What does ESPN have in store for its programming plans for 2013-14? The network gives sneak previews across various platforms in its annual showcase for advertisers this morning at the Best Buy Theatre in New York City.
Beginning at 9:15 ET, Front Row provides one-stop shopping for the social media reaction to the #ESPNUpfront via a Live Storify. ESPN previews plans for the return of 30 for 30 Film Series, ESPN The Magazine’s fifth “Body Issue,” the new SportsCenter studio debuting in 2014 (see video above) and much more. In addition, you can follow @ESPNAdSales for live-tweeting from the Best Buy Theater. continue reading…
To mark its 15th Anniversary, ESPN The Magazine reveals “Mag 15,” a double issue with an array of special features including a screenplay about Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant.
The Mag’sSam Alipour — the movie’s “director” and Hollywood insider — takes us behind-the-scenes: continue reading…
Ezekiel Ansah ESPN Magazine feature story. (Courtesy of ESPN The Magazine)
Five years ago, Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah had never seen American football. But Thursday night in New York, the BYU defensive end is expected to be a first-round selection in the 2013 NFL Draft (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET).
How did the former soccer player from Ghana become such a hot prospect? ESPN The Magazine Senior Writer Ryan McGee tells Front Row how he profiled Ansah for the NFL Draft Issue. continue reading…
Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian (L) on the set of Baseball Tonight. (Joe Faraoni / ESPN Images)
If the term “five-tool player” was used to describe sports journalists, ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney would be one of them.
The reporting-face of ESPN’s Major League Baseball coverage, and a 10-year veteran at the company, Olney can be seen on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, heard on his new podcast Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney, and read on ESPN.com and in the pages of ESPN The Magazine. continue reading…
“Stephen Bardo was a leader on a great team,” said Dick Vitale when asked about his memories of the former University of Illinois star point guard. continue reading…
ESPN The Magazine’s ‘Mag 15′ landing page celebrates 15 years of publication.
It was on Monday, March 9, 1998 that we were printing, binding and shipping the Premier Issue of ESPN The Magazine — with a cover date of March 23, 1998.
Pause and reflect on this historical moment as we celebrate The Mag’s 15th anniversary.
To kick off the celebration and release of its upcoming “Mag 15 Issue” (on newsstands May 3), The Mag today will launch a landing page highlighting stories, coverage, photos, and more from issues spanning these last 15 years.
When asked what his 2013 self would say to his 1998 self about the evolution of the magazine, Editor-in-Chief Chad Millman said: “You should really take this Internet thing seriously. And then invent a sleek, wireless reading device. And here’s another tip: You have no idea how important headlines will be when 140 characters is all you get to sell your story on the website you launch, 140charactersorless.com. I’d also tell myself that the magazines will only evolve if you let great writers, photographers, editors and designers tell great stories and get out of their way.”
Beginning today at www.espn.com/mag15, each anniversary from 1998 through 2012 will be celebrated with its own “tab,” unveiled one by one throughout this next month. Each year will house the same set of content including: continue reading…
Gonzaga University’s men’s basketball team has the program’s first-ever No. 1 national ranking, an accomplishment celebrated by the Spokane, Wash. school as the ESPNU Campus Connection video above illustrates.
Tonight in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals, the Zags (29-2, 16-0) attempt to defend their top-ranked status when they meet upstart Loyola Marymount (11-22, 1-15) (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2, WatchESPN). Should Gonzaga end the Lions’ Cinderella run, it would play in the WCC Championship Game in Las Vegas on Monday night (9 p.m. ET, ESPN).
While Gonzaga is leading the WCC to greater prominence, another athletic conference’s profile is changing.
The Big East officially announced on Friday that the Catholic 7 schools will leave the conference on June 30.
In this Outside The Linespodcast, former UConn head coach Jim Calhoun shares some of his favorite Big East memories and his thoughts on the future of the NCAA with host Bob Ley.
ESPN’s College GameDay is on hand for the last Big East regular-season Syracuse-Georgetown game today (12 p.m. ET, ESPN). It’s the opener of a CGD doubleheader; the crew will be in Chapel Hill, N.C. for the nightcap when Duke visits North Carolina.
On the women’s side, Big East Championship Weekcoverage starts Sunday, March 10, with three quarterfinal games on ESPNU and an exclusive game on ESPN3, along with the semifinals on ESPNU and the only women’s title game to be aired on ESPN.
ICYMI: Highlights from the past week on Front Row
• ESPN Radio listeners went “green” for Friday’s edition of Mike and Mike in the Morning. Regular co-host Mike “Greeny” Greenberg welcomed guest co-host Seth Greenberg to the show as a fill in for the absent Mike Golic.
• Wright Thompson’s recent feature on Michael Jordan lead to nearly 2.5 million page views across ESPN.com and ESPN mobile web sites. ESPN.com Editor-in-Chief Patrick Stiegmanshared more insight on ESPN’s approach to feature storytelling across platforms.
• ESPN and Full Sail University unveiled the new Full Sail University Sports Lab Powered by ESPN as part of a celebration of their collaboration. Check it out here.
• Columnist Chris Jones tells the story of a young tennis pro stepping away from the sport she loves due to an ongoing bout with depression in ESPN The Magazine’s latest issue, “One Day, One Game.” He shares some background on the piece.
Row of Four Our favorites from across ESPN over the past weekcontinue reading…
In ESPN The Magazine’s latest issue, “One Day, One Game” on newsstands Friday, columnist Chris Jonestells the story of a young tennis pro stepping away from the sport she loves due to an ongoing bout with depression.
Jones, who writes the back page Magazine column, The Fix, knows just how she feels. He shares some background on the column with Front Row.
Why did you choose this piece to discuss your personal battle with depression?
There is very little I have in common, at least on the surface, with a talented 22-year-old tennis pro named Rebecca Marino. But when she spoke about her struggles with depression, and about her difficulties with social media, I felt as though I could almost finish her sentences for her. I think our readers should be able to expect honesty from us — that we write what we truly believe. Well, I believe strongly that mental illness is something we should talk about, and it would have been dishonest for me to write about it without admitting that I’ve been there.
ESPN The Magazine’s One Day, One Game issue is on newsstands Friday
Take us through the process of writing this column.
I pitched this, and my editor, the excellent Ed McGregor [an ESPN The Magazine Deputy Editor], told me to give it a shot. I write columns all the time that don’t make it into The Magazine — there’s this graveyard of swings and misses clogging up my computer — and here I thought, I’m just going to write this as honestly as I can, and if Ed or [Mag Editor-In-Chief] Chad Millman doesn’t like it, then I’ll just write something else.
That freed me. I just poured it out. I sent it in and the guys were really busy, as usual, and it took them a bit to get back to me. Those waiting hours are stressful for a writer anyway, but here I was like, “Ruh-roh.” Then an email landed from Chad [reading]: “Wow, that was something,” and I took that as a good sign.
What was the initial reaction to your first-person feature for Esquire?continue reading…
Wright Thompson’s profile of Michael Jordan generated nearly 2.5 million page view across ESPN.com and ESPN mobile web sites.
As numbers go, Michael Jordan at 50 years old is huge.
Not just for Jordan, but for many sports fans who never realized he — or we — could be that old. Wright Thompson’s feature story, Michael Jordan Has Not Left the Building, which appeared on ESPN.com and in ESPN The Magazine last month, captured this sentiment in a way that resonated with readers.
In fact, since the piece was published Feb. 15, it has created big numbers of its own, pulling in nearly 2.5 million page views across ESPN.com and ESPN mobile web sites, while engaging readers two to three times as long as the typical ESPN.com article.
Another huge number: Thompson’s article is nearly 8,000 words, making it a “long form” piece of journalism, which continues to be an important form of content for ESPN’s Digital and Print Media group as it continues to explore new and better ways to tell stories. (Another example hit ESPN.com today with Don Van Natta Jr.’sHis Game, His Rules, on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.)
ESPN’s Patrick Stiegman (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
We checked in with Patrick Stiegman, ESPN.com Editor-in-Chief, for more insight on ESPN’s approach to feature storytelling across platforms.
What is it about long form articles that resonates with ESPN’s readers?
It’s all about storytelling. “Long-form” is really an outdated term, especially in a digital age. Our emphasis is not on story length or news hole or word count, it’s about writing a story for what it’s worth. A truly compelling narrative — and Wright’s piece on Michael Jordan is one of the most provocative, insightful, raw and revealing profiles you’ll ever read — is irresistible, whether it’s 1,000 words or 10,000 words. From the stunning illustrations by Mark Smith to the pitch-perfect headline to the gifted reporting and writing to the deft editing by our digital and print enterprise teams, Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building was an exquisite example of one of the most challenging tasks a writer can face: Tell me something truly revelatory about one of the most famous people on the planet. Working with editors Jay Lovinger, Jena Janovy and Bruce Kelley, among others, Wright accepted that challenge, and quite frankly, crushed it.
It seems that more long form pieces have been featured recently on both ESPN.com and in The Magazine. Discuss the cross-platform approach.continue reading…
