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PAC-12 Paid LA Times, Players’ Tribune For Positive Coverage

“Andrew Walker, the conference’s Vice President of Communications, told the paper that reporter Blake Richardson would have access to the SIDs at all 12 PAC-12 schools and they would pitch her stories.”

Published

3 years ago

on

The PAC-12 hired a PR firm in 2018 to help spread some good news about the conference. That isn’t a strange thing for any organization to do, but this PR firm may have gone a step too far, offering payment to multiple publications to write glowing things about the league.

John Canzano of The Oregonian reports that the PR firm suggested the conference approach both The Los Angeles Times and The Players’ Tribune about a deal to pay for content. Canzano writes that a PAC-12 staff member told him “Literally, in a meeting, our communications people were like, ‘Is there anyone we can pay to write positive stories?'”.

He cites evidence that a deal was made with the Los Angeles Times. The conference would pay the paper $100,000 for advertising in exchange for expanded coverage. Andrew Walker, the conference’s Vice President of Communications, told the paper that reporter Blake Richardson would have access to the SIDs at all 12 PAC-12 schools and they would pitch her stories.

The agreement was intended to run for six months. It was cut short by two months when Los Angeles Times staffers found out about the deal and voiced their objections. The paper’s executive editor Norman Pearlstine objects to the idea that the paper violated journalistic ethics, saying that “the contract we drafted and that was subsequently signed by the Pac-12 has no mention of coverage or content production.”

Canzano reports that the conference also came to terms with The Players’ Tribune. That deal resulted in columns for the site that were supposedly written by PAC-12 athletes actually being written by the PR firm. “Part of the conversation with the student-athletes that we worked with was — at their request — that we not publicize the assistance,” Walker told Canzano.

The PAC-12 is a conference that cannot get out of its own way. This is more bad news for a conference that has been fighting perceptions of ineptitude ever since the roll out of the PAC-12 Networks was exceedingly rocky.

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Dave Portnoy Blasts YouTube, Announces Other Plans For Airing Surviving Barstool

“If they’re not smart enough to watch a reality show and realize what’s going on. Fine, whatever.”

Jordan Bondurant

Published

5 hours ago

on

December 1, 2023

By

(Photo: Marcellus Wiley)

Barstool Sports founder and president Dave Portnoy isn’t bending the knee to YouTube.

On Thursday, Portnoy held an emergency press conference on his X account to let fans know that Surviving Barstool — a reality show produced by the company — was being pulled from YouTube. This stemmed from repeated strikes levied against the Barstool channel on the platform due to alleged broadcasting of violent threats.

In one of the Surviving Barstool episodes, Barstool host Kirk Minihane apparently threatened to blow up the house of another show competitor. Portnoy said he was given the option by YouTube to either take down the episodes and edit them to remove the questionable content or continue to receive strikes.

“I’m not changing the f–king episodes,” he said.

“This is Barstool, we’re doing it our f–king way,” Portnoy added. “F–k YouTube if they’re not smart enough to watch a reality show and realize what’s going on. Fine, whatever.”

Ultimately the decision was made to move the Surviving Barstool episodes that had already aired to the outlet’s streaming platform Barstool TV. Future episodes of the season plus the live finale will be available for fans to watch for $9.99.

“I think if you’ve watched it, you’ll admit that it’s worth the price,” Portnoy said. “We gotta make up the money we’re going to lose with all that shit.”

Survivng Barstool is about what you would imagine. It’s the Barstool Sports version of the CBS show Survivor. Contestants on the show are Barstool employees who compete for a $100,000 prize.

Portnoy, who bought back ownership of the outlet he founded and built from the ground up this summer, made it clear that if people thought he would jump when YouTube says jump they need to think again.

“The show is the f–king show, and I would rather eat my f–king insides and smash my d–k with a hammer than have to change the f–king show to make YouTube happy,” he said.

Several Barstool employees responded similarly to Portnoy, airing their displeasure with the situation.

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Dave Portnoy Found Out About The CW, Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl Partnership on X

Portnoy reposted the company’s announcement that it had secured a distribution deal with The CW by saying “Love finding out about this in a tweet.”

Published

15 hours ago

on

November 30, 2023

By

Dave Portnoy
Courtesy: Slaven Vlasic, Getty Images

Earlier today, it was announced that Barstool Sports had partnered with The CW to broadcast the 2023 Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl. However, it appears no one told the company’s founder, Dave Portnoy.

Portnoy reposted the announcement that it had secured a distribution deal to bring the bowl game to terrestrial television with The CW. He accompanied the post by saying “Love finding out about this in a tweet.”

The bowl game’s official X account wrote it was “thrilled to be able to bring the most cutting edge postseason experience to college football fans across the nation.”

Barstool Sports play-by-play voice Jake Marsh shared his enthusiasm for the partnership by calling it “huge news”.

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NSMA Names Finalists for 2023 National Awards

Winners will be invited to the 64th NSMA Awards Weekend & National Convention in June or July 2024.

Jordan Bondurant

Published

1 day ago

on

November 30, 2023

By

The National Sports Media Association (NSMA) on Wednesday announced its finalists for 2023 national awards.

The national sportswriter of the year finalists are: Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN; Dan Wetzel of Yahoo; Dana O’Neil of The Athletic; Jeff Passan of ESPN; Marc J. Spears of Andscape and ESPN; Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic; Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated; Peter King of NBC Sports; Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post, and Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated.

The national Sportscaster of the Year finalists are: Brian Anderson of CBS/TBS/TNT; Charles Barkley of TNT/TBS; Doris Burke of ABC/ESPN; Jim Nantz of CBS; Joe Buck of ESPN; Joe Davis of FOX; Kevin Harlan of CBS/TNT/TBS/Westwood One; Mike Breen of ABC/ESPN; Mike Tirico of NBC, and Sean McDonough of ABC/ESPN.

The Hall of Fame Sportswriter finalists are: Christine Brennan, Claire Smith, Howard Bryant, Ira Berkow, Jayson Stark, Mike Downey, Ralph Wiley, Ray Didinger, Roger Kahn, and Wendell Smith.

The Hall of Fame sportscaster finalists are: Andrea Kremer, Charlie Neal, Don Criqui, Jaime Jarrin, James Brown, Joe Buck, Mary Carillo, Mike Tirico, Phyllis George, and Tim McCarver.

Winners will be invited to the 64th NSMA Awards Weekend & National Convention next summer.

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