Pittsburgh Media Thread - Still the Worst

[Joejosh999]

Agree Dinfire, and the problem is IMO that he simply does not provide that much expertise w his crew. He's got a bunch of meh reporters who give a more or less decent recap, but that's it. Katie was one of many.

Yohe was supposedly a coup and I always thought of Josh as simply a solid reporter, not much insight, nothing more. Did he ever scoop anything, ever?

I have to say I think DK himself can write a good column, he's talented.

But I don't see that he has a talented stable, at all.

And given its fairly clear now that he's a titanic arsehole, I doubt he'll be attracting any more talented reporters. It is what it is. Avg reporting and the occasional good column, but that's all.

 

[Dinfire]

He doesn’t even have to have the most informed people with insider connections. Scoops are overrated when building a media business. What good does it actually do? All the other outlets are just going to tweet the news with a credit (if you’re lucky). It’s not going to bring people to your site and it’s definitely not going to get them to pay/subscribe. Being behind a paywall where people can’t share your content on social media is also a huge hindrance. New media is about having personalities people either love or love to hate. Those people need unique personalities and takes that aren’t repeating what everyone else is saying. New formats and content types also help. If he were smart he would sign Pittsburgh Dad to a contract and make his show exclusive to DK with a timed release to YouTube. I could go on and on about what he should be doing, but by the looks of it, he’s not very receptive to new ideas from people who actually understand media production, distrubution, and monetization in 2018.

 

[Rossi Rat]

Agree Dinfire, and the problem is IMO that he simply does not provide that much expertise w his crew. He's got a bunch of meh reporters who give a more or less decent recap, but that's it. Katie was one of many.

Yohe was supposedly a coup and I always thought of Josh as simply a solid reporter, not much insight, nothing more. Did he ever scoop anything, ever?

I have to say I think DK himself can write a good column, he's talented.

But I don't see that he has a talented stable, at all.

And given its fairly clear now that he's a titanic ********, I doubt he'll be attracting any more talented reporters. It is what it is. Avg reporting and the occasional good column, but that's all.

Yeah this... I mean the massive attack on Katie Brown, but are Chris Bradford, Gajtka, Chris Mueller (?) that much better...?

 

[Shady Machine]

DK probably should have partnered with the Athletic when the time came.

 

[billybudd]

DK probably should have partnered with the Athletic when the time came.

Deep pocket venture capitalist buying equity in a similar local firm and then forcing the owner/operator out because, while they want his marketshare, they don't need him, personally, is a very, very common story.

If he'd done that, I suspect he'd still be a dead man walking, but he'd go out having that initial cash infusion in his bank account, rather than letting entropy/obsolescence get him (trajectory he's on now).

I'm not a lawyer, but I wonder if DK crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's in his initial terms of service agreement. He sold a lot of "lunatic" subscriptions...what if he doesn't last until their expiry? Did he leave himself open to a class action lawsuit?

One potential way out might be for the Athletic to buy him out down the road and convert DK subs to Athletic subs (happens all the time in fitness mergers). He'd get way less for his company than he would if he'd sold it a year and a half ago, though. Possibly as little as $1.

 

[Pens1566]

His ego would have never allowed him to sell out initially. Doubtful it will on the way out either. He'll blame everyone else but himself, and end up with nothing.

 

[Freeptop]

Most start-ups hire a ton of people for the first year, then the next year first quarter, they start to let people go slowly because things are stable. In a "thanks for helping us get stable and run smoothly, now it's time for you to go!" and I have worked for some start-ups that do run well, but we live in a world where on-boarding and off-boarding is a thing, massive companies abuse it and they are within the laws to do so, it's a ****ty dick move that happens far too often.

Huh. Maybe tech company startups just work differently, then, because that's very different from not just my own experience, but that of most of the people I know who have been in startups.

I've generally seen it work like this: Small group of people start the company and get things started, generally with some sort of seed funding. Once they get to the point (usually at least a couple of years in) where they've convinced investors that the company has a chance, and thus, have gotten some real capital funding in, they start expanding rapidly in order to attempt to hit a marketing window for the technology. From there, things go in one of a few directions:
1. Fail hard. Doors close, company shuts down.
2. Don't get the market they were aiming for, have to limp along on funding instead of revenue for longer than expected. End up having to lay people off because investors don't want to pour more money into payroll. I've seen companies that hit on this one go on to make it a cycle of: grow, discover they don't hit revenue targets, layoff, get more funding and grow again, wash, rinse, repeat. Eventually they end up at option 1, 3 or 4, since the funding will eventually dry up if they don't increase revenue.
3. Succeed in having net income from revenue. Company continues to grow as revenues grow. (Admittedly, this is the least common outcome).
4. Company gets acquired.

I suppose I've seen some of the "thanks for helping us get stable" kind of terminations, but that's usually at the executive level. At the engineering level, startups don't want to see knowledge of the tech leave the company, if they can afford to keep it.

 

[cassius]

What do you think of his work so far as the new Pens play-by-play announcer?

My opinion: He is a HUGE upgrade over Steigerwald - I like the professionalism and knowledge that he brings to the table. His attentiveness towards the action on the ice is especially appreciated.. I think as time goes on he will continue to grow into the role and do an even better job.

If I am being honest, Steiggerwald really wore on me there towards the end. It seemed like he consciously shunned his duties to actually call the action on the ice, instead, choosing to unfairly subject fans to a revolving door of long-winded antecdotes and stories of little to no entertainment value.

 

[Finesse]

I like him. I can't imagine complaining about Mears, being that he replaced Steigy. And yet, some people still do.

 

[KIRK]

Katie Brown can suck at her job and DK is a horrible person. Both things can be true. Katie strikes me as every millennial dip**** I interview whose first question is usually about how many weeks vacation they are entitled to.

Regardless, in about a week or so, this will be the most active thread on our board no matter what the team does.

Tease

 

[dogthateats]

I like him too. Way better than Steigy. Dissapointed that he mentioned the Skinner figure skating connection last game though.

 

[cassius]

I don't really have any huge issues with any of this. I mean, I kept reading expecting like that he sent unsolicited dick pics, withheld paychecks, or verbally abused her or something. He sounds like an ass to work for, that's about it. It also sounds like she sucked at her job, in the boss's opinion at least.

Being a dick to others, is bad for business..

I agree with you. Nothing he did was truly horrible, but it's easy to see the guy is a dick. I would never support a business with a person like that in charge.

Also - from a recruiting perspective, he is going to have a harder and harder time getting writers to join up with his site. He basically pulled the plug on someone who was ramping up into a new role and disparaged her during her ramp-up period. Not good.

I'll say that Katie Brown seems like a mix of incompetent and mentally weak, not someone I would hire..

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Being a dick to others, is bad for business..

I agree with you. Nothing he did was truly horrible, but it's easy to see the guy is a dick. I would never support a business with a person like that in charge.

Also - from a recruiting perspective, he is going to have a harder and harder time getting writers to join up with his site. He basically pulled the plug on someone who was ramping up into a new role and disparaged her during her ramp-up period. Not good.

I'll say that Katie Brown seems like a mix of incompetent and mentally weak, not someone I would hire..

But I bet KB wasn't exactly a treat to work with either. Her work sucks, so maybe DK should have done better research on his hire.

Reading her tweets, you get a clearer picture that she's "one of those" people and I am sure she plays the victim incredibly well and in this case, DK plays the terror really well too. It was never going to work with the attitude of Brown vs Dejan.

 

[cassius]

But I bet KB wasn't exactly a treat to work with either. Her work sucks, so maybe DK should have done better research on his hire.

Reading her tweets, you get a clearer picture that she's "one of those" people and I am sure she plays the victim incredibly well and in this case, DK plays the terror really well too. It was never going to work with the attitude of Brown vs Dejan.

I agree with you. She comes across as weak, vulnerable, insecure, and unstable. Not someone I would hire at all. She is early in her career and there will come a time when she encounters a boss way tougher than Dejan. She had better toughen up and stop being such a wimp or she won't be in the workforce for very long.

I will say she probably got an unfair shake from Dejan, but the way she handled it does not reflect well on her character.

I want to point out that not all millenials are like her though. There are a ton of people I know who are both physically and mentally tough. I know some tough SOB's that put up with bosses far worse than Dejan without complaining once along the way. Lets not paint an entire generation with a broad brush.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I agree with you. She comes across as weak, vulnerable, insecure, and unstable. Not someone I would hire at all. She is early in her career and there will come a time when she encounters a boss way tougher than Dejan. She had better toughen up and stop being such a wimp or she won't be in the workforce for very long.

I want to point out that not all millenials are like her though. There are a ton of people I know who are both physically and mentally tough. I know some tough SOB's that put up with bosses far worse than Dejan without complaining once along the way. Lets not paint an entire generation with a broad brush.

The shitty thing is this, KB is probably sitting there pushing the narrative that she was fired because she was a woman and if she was a dude, she'd have a longer leash on her work, which doesn't fly considering that idiot DK isn't afraid to hire women if they are solid writers and he has done so, he is a pompus idiot but she is likely never going to succeed because she has that personality where it's "Oh, I was fired because I am a woman and that's not fair."

When in reality it's - "You were hired to do a job, you should have done your research for your future boss, its his 'baby' so he's going to be overly attached and overly critical to an annoying and douche like degree, so grow thick skin." We have all worked for shitty bosses, male or female, you learned to find a common ground or how to deal with it, if making ends meet matters.

By one of those, I meant one of those people that sees something like her X-Files tweet about how it took this and that long for a female director or a character on the show to have a desk, etc etc, like really? You are literally bitching about something over 17yrs old. I meant she's one of those as in she's one of those people that looks for things that aren't there for some agenda or narrative that lets her continue to play victim.

 

[cassius]

The ****ty thing is this, KB is probably sitting there pushing the narrative that she was fired because she was a woman and if she was a dude, she'd have a longer leash on her work, which doesn't fly considering that idiot DK isn't afraid to hire women if they are solid writers and he has done so, he is a pompus idiot but she is likely never going to succeed because she has that personality where it's "Oh, I was fired because I am a woman and that's not fair."

When in reality it's - "You were hired to do a job, you should have done your research for your future boss, its his 'baby' so he's going to be overly attached and overly critical to an annoying and *****e like degree, so grow thick skin." We have all worked for ****ty bosses, male or female, you learned to find a common ground or how to deal with it, if making ends meet matters.

By one of those, I meant one of those people that sees something like her X-Files tweet about how it took this and that long for a female director or a character on the show to have a desk, etc etc, like really? You are literally *****ing about something over 17yrs old. I meant she's one of those as in she's one of those people that looks for things that aren't there for some agenda or narrative that lets her continue to play victim.

I agree.. and the perpetuation of that narrative is actually counter productive to women getting more opportunities in the business world. It will make employers less apt to hire women in future roles for fear of that same situation happening again.

She should have toughened up, put on her big girl pants, and dealt with the situation... or had a 1:1 chat with Dejan with an action plan to get ramped up... all while scoping out other jobs. It seems like she kind of just threw her hands up and played the victim card instead, unfortunately.

We've all been in crappy jobs with horrible bosses who treat us poorly or unfairly. If I were in that scenario, I would bide my time, create an action plan to find a better job, then resign from the role with grace and thank them for the opportunity.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I agree.. and the perpetuation of that narrative is actually counter productive to women getting more opportunities in the business world. It will make employers less apt to hire women in future roles for fear of that same situation happening again.

And that's why I don't think she will succeed in that line of work. Her personality seems to be that type and I think future employers will see that if they do their due diligence.

 

[billybudd]

The ****ty thing is this, KB is probably sitting there pushing the narrative that she was fired because she was a woman and if she was a dude, she'd have a longer leash on her work, which doesn't fly considering that idiot DK isn't afraid to hire women if they are solid writers and he has done so, he is a pompus idiot but she is likely never going to succeed because she has that personality where it's "Oh, I was fired because I am a woman and that's not fair."

When in reality it's - "You were hired to do a job, you should have done your research for your future boss, its his 'baby' so he's going to be overly attached and overly critical to an annoying and *****e like degree, so grow thick skin." We have all worked for ****ty bosses, male or female, you learned to find a common ground or how to deal with it, if making ends meet matters.

By one of those, I meant one of those people that sees something like her X-Files tweet about how it took this and that long for a female director or a character on the show to have a desk, etc etc, like really? You are literally *****ing about something over 17yrs old. I meant she's one of those as in she's one of those people that looks for things that aren't there for some agenda or narrative that lets her continue to play victim.

As an aside, wasn't the premise of the show that the X-files was such a low-priority division that it only had one agent assigned to it? And that the female lead was from another division on a temp-assignment to make a recommendation as to whether it should be shut down? If I'm remembering this right, it would make sense that red-haired lady didn't have a desk in that ratty, boiler-room looking office of whatshisname--technically, she didn't even work in that building, let alone division or office.

She probably had a cleaner, bigger office in a medical building somewhere (tempted to scroll through netflix synopses to figure this out, but I'm not going to). As a physician for the FBI, she was almost certainly making more money than he was, btw.

 

[Pancakes]

What do you think of his work so far as the new Pens play-by-play announcer?

My opinion: He is a HUGE upgrade over Steigerwald - I like the professionalism and knowledge that he brings to the table. His attentiveness towards the action on the ice is especially appreciated.. I think as time goes on he will continue to grow into the role and do an even better job.

If I am being honest, Steiggerwald really wore on me there towards the end. It seemed like he consciously shunned his duties to actually call the action on the ice, instead, choosing to unfairly subject fans to a revolving door of long-winded antecdotes and stories of little to no entertainment value.

He's an upgrade over Steiggy but he's a little boring. I don't dislike him but I wouldn't say I like him either. He's just....there.

 

[Deczola73]

Is there anyone here that likes Bob Errey?

 

[Fordy]

yeah you guys are right this katie brown person should have catered harder to the absolute manchild that runs a shitty pgh sports site. you know, the guy that is constantly shit on here, until all of a sudden there's a woman complaining and then you all start defending him. there's no way dk treats his female employees with less respect than his male employees, we know this because reasons. also she made some tweets y'all don't like apparently. disgusting

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

Is there anyone here that likes Bob Errey?

I like him better now. Steigy brought out the worst in him I felt. In past years when I'd catch Errey in a rare appearance on NHL Network, he was really good. As a pair though they were just terrible though IMO. Now I think he's still a little silly which is fine, he just doesn't overdo it, and he actually *gasp* will criticize the Penguins during a broadcast. So all in all, I think he's pretty decent at this point.

 

[Jacob]

yeah you guys are right this katie brown person should have catered harder to the absolute manchild that runs a ****ty pgh sports site. you know, the guy that is constantly **** on here, until all of a sudden there's a woman complaining and then you all start defending him. there's no way dk treats his female employees with less respect than his male employees, we know this because reasons. also she made some tweets y'all don't like apparently. disgusting

 

[Shady Machine]

Is there anyone here that likes Bob Errey?

I do. I don't LOVE him, but I think he's fairly entertaining and knowledgeable. Honestly though, I like the Ole 29er better and might even like Josh Getzoff as play by play better than Mears. Both are new to the job and clearly still learning, but something about Getzoff just seems smoother and natural to me.

 

[Shady Machine]

yeah you guys are right this katie brown person should have catered harder to the absolute manchild that runs a ****ty pgh sports site. you know, the guy that is constantly **** on here, until all of a sudden there's a woman complaining and then you all start defending him. there's no way dk treats his female employees with less respect than his male employees, we know this because reasons. also she made some tweets y'all don't like apparently. disgusting

Agreed for the most part. We have no real way of knowing how the situation went down, but it appears that DK treated her like garbage. Was it because she was a woman in a mostly man's profession (sports journalism)? Not sure to be honest, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was a factor (conscious or not).

That said, I'm sure Katie wasn't as good as DK was led to believe and maybe wasn't good enough to have a job there (as he admitted that's on him for not picking up on it in the interview). Also, it probably wasn't in her best interest to write that story because while DK clearly sucked, he didn't really do anything all that surprising vs your run of the mill bad boss at every organization. She probably helped DK look like a jackass, but she also hurt her career prospects in the future.