Now at first I thought Mr. Manuel had a point. After all, MLN.com is a real estate website. MLNSportsZone.com is a sports news magazine. Still, busy fellow that he is, he might not tune into us regularly enough to know this. So I thought I'd drop him a friendly line:
Mr. Manuel:
One of my readers was kind enough to share your thoughts on our ‘validity.’
Minor League News (MLN) enters its sixth year of business in January, 2006. We continue to be the only four-sport, all-minor and independent league publication in the business. We will top out this year at estimated 3.29 million readers annually at our flagship publication, mlnsportszone.com, and close to a million at our new RSS-news release syndicate, MLN-The Raw Feed™. That’s up about 13.5% from last year.
Our writers include both freelancers and beat writers for some of the best publications in this country. In fact, one of your writers, Will Kimmey, has contributed a piece or two to MLN.
Our pieces have been quoted nationally in publications ranging from the Boston Globe to small local publications. Our stories have been reprinted by Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, and thousands of other publications, websites, and blogs.
I know that in the print and fishwrap world, new media publications are the Rodney Dangerfield of the business. My writers and editors work very hard to produce a quality publication with a focus on a very different market segment that appeals to its own audience base. We are unique in our focus.
We have great respect for the venerable Baseball America, and all of the work that you do. You’ve earned your credentials over a very long time. We’re a far younger publication in a medium that is in its infancy. Ultimately, the marketplace, not you, is the judge of our legitimacy. We think, for a sports publication with less than half of a decade in full operation, that we’re doing pretty well.
Sincerely,
Brian Ross
Sr. Editor
Minor League News
The Leader in Minor League Sports™
Minor League. MAJOR ATTITUDE™
MLNSportsZone.com
MLN – The Raw Feed™
Open Source Sports Directory™
Now I'm sure, back around 1981 when Baseball America launched, that it was told more than a few times by the "experts" at places like Sporting News and SI what a third-rate rag it was. In print, Baseball America is thoughtfully laid out and well put together. As part of the ESPN sports empire, they will be well cared for.
People in Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Baseballs.
BA's internet presence is, like many of our print peers, a hedge, an afterthought, a flytrap to lure new print subscribers while they figure out when more people are going to start reading electronically and dump more copies of fishwrap.
This concept of a "web magazine" is still new to a lot of people, particularly as broadband is just allowing us to realize its full potential: Big pictures, real multimedia in real time, and bigger web pages that look and feel more like paper. So what do we know, being innovators on the ground since day one, that BA and others don't get yet?
| 1 | 2 |
