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Basketball Fan
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 Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:15 am Post subject: Jason Whitlock returns to ESPN |
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Nooooooooo!
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/08/14/jason-whitlock-has-left-fox-sports-to-return-to-espn/
| Quote: | Jason Whitlock Has Left Fox Sports to Return to ESPN
All, Media Gossip/MusingsJason McIntyreAugust 14th. 2013, 1:06pm
ESPN president John Skipper has capped a whirlwind month by snatching Fox Sports’ top digital talent and longtime ESPN nemesis Jason Whitlock, just days before the launch of Fox Sports 1, sources exclusively tell The Big Lead.
This shocking development – Whitlock famously left ESPN in 2006 after an interview with this website - culminates Skipper’s master plan to define ESPN as the Worldwide Leader in original sports thought and intellect, while letting his new challenger, Fox Sports 1, go the “jockularity” route.
Whitlock didn’t return a call or text message seeking comment. [UPDATE: Fox Sports has sent out a press release confirming the move.]
Whitlock’s hiring comes on the heels of ESPN re-hiring political firebrand Keith Olbermann and snagging New York Times statistical wunderkind Nate Silver. This trio, along with Bill Simmons (Grantland), Dan Le Batard (in a play for Latino sports fans, ESPN is building him a massive studio in Miami), radio hosts Colin Cowherd and Scott Van Pelt and NCAA-slayer Jay Bilas, gives ESPN a formidable and unprecedented sports lineup of original thinkers and personalities.
During a CNN appearance on Reliable Sources Sunday, Skipper was clear about what he’s been looking for: “We have long looked for smart talent and unique points of view … we’re on the lookout for people who can make us smarter.”
Skipper, who took over as ESPN president in January 2012, has made it his goal to fix the network’s No. 1 problem: the perception that the lowest-common-denominator debate culture of First Take defined the Worldwide Leader in Sports. Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless will continue to make incessant, annoying noise, but it will be impossible to deny ESPN’s increased intellect push.
That search, according to sources, led Skipper to Whitlock in early August and a clandestine meeting in Los Angeles. The controversial columnist – a fixture on ESPN’s Page 2 and on The Sports Reporters in the early 2000s – has spent the past six years writing columns for Foxsports.com. During that time, he has occasionally taken shots at the network that now employs him. He ripped ESPN for its coverage of the Bernie Fine child-molestation allegations. He slammed Stephen A. Smith and First Take when Smith appeared to drop the N-word on air.
Whitlock’s return to ESPN seems even more odd considering Fox Sports green lit a TV segment featuring him on its new network. Writers and athletes from around the country flew to Los Angeles in July to rehearse the segment, titled “Red, White and Truth.” [Full disclosure: Two writers from The Big Lead staff participated in the rehearsal.]
However, Whitlock’s sports-as-social-commentary style was an odd mix for Fox Sports 1’s new “jockularity” and the Foxsports.com web site has undergone a dramatic overhaul. Last week the site featured a Jen Engel column that claimed Johnny Manziel was the new Rosa Parks. The column appeared to be a rebuttal to a Manziel column Whitlock had written the previous day. Whitlock tweeted around the subject.
While ESPN.com doubles down on journalism by hiring beat writers for every NFL team, FoxSports.com seems to be the latest mainstream media outlet going the aggregation route. It is unclear what the move will be going forward for their columnists, who shortly will be moving more to the TV/radio side.
Whitlock is expected to appear on all ESPN platforms. |
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dont_be_a_wuss
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:28 am Post subject: |
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| Better increase the budget at the cafeteria. |
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mporter
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:31 am Post subject: |
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Surprising, given that in the past ESPN has dropped its "personalities" once they became bigger than the brand (Patrick, Rome, Olberman, etc.).
Wonder if Whitlock will get his seat back on The Sports Reporters...he was good there, but he's been pretty outspoken about his hate for Lupica.
Whitlock is hit or miss with me...sometimes he has some interesting, thought-provoking stuff. Other times, not so much. |
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JoJo Dancer
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:41 am Post subject: |
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| mporter wrote: | Surprising, given that in the past ESPN has dropped its "personalities" once they became bigger than the brand (Patrick, Rome, Olberman, etc.).
Wonder if Whitlock will get his seat back on The Sports Reporters...he was good there, but he's been pretty outspoken about his hate for Lupica.
Whitlock is hit or miss with me...sometimes he has some interesting, thought-provoking stuff. Other times, not so much. |
ESPN is building a massive studio in Miami for Dan LeBatard. I expect Whitlock to have a show originating from that studio eventually. |
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yinoma2001
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:44 am Post subject: |
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Interesting stable of talent. I like the direction ESPN is going.
Didn't care for Olberman as a political commentator, but am dying to see him doing sports again. Not a huge fan of Whitlock, but he def will get clicks and views.
And Nate Silver, what a coup snatching him up.
Who's next? Malcolm Gladwell?
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Lowest Merion
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:01 am Post subject: |
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| yinoma2001 wrote: | | Who's next? Malcolm Gladwell? |
Sort of, apparently. This is from a summary of a podcast with Silver discussing what 538 will be like with Simmons, and Gladwell was also on the podcast. (Gladwell has written a few pieces for Grantland, IIRC).
| Quote: | | In addition to hiring a staff, Silver said he wants to create a "strict style guide" for it. Malcolm Gladwell—also on the podcast—said he can't wait to write for it, so I guess he'll be writing for both Grantland and FiveThirtyEight in the near future. And, before the site is up and running, Silver will posting stories on Grantland. |
http://deadspin.com/what-is-nate-silvers-new-espn-site-going-to-look-like-1068195363 |
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yinoma2001
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:10 am Post subject: |
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| Lowest Merion wrote: | | yinoma2001 wrote: | | Who's next? Malcolm Gladwell? |
Sort of, apparently. This is from a summary of a podcast with Silver discussing what 538 will be like with Simmons, and Gladwell was also on the podcast. (Gladwell has written a few pieces for Grantland, IIRC).
| Quote: | | In addition to hiring a staff, Silver said he wants to create a "strict style guide" for it. Malcolm Gladwell—also on the podcast—said he can't wait to write for it, so I guess he'll be writing for both Grantland and FiveThirtyEight in the near future. And, before the site is up and running, Silver will posting stories on Grantland. |
http://deadspin.com/what-is-nate-silvers-new-espn-site-going-to-look-like-1068195363 |
Yeah. I listened to that podcast. ESPN seems to be trying to corner the hipster-advanced stats crowd in one fell swoop. I like!
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jodeke
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:37 am Post subject: |
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Jason Whitlock
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Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
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lakers0505
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:40 am Post subject: |
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ESPN is trying to hire as many polarizing personalities as they possibly can, while losing all the eye candy.
I don't watch 2 of their shows because I can't stand the on air personalities hosting the shows. |
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Gimme_the_rock
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:42 am Post subject: |
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| Same dude that went after Fisher in kind of a personal 1-on-1 way, right? |
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vanexelent
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 1:46 pm Post subject: |
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| So look for more race baiting on ESPN. |
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jodeke
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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| vanexelent wrote: | | So look for more race baiting on ESPN. |
Why?
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America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
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Lowest Merion
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jodeke
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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^^^^^ Those are reasons I give very little credence to Whitlock's articles.
He also had the audacity to comment on Serena's weight. LINK
| Quote: | | She's chosen to smother some of it in an unsightly layer of thick, muscled blubber, a byproduct of her unwillingness to commit to a training regimen and diet that would have her at the top of her game year-round. |
Can you say Pot, Kettle?
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ElliotTheFan
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Whitlock is a terrible, professional troll. It's sad seeing a chump like Jason prosper in the world. |
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999
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 6:48 am Post subject: |
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| Sack of (bleep) writer. He makes tj simers look like a Pulitzer Prize winner |
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pissedmeoff1012
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 6:51 am Post subject: |
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F him. Always dogging kobe for his man crush BJ
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pissedmeoff1012
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 6:52 am Post subject: |
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oops.... MJ.... 
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City_Dawg
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 6:54 am Post subject: |
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_________________
*sighs*
!... |
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Basketball Fan
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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http://www.si.com/more-sports/2015/10/04/jason-whitlock-espn-bought-out-fox-sports-1
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Jason Whitlock, ESPN part ways following website demotion
ESPN and sports commentator Jason Whitlock have parted ways.
Again.
After hiring Whitlock in August 2013 to be the founding editor for a still-yet-to-launch website (The Undefeated) on the intersection of race and sports—a talent acquisition that was also part of a spending spree to counter the launch of Fox Sports 1—ESPN has bought out the remainder of Whitlock’s contract. This ends the second go-around for ESPN and Whitlock, who worked from ESPN from 2002 to 2006 as an ESPN.com writer and frequently opinionist on its studio shows. The buyout was quietly negotiated a couple of weeks ago.
When contacted by SI.com on Sunday afternoon, an ESPN spokesperson forwarded the following from the company, “We have mutually agreed to part ways, which was Jason's preference following the shift from his role as Editor-in-Chief. Jason is a talented print and television commentator, and we wish him success in his next chapter. ESPN remains fully committed to The Undefeated and plans continue toward an official launch.”
Print a Coupon for Fortify™ Probiotics
The troubled editorship and eventual ouster of Whitlock as the lead editor of the still yet-to-launch site has been well chronicled, from the New York Times to multiple longform pieces by Deadspin writer Greg Howard.
Here was ESPN’s statement at the time of Whitlock’s removal. Whitlock continued to appear on ESPN’s airwaves throughout this summer on Pardon The Interruption, where he is a favorite of executive producer Erik Rydholm and on-air staffers Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. It’s expected Whitlock will continue to appear on that show in the near-term.
What’s next? Well, given Fox Sports National Networks President Jamie Horowitz is a Professor Emeritus of the Morton Downey Jr. College of Television, given Horowitz shares mutual professional friends with Whitlock, and given the recent report from Sports Business Daily media reporter John Ourand that FS1 is looking for more opinionated hosts for its afternoon block, Whitlock appears to be a lock to re-join Fox Sports, where he worked from 2007 to 2013. FS1 is rebranding its afternoon format around Colin Cowherd and provocative sports talk in an effort to turn around low ratings. Whitlock could serve as a partner with Cowherd on a still-to-be built late afternoon show or co-host his own show. Will FS1 viewers watch a bloc of programming featuring ex-ESPN talkers? Time will tell.
A Fox spokesperson declined to comment. |
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gng930
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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| This is the same guy who bashed Kobe by labelling him "Ko-Me". Truly an advanced mind... |
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City_Dawg
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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Deadspin did a pretty in depth story on Whitlock's Grantland wannabe. Dude is so full of (bleep).
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 7:11 pm Post subject: |
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| I remember a couple years ago there were people touting FS1 as a real threat to ESPN. Oh, yeah. They get the castoffs like Cowherd and Whitlock "in an effort to turn around low ratings." |
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rwongega
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lakersken80
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Aeneas Hunter wrote: | | I remember a couple years ago there were people touting FS1 as a real threat to ESPN. Oh, yeah. They get the castoffs like Cowherd and Whitlock "in an effort to turn around low ratings." |
Their version of Sportscenter had 0.00 ratings if I remember correctly. You can't replicate ESPN's success overnight they had a 30+ year head start. Which means 30+ years of learning the business, and how to churn out talent and making names out of nobodies or newly minted graduates coming out of college. I remember Fox Sports briefly challenged Sportscenter with their National Sports Report back in the mid 90's, it was a much better sports news show than what they are currently doing. |
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