The Rise of The Athletic: My Pitch
At a time when journalists were laid off left and right, when large media corporations were downsizing its offices, there were fears that there was no longer a demand for written journalism. Then The Athletic began.
After a summer of growth, The Athletic expanded even more at the conclusion of the summer and the beginning of what many would believe is the start of the major professional sports season in Canada.
Expanding to every hockey city in Canada, editor-in-chief James Mirtle, has recruited a super team of journalists comparable to the Golden State Warriors or the 2010-14 Cleveland Cavaliers. The Athletic has become the team that every other media corporation is trying to catch up to. From the very affordable paywall that pays off in the unique content and analysis, it’s something you won’t find anywhere else.
With more and more well-seasoned journalists joining The Athletic, most recently, baseball specialist, Ken Rosenthal south of the border, and Pierre Lebrun joining the hockey content team, at a time when other media organizations feel that they don’t need people like Rosenthal and Lebrun, The Athletic has capitalized and recruited them, and I believe organizations that let them go will pay the price.
But it’s not about beating the competition for The Athletic. It’s about giving the best content to its readers, bringing interest back the written form of journalism. After following The Athletic these last few months, they find the story behind the athlete. Sure other organizations may present the stats and the facts of the player, which is for sure useful, but I found The Athletic went beyond the athlete and into the person. Everyone has a story, and the sport doesn’t make the athlete. There are many stories beneath that jersey, mask, or field. It’s another aspect that makes The Athletic so fresh.
And as they continue to grow, The Athletic will become the team that everyone looks to replicate. So they must continue to expand. The Athletic in the States have already incorporated college football and basketball into its content, and I hope that that will lead to the coverage of U Sports and non-market sports to be covered too in Canada.
There are stories left untold at the university level in Canada, something that Canadian media has yet to fully embrace. University athletes are still seen as inferior to those who pursue their college careers in the States. But that isn’t the case. Some athletes have excelled by staying home in Canada, but aren’t getting their story picked up by the media even when their accomplishments match and even surpass their counter-parts south of the border. The Athletic is going in the right direction with the addition of Corey Pronman to their hockey prospects coverage and Kaitlyn McGrath’s articles on figure skater Patrick Chan and Denis Shapovalov. But there could be more. Swimmer Kylie Masse had another brilliant summer, breaking the Canadian record in the 100-metre backstroke in Budapest. Reigning Olympic gold medallist, Derek Drouin withdrew from the IAAF World Championships with an Achilles injury. The list of stories can go on.
The Athletic is a bold name, and I hope it continues to grow into the numerous levels of sport. The NCAA is fully incorporated into the Athletic in the States, and I believe over time, subscribers of The Athletic, and in extension Canada, will come to embrace what U Sports and other non-market sports can bring.
And in a time when opportunities for young journalists coming out of school are tough to come by, I think this is where The Athletic can come in again to save sports journalism. We can help. I can help. If somehow, James Mirtle or anyone from The Athletic come across this, this is my pitch. Know that if The Athletic ever wanted to expand into university and “non-market” sports, there are young, passionate journalists ready to step up, and contribute to the super team.