xavier content is a good example. Similar city size, similar fanbase, there's no reason to supply content for X and not Marquette. Further, JSOnline proved you can grow and build a user base through Matt Velazquez and Ben Steele, and that started when Marquette was down as a program. Ignoring MU as a target is simply a bad business decision for The Athletic in the state of Wisconsin.
I assume that in time, MU will get more coverage if/when 1) The Athletic continues to expand, and 2) MU maintains national relevancy.
When you look at the way the site is built, they have dedicated resources for what they have deemed to be key cities. Cincinnati is one of them, and Milwaukee isn't (yet). So I think that plays a role in the Xavier vs. MU coverage. Since Milwaukee isn't a primary city, that leaves MU to be covered by the Athletic WI group. So when you look at where MU falls on a priority basis for that team, MU hoops is probably #6 in the pecking order. Resources will go to all pro teams, then the major UW teams before they go to MU, especially in the offseason.
I'm guessing most people on this board are sports fans and not just MU basketball fans. The coverage for my other favorite teams has been great and well worth the subscription. Any time I can get an MU article, I just view it as icing on the cake.
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Maillet was at the MJS for years. He's seen the traffic count for MU every day for a decade. He knows what gets clicks.
Chicken and Egg.
The state of Wisconsin is also massively provincial in nature...and even though MU is in Milwaukee, it will be treated differently than Wisconsin or any public entity. Just the way it goes. We had MJS editors tell us straight to our faces when I worked at MU. Nothing will change their minds, so as an outcropping, other media fills the void which is fine by me. User generated. It is happening all over and if bigger media wants to pick and choose as they have, then others will respond to the call.
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Chicken and Egg.
The state of Wisconsin is also massively provincial in nature...and even though MU is in Milwaukee, it will be treated differently than Wisconsin or any public entity. Just the way it goes. We had MJS editors tell us straight to our faces when I worked at MU. Nothing will change their minds, so as an outcropping, other media fills the void which is fine by me. User generated. It is happening all over and if bigger media wants to pick and choose as they have, then others will respond to the call.
Athletic is behind a pay wall that is limited to their subscribers. Mass media attention more important to MU. I remember back in Al’s time MU could do no wrong in the eyes of the local media and there was a constant flow of coverage. All we have to do is win and that will come back again.
Also if Markus goes off this year the way I think he will ( 28 ppg type season) there will be plenty of feature articles on him.
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They have? Based on what?
What I posted above. The Twitter discussion included all of that, as well as Ben Steele, the JS beat writer, weighing in about the online fanbase growth during Matt Velazquez's tenure even as Marquette was in the midst of three consecutive years without a NCAA bid.
Yes, I am sure you know more about their business model then they do. ::)
I'm basing it strictly off what Maillet himself said:
Another interesting business model, devote resources and money to a team that generates no views or subs.
Clearly Pomeroy proves that Marquette does indeed generate views and subscriptions. And Pomeroy does that without Marquette specific content. Cracked Sidewalks, Scrambled Eggs, Paint Touches, Anonymous Eagle, MU Wire, Real Chilly, all of those are generating views. BCB and Dodds' site both generate revenue and traffic through a subscription model. To assert that this fanbase won't provide traffic or subscriptions when there are three other sites generating both from this fanbase and thousands willing to at least devote time to quality content when it is provided is simple ignorance.
If he wanted to leave it at "I don't have a writer" that would be a fine defense. Say you don't have someone to do the job. But to say this fanbase doesn't provide traffic flies in the face of what numerous other sites have proven there is a market for.
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There's different sizes of markets. A 10k (free) market size is probably not attractive to a business who has raised 100 million dollars and is looking to become a multi billion dollar business. I'm sure they will take some loss leaders to maintain their authority, but they can easily throw in a few articles as needed per year to say they support MU. 17th in kenpom subs doesn't really mean anything. There's no context to that. Even at 1000 subscriptions you only generate 20k in revenue. I'd assume that number is closer to 100 subscriptions too. A company that investors value at over 100m is not going to focus on anything this small when there is a clear opportunity cost to chasing small fish. Free clicks and downloads with some ads are a much different game than subs.
Tldr MU might be a good opportunity for a solopreneur looking to make a few bucks, but not for a 100M company looking to turn a profit and become a billion dollar company.
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Clearly Pomeroy proves that Marquette does indeed generate views and subscriptions. And Pomeroy does that without Marquette specific content. Cracked Sidewalks, Scrambled Eggs, Paint Touches, Anonymous Eagle, MU Wire, Real Chilly, all of those are generating views. BCB and Dodds' site both generate revenue and traffic through a subscription model. To assert that this fanbase won't provide traffic or subscriptions when there are three other sites generating both from this fanbase and thousands willing to at least devote time to quality content when it is provided is simple ignorance.
If he wanted to leave it at "I don't have a writer" that would be a fine defense. Say you don't have someone to do the job. But to say this fanbase doesn't provide traffic flies in the face of what numerous other sites have proven there is a market for.
Comparing kenpom to The Athletic is apples and oranges, though. Everyone I know that subscribes to kenpom is a stats nerd and loves digging into the numbers on their own. That is a pretty unique set of fans, and I doubt Athletic editors would view it as a barometer for their own site.
The bigger picture in all this, though, is that even though there is a decent chunk of MU fans that might subscribe, we're going to be much lower on the totem pole than every pro team, individual professional sports (ie- golf, MMA) most college football teams, and a lot of other college basketball teams. So these guys would probably rather get another 2% of Packers fans or another 3% of PGA fans to subscribe before going after MU fans.
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I would also say that Marquette being 17th in KenPom subscriptions may speak more to the lack of popularity of college basketball at football schools than it does to the popularity of Marquette.
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Marquette may have an incredibly fierce and loyal following for niche products like Pomeroy, podcasts and even games* (we're Top 25 attendance school) but when it comes to casual fans we have very little comparatively. That is why mainstream (MJS) or near mainstream outlets like the Athletic are not going to focus on us. We're a Catholic school in the 33rd DMA with < 8,500 undergrads and very little non alumni fans. I do realize there are the some (and some great one on this board) but walk the streets of Anytown, WI and those random MU fans are the exception.
* And even for games I would bet that the Bucks have 6-8 times the number of unique visitors to games than we do (accounting for total # of home games of course).
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I think that ignoring any fanbase of a top-25ish program is probably a mistake. With the exception of all but maybe 2-3 high majors, each of those programs generates enough interest not just in their own fanbase but also within their conference.
When the fanbase is literally saying "we're here and will pay for content" that's worth marketing to. When you go to the Athletic's CBB dropdown, 8 of the 10 Big East teams are highlighted as teams you can search for, including Marquette. There are only 34 teams listed there. So basically, you're branding us as one of the top programs in terms of interest, along with the vast majority of our league (DePaul and Providence left out) and yet not providing content. That's just an odd choice to make.
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I think that ignoring any fanbase of a top-25ish program is probably a mistake. With the exception of all but maybe 2-3 high majors, each of those programs generates enough interest not just in their own fanbase but also within their conference.
When the fanbase is literally saying "we're here and will pay for content" that's worth marketing to. When you go to the Athletic's CBB dropdown, 8 of the 10 Big East teams are highlighted as teams you can search for, including Marquette. There are only 34 teams listed there. So basically, you're branding us as one of the top programs in terms of interest, along with the vast majority of our league (DePaul and Providence left out) and yet not providing content. That's just an odd choice to make.
I doubt teams like Gonzaga, Nevada, Butler or Houston are getting their own writers despite recent sustained success. Teams without big fanbases just don't drive dollars. And for a company with finite resources, that matters.
And for comparison's sake, I took a look through Villanova's page to see what kind of content they get. They don't seem to have a dedicated writer. A lot of the articles posted on their page are by national CBB writers that happen to mention Villanova. Of the few articles written specifically about Nova, they are written by a variety of people, none of whom mention Villanova basketball in their bio summary. So even Villanova doesn't have a big enough fanbase in the eyes of the Athletic to have a dedicated writer.
The site has expanded a ton since it started, though. So as it expands, we'll get more coverage of teams and cities that are currently viewed as secondary. And hopefully, while that's going on, MU will be relevant enough on a national basis to get some content from the Seth Davises and Dana O'Neils of the world too.