More from BN sports editor

[YoloinOhio]

Up until this moment, I had absolutely no intention of paying $3 for a news subscription. Ever. But, I have to say, it was rather disappointing when I was blocked from the numerous "Buffalo News Reports" links on this site-- especially since I live in Los Angeles (born and raised in Rochester).

 

So, can someone tell me: Is it worth $3.00? I hate to feel like a sucker.

There is a free two week trial. You can do that and decide. To me, it's so cheap it's irrelevant. There is certainly enough there for the 3/month Edited October 4, 2017 by YoloinOhio

[JoshBarnett]

I appreciate the comments on this thread so far, and I promised I would be back and be checking in. Thanks to those of you who sent well wishes both here and via email.

 

A few thoughts:

 

* Some of the things suggested are things we are doing. We are doing advanced stats breakdowns, PFF grades, diagrams of key plays from the previous game and for the upcoming game. Those elements are derived from the new resources we have dedicated to Bills coverage. If you don't know they are there, that's on us. Not you. As I said the last time, YOU are the customer.

 

* The volume is a big thing to us, and we hope to the reader. You aren't going to read -- or like -- everything. We had 40 posts up Sunday, for example. If you don't like a particular viewpoint or columnist or whomever, there is plenty more there than just that one piece.

 

* I thought this was a great line -- a little reporting, a little dialogue, a little synthesis. I agree with that wholeheartedly and is a strong take. I prefer reported columns and I think there is more of that than you might think and it's something we strive for. I would say most of our columns or analysis pieces have quotes or are gleaned from conversations with people even if not quoted.

 

* More human interest stories. That is a definite thrust of part of what we are doing. I think you have seen some early results on that: On Jordan Poyer from Jay Skurski, on Lorenzo Alexander from Kimberley A. Martin. You also will be seeing more stories about Bills in the community and who these guys are (A bunch of things are in the works for the upcoming days and weeks.)

 

* Gambling. Interesting thoughts on this topic. When I was the editor of USA TODAY Sports Weekly, we brought on board Marc Lawrence from Playbook.com and we worked with Vegas Vic and Benji Eckstein (handicapper for the NY Daily News) when I was in Philly. Something to consider.

 

* Relationship building. We recognize this is key. As noted, with a new administration with the Bills, it takes time for the new faces to get used to our reporters and vice versa. I think you've seen some of the fruits of that already, but it will be a proc ... (sorry).

 

* Fans submissions. When I was in Philly, we started a "Fan Panel." We had a group of fans who had committed to send us a quick reaction piece after every Eagles game. We would then put the best pieces together and post excerpts. As noted, we retained editorial control but it gave a good-sized audience to the thoughts of the fans. Obviously, that was a few years ago and the landscape for message board communities was different. It is an interesting idea to consider trying here.

 

Keep the suggestions coming ...

 

My intent is to have a conversation and make our coverage better. But I will leave this here, it's a two-week free trial. If you hate it, cancel after the two weeks. Another option: We have a daily morning newsletter that is delivered via your email (no cost, no obligation). Take a look at the types of stories we are doing. If you see enough things that you like, then sign up for the free trial. Go to buffalonews.com/newsletter to sign up. And if you don't like the newsletter, you can cancel that, too.

 

Again, don't hesitate to reach out. Email is jbarnett@buffnews.com.

 

Thanks, Josh

[YoloinOhio]

Josh, the Columbus Dispatch runs a very clever piece on Sundays after the Buckeye games called "Scarlet and Gray Matter". It is the first thing I look for every Sunday morning. It's hilarious for one, but it also includes a section of fan tweets from during the game. The author is very interactive on twitter during the game and he uses the replies on his tweets to build the section. Anyway it's brilliant overall and I can give you a link if interested. The original author was Rob Oller and then it was turned over to Todd Jones. He just announced that he's moving on so not sure who has it now.

[ExiledInIllinois]

I would feel like a sucker if I gave $3 to one of the pan-handlers on the street corners... but for this? Just cancel if you don't like it. If it was $30 or $300, then yeah.

Not being negative. But, ever try canceling something? Yeah, like the BN has an agent waiting on the line. SiriusXM is the absolute worse!

 

If you want it... Just give them a Visa gift card number. Have a preset amount of $$ on it. Or, work it like an Apple card.

 

To each their own. Happy revenue hunting.

[Fan in San Diego]

Hi Josh

 

I think it's great you came here to get opinions. I'll do the two week trial period and see if I want to subscribe. Sex sells so put a hot chick daily on the site, kind of like the Toronto Sun. Are they even still around? Get rid of the rain cloud would be another suggestion. Publish places for Richie Incognito to party at, he doesn't seem to be getting out enough.

I know I'm being a smart ass, keep up the good work.

[Acantha]

Hey Josh, I appreciate what you're doing here and trying to do for your company. I'm currently in the middle of the two week trial, and honestly I don't think I'll stay. There's just so much info out there, it doesn't feel worth it.

 

I can't think of a way to list out subject material that would make that change, but here's one thing I know (that has already been alluded to): If Tyler Dunne were still on staff, would pay the money. I would pay more. I clicked on every article I saw his name attached to, and that's true even though I often very much disagreed with his opinions.

 

This isn't mean to imply getting him back. But if you're familiar with what he did, it can probably give you an idea of what many are looking for and why his name keeps getting brought up.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Josh. Why the 300% increase in cost for the same content on the bn website?

 

Why such a dramatic increase? You guys probably lost 80% of your clicks, making advertising less profitable.

 

Who is making these genius decisions and sabotaging your company?

 

 

 

 

Imo

You aren't suppose to do the math!

[JoshBarnett]

Let me touch on the last few comments ...

 

* Honestly, our customer service department has been outstanding related to the new product. Here's my personal offer: You want to cancel and can't get a response in a timely manner, email me your name and phone number. I will walk over to customer service inside the Buffalo News building and watch them call you back to make sure it gets taken care of.

 

* I've addressed this before, but happy to do so again: I's not the same content. I mentioned the 40 items on Sunday. They are 34 on the site right now from today, and we have a few more to come before the night is over. We have moved Mark Gaughan back to the Bills full time. We have added Kimberley A. Martin as a columnist and feature writer. We have added new features. We have a large number of new contributors who are writing on specific topics. You don't like what we're doing? OK. But to say that it's the same content is just not accurate.

 

* Tyler's name has come up a bunch, and I understand it. I brought in Tyler at the Philadelphia Daily News right out of college. He then went to work in Fayetteville, N.C., before coming back to Buffalo. There is no question he is a talented guy and someone I like personally and remain in contact with.

 

Thanks, Josh

[flomoe]

Just the fact you are willing to come on this board and seek feedback (positive or negative) speaks volumes. While I had no intention of getting the subscription before, mostly because there is already so much Bills info out there, I plan on it now. I respect your drive and passion and appreciate the effort you are putting into delivering a great product.

This.

Me too! I'm signing up.

I've been out of Buffalo for 20 years and stopped reading The News many many years ago because it was the same old Negative Nancies following the same script week after week. It appears that you are trying to change the "Process" there and I'm curious how things are being written. I'm willing to give it a shot. Thank you for time and effort to reach out to the fans(readers)!

[plenzmd1]

 

I think you've seen some of the fruits of that already, but it will be a proc ... (sorry).

Yall cheap bastards cant pony up $3 after this golden nugget, ya just being short-sighted!

 

Nice Josh!

[hmsmystic]

First interesting thread here in awhile! Good luck to you Josh. As an Arizona resident, I was buzzkilled to see the charges go online for the content-I can't get the paper!

 

After hearing some of your points, I guess I can see how you would like to charge, but it does seem kinda 2010ish to pay for internet content....

[cba fan]

I like to read articles but I can't justify the expense even though small. I look for free articles.

Josh: I know newspapers have a tough time now getting subscriptions in the internet age and are trying to adapt. But as Tiger says $3 here and then $4 for another newspaper and $3 for another etc etc and so on and so on is not affordable for most. And will only have Bills article when Bills play them.

 

Many sports fans would like to follow the local news in the cities of interest related to Bills for example. But a subscription for 32 or 45 diff newspapers is way too much.

 

Until newspapers band together and offer a multiple subscription for on-line content for one reasonable price, I think it is going to get tougher before it gets better.

 

This is what retarded satellite tv for awhile as they previously had all the channels broadcasting raw feeds(also more interesting) picked up by rich guys with garage sized sat dishes for free tuning in obscure local channels half way across the country to watch sports in that area and local news etc etc and when they rolled out Direct TV and Dish etc etc many of us thought we could then get any local TV channel anywhere in US we wanted for one fee. But noooooooo, can't have that, satellite networks developed there own content, restricted everything else, AND, charged more for sports. So no longer could a transplant in LA tune in to his former hometown channels to see what is going on. A very sad human red tape happening.

 

I am a die hard Clipper fan living near Chicago. Why could I not, for one subscription fee for all US channels, watch the local LA tv channel playing the Clippers and watch the local news that day in LA along with local commercials etc etc and the pre and post game shows on that channel. NBA and NFL MLB etc etc plans cuts off all that content.

Edited October 5, 2017 by cba fan

[eball]

Josh, I hope columns like we saw from Sullivan and Gleason this morning are evidence of a willingness to do more than just criticize the Buffalo sports organizations. And thanks for coming to this forum to share your vision and let us know what's going on at the BN.

[GG]

More of a commentary.

 

Thanks for bringing the BN BLitz podcast to the 21st century. The prior installments with Graham & Dunne sounded like they were submersed in a 1950 Russian submarine. Please consider the audio quality of the recording when they decide to do a remote taping from a crowded bar.

[Big Turk]

Josh,

 

It seems some of the staff had or have some type of personal grudge against the teams for various reasons and write exceptionally negative pieces on them regardless of what is going on. To me it just seems very petty and unprofessional at times.

[BigSky]

I didn't like the idea of paying but after I thought about and realized how hard it is to keep a paper profitable these days it was no biggie. Well worth the expanded coverage and costs about the same as a beer. Who can't afford that?

 

I like the personal stories on the players. Loved the story on Jerry Hughes. He's been my favorite Bill since he came to the team because he always go full boar. Could live without the stupid penalties but love the passion he plays with even when they're out of the playoff race. Was great to hear how hard he works off the field and even better to hear he contributes lots of money to good causes.

 

Thanks for listening and Go Bills!

[blacklabel]

Josh,

 

It seems some of the staff had or have some type of personal grudge against the teams for various reasons and write exceptionally negative pieces on them regardless of what is going on. To me it just seems very petty and unprofessional at times.

 

Not sure if they have an actual grudge but there do appear to be times where some writers come off as miffed that they didn't get the inside info they thought they deserved. When the new regime took over they made an effort to be a more tight-lipped organization with less leaks and that seemed to irritate some of the BN writers. The non-stop criticism and negativity expressed by some does get old. Understood I can read someone else's posts but the justification for their negativity always falls back on the playoff drought. It's like their cover-all excuse to write with a negative slant. We get it. Some guys seem to get hyped up when discussing ways the team can lose. Last week on a show one of the hosts was all but falling out of his chair when discussing Atlanta's run game. "If Atlanta gets that run game going, the Bills are dead! Dead in the water! Forget it, they can forget it, if Atlanta can exploit the run on the edges this team is done!!" Aren't they supposed to be unbiased? And any given Bills player could have an outstanding game and these dudes are gonna talk about, "Let me tell you why Player A really isn't that good. Calm down, Bills fans, this guy is an inconsistent poopyhead who will fail us next time, I guarantee it! What? He's league MVP? No no no, lemme tell you exactly why this guy is a clown show, a total amateur!" Bah.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Can I ask this question, maybe it was answered?

 

Where does your fandom lie and with which sport's teams?

Edited October 5, 2017 by ExiledInIllinois

[Rico]

Josh,

 

Please take into account that the majority of complaints about negative journalism are out of line. This team hasnt been in the playoffs for 17 years now, mostly thanks to having the worst owner in the NFL. Its only been this past off-season that the football side of operations has not had a remnant of Ralph Wilsons regime highly involved in it, and the results have been extremely positive so far. Posters in here will try to defend the indefensible, but the negative press was richly deserved.

 

Please continue to keep it real over there. When things are going good like they are now, positive articles are great to read and are expected. When criticism is warranted though, please dont hold back.

[Lurker]

When criticism is warranted though, please don't hold back.

Rico, not to step on your post but can I add...

 

"When criticism is warranted though, please don't hold back. But make sure the columnist providing the criticism KNOWS WHAT THE HELL THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT, not just typing 'drunk on a barstool' stream-of-consciousness, bit*ching and moaning commentary. Give us more meat, less flatulence."