The Death of Pro Football Weekly...

[MichaelWinicki]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/31/46-year-run-ends-for-pro-football-weekly/

For many of us who followed the sport pre-Internet, PFW was the source for much of our information.

Sad to see it end.

 

[Duane]

It's a sad news to hear but probably inevitable in these days of 24/7, instant internet and TV coverage.

I subscribed for years and it was such a great resource before the internet. Not just the weekly mailings but also Joel Buchsbaum's draft guides.

 

[burmafrd]

just another symptom of the inch deep, me me me, instant gratification, only lemmings need apply society we have now

 

[DanTanna]

Sad day indeed.

 

[Eskimo]

I remember reading their stuff back in the 90s but with the advent of the Internet age in the late 90s I began getting most of my football news online whether from fan message boards, local newspapers online, sports websites, and team websites.

 

[Avery]

You can't be a dinosaur in this day and age and survive and that's just what they were.

 

[Super_Kazuya]

Much will be made of the weekly vs. instant, or just trying to be caught up to the "digital age"... but it really comes down to, people don't want to pay to get news anymore. Which is a shame, because there's a difference between good journalism and reporting (which requires talented people and resources to create, and subsequently pay) and run of the mill Internet feed news. (P.S. this is a general comment, as I didn't read PFW so I can't comment on its quality).

 

[pancakeman]

just another symptom of the inch deep, me me me, instant gratification, only lemmings need apply society we have now

 

[igtmfo]

Not only their big draft guide every year - bound like a paperback book.

But you HAD to go to your local book stand and get their special draft issue the Thursday before the draft with the up-to-date stuff! This was in the 90s.

Now there are no more book stands or PFW.

 

[SDCowboy]

Other than the unfortunate loss of jobs, I don't really care. It's 2013. You can't be in the printed word business can expect to still be around anymore. It's no different than the movie rental or music stores. They're all gone now.

 

[jason54858]

Other than the unfortunate loss of jobs, I don't really care. It's 2013. You can't be in the printed word business can expect to still be around anymore. It's no different than the movie rental or music stores. They're all gone now.

This
Tho before this years draft I do remember searching for an issue. I couldn't find one so I settled for a Sporting News issue. It was sort of a tradition to get PFW draft magazine before the draft. Why they seem to not even attempt to great an Internet presence is crazy.

 

[Risen Star]

Combined with Mel putting an end to the print edition of the Draft Report, I need to be put on suicide watch.

 

[InDakWeTrust]

Sadly, yes. I'm a much younger fan but I am employed in the media side of things and merchandise them for various retail stores. Many stores (mostly WalMarts that I service) have seen their movies, music and book sales fall anywhere from 10% to 45% in the past 4 years. Luckily my company is branching out into other forms of merchandising so can stay employed as can many other Sales Reps as well as our home office in Amarillo.

(I'm 25 by the way,) and I still purchase at least one football mag each year during the offseason too. Already got my Lindy's this week.

 

[KJJ]

I subscribed for years and it was such a great resource before the internet. Not just the weekly mailings but also Joel Buchsbaum's draft guides.

Same here subscribed for years and use to get the draft guides every year but once I started getting all my information online I discontinued. Before the Internet PPW was something I looked forward to.

 

[igtmfo]

This week the Chicago Sun-Times laid off all their full-time photographers.

Wow.

I think that particular paper is healthy financially, but the age of the newspaper spot-news-disaster-type photographer as journalistic-art/emotional-descriptive-form is sadly in decline. That's a lot of hyphens, sorry.

I worked at Associated Press until recently. To work there as a photog you had to have a college "photojournalism degree." I wonder WTH about that degree nowadays. God dog.

Funny the local papers lean on AP nowadays more than ever for photos but the AP needs to lean on local papers for photos.

So where will photos come? It's all going to stringers, photos sent into papers by interested folks with an iphone just for free etc ...

My prediction: in a few years there will be 24-7 news/entertainment/sports channels done all for free by interested people in their bedroom for free. Content will flow into their bedroom (and yours) for free with anchors and reporters doing it all for free and other people in the field sending it in for no recompense. Maybe there already is such a thing ...

 

[TheCount]

Why anyone would favor a limited number of periodical options over the plethora of information sources the internet provides is beyond me but I certainly understand loyalty to a preferred medium.

I subscribe to ESPN the magazine and by the time I get an issue, the news it covers is pretty much dated. It's not like anything they provide in the magazine can't be provided online. Any line they draw between the info in the magazine and the info on the website is strictly man made - which is to say, artificial.

 

[Stash]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/31/46-year-run-ends-for-pro-football-weekly/

For many of us who followed the sport pre-Internet, PFW was the source for much of our information.

Sad to see it end.

Agreed.

Before the Internet, PFW was the place to go for football diehards like us.

And I always loved their annual and draft guides.

A shame they couldn't change with the times.

 

[burmafrd]

Why anyone would favor a limited number of periodical options over the plethora of information sources the internet provides is beyond me but I certainly understand loyalty to a preferred medium.

I subscribe to ESPN the magazine and by the time I get an issue, the news it covers is pretty much dated. It's not like anything they provide in the magazine can't be provided online. Any line they draw between the info in the magazine and the info on the website is strictly man made - which is to say, artificial.

its called quality over quantity



No one knows what that is anymore

 

[SDCowboy]

its called quality over quantity



No one knows what that is anymore

Sure we know what it is. I think most people though would rather have a little less "quality" for constant, non stop updates whenever they want it. Times change, hopefully for the more convenient. Most people aren't willing to wait a month to find out what happened in a game from last week anymore. Just like most people aren't willing to have to talk to an operator to place a phone call anymore.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

PFW could have transitioned into what PFT is now.

Maybe transition it into "Pro Football Daily".

You aren't going to be able to charge folks for the daily news stuff. You would need special columnists and unique content that subscriptions could be offered to.