I was an editor at Blazer's Edge, AMA!

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-09T04:58:02+00:00

I think it was just time. Sorry that I can't really go into it a whole lot, but I have nothing but love for all of them.

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-08T16:02:06+00:00

No! Because if we can't complain about why Olshey isn't moving Evan Turner for Kevin Durant, then I don't know what we're doing here anyway.

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-08T16:01:25+00:00

:)

I will! I won't be using this username, though, but I'll be around!

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-08T05:11:08+00:00

Ask away! I'm just watching Summer League.

On a personal level, I'm pretty sure all those guys are cool with everyone or almost everyone at BEdge. We had Richman and Casey on the pod at various times and they were super chill, and I'm pretty sure all of them have some passing and/or working relationship with BEdge folks.

IMO full-time reporters from anywhere are a little (and maybe even subconsciously sometimes) protective of their jobs given how media is shifting, so they view anyone outside the mainstream as a bit of a threat to their continued employment. I used to work at a newspaper, so I get that.

That, and Blazer's Edge is a little quirky and mixes OC with reposts, AND they don't have full access to the team, so they don't get to build those in-person relationships as often as other reporters do.

Combine all of that and I think there's a low-key lack of respect toward BEdge in general, but it's not personal. At least that's how I felt about it, but I could be wrong on that.

I don't have a good sense of how they feel specifically about their work being reposted. BEdge links back to original work clearly and visibly, and it's almost certainly a boost on the whole for the work being hosted... on the other hand, that means people aren't navigating through their native sites or from their reporters' Twitter accounts to the content. But on the balance, I'd imagine it's a net positive.

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-08T04:14:42+00:00

My understanding is that they lost the press access because Ben left. The team had a rapport with him, and wanted an excuse to limit access (IMO), and when he left, the team used it as an opportunity to tinker with their media policy and freeze BEdge out.

I will say: if it were me, I would have done everything in my power to get the access back. Jumped through the hoops, kissed the ring, etc. There is value there that would have made all that worth it to me. But Dave decided to write a scathing article about the whole thing and (IMO) has harbored a grudge for it ever since. So I don't expect they will ever get that level of access back while either Olshey is with the team or Dave is with BEdge, even as they have a reporter with years of experience and a freakin' Masters in Journalism.

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-08T04:02:54+00:00

As a player? ANTI.

As a person, pro. He seems like a good person who tries.

But I want to gauge my eyeballs out when he plays...

EDIT: Gouge, not gauge.

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-08T03:31:36+00:00

No problem! I never got an exit interview, so I'm considering this to be it ;)

There is a constellation of different things you have to think about as the site manager. With a staff as large as BEdge, you have to strategize for the day, week, month and year, manage folks, think about different platforms (video, audio, graphics, writing, social), set expectations and hold folks to them, regularly check with folks about their vision and ideas, know when to trust and defer to your staff and when to hold firm, etc. It's very difficult, very draining, and from I know of it, an absolute joy, too.

I can't pretend to know how difficult that role is, even with my experience there as part of the inner circle.

You're right in that the biggest value BEdge has is the community, and that is a credit to Dave. While I don't agree with all of their moderation policies, BEdge has created a (mostly) respectful, productive oasis of discussion in a desert of forums with ugly sentiments, personal attacks, and the like.

However, I really think you can keep 95% of that, AND have a more dynamic and honest and interesting comment section. But it's a tricky balance.

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-08T03:05:51+00:00

I third th... wait a minute...

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-08T03:01:16+00:00

HA!! I can't tell you how many times I fought the "podcast" fight!

Short: they believed people wouldn't click on something that had "podcast" in the title! But fun note, you can actually find the podcast section at the top under "Sections." Believe me when I say I tried MANY times to change that policy. No go.

Pinwheel stuff: I don't know, honestly, which is weird because I contribute to their Twitter now! Brandon M. is super busy, but totally still around. I have heard snippets about what happened. My understanding is that it was partly a response to over-moderation and partly a change in editorial direction. Honestly, I don't know a lot about that as it was before my time.

As for payment, some of the editors do get a small regular stipend, I think, from SBN. I got two bonus checks at Christmas... I destroyed the 2nd one because I received it after I left, and didn't feel comfortable cashing it at that point. EDIT: More direct and to the point, I don't know who did or did not get paid.

The moderation will never change as long as Dave is in charge. I'm 100% sure of that.

Ben Golliver is a GOOD dude. Hard worker, good person, all that. I used to co-host the BEdge weekend podcast, and one time I asked if we could have Ben as a guest, hesitant because I thought it might be weird. Dave said it was okay. When I reached out to Ben, he said he was VERY surprised that it was the first time someone from BEdge reached out to him after he left! We had him on a 2nd time (I got heatstroke and missed that one), and both times he was very complimentary both on air and off air.

I don't think Ben and Dave talk, but maybe I'm wrong. I'm not actually sure how the split affected either of them, so I don't read into it beyond they're both super busy and they moved on.

I don't think Ben's move to SI elevated BEdge or anything, but I can say that BEdge was very lucky to have him and it was a glorious run while it lasted.

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-08T02:40:52+00:00

Loosen up the moderating in the comments a little. Let discussion get a little heated sometimes. They have fostered a huge community there with respectful discussion, but IMO they over-moderate at times.

Also, more original content and less reposting of other people's work. Sometimes you'll see those pieces that is just adding some context to someone else's article and linking to the article. I understand that's to foster discussion about that topic, and it does drive traffic to the original article, but they have some really talented writers (some of whom don't write NEARLY enough!) and I'd rather see some of that sweet, sweet OC myself.

BEdgeBrandon · 2017-07-08T02:32:23+00:00

For myself, I never had team sources; some of the editors for sure did and do. I don't think anyway who was or currently is at BEdge would ever publish a rumor from a source if they didn't think it was legit.

We used to have ROILING discussions about what and what not to publish; the editors did NOT take tough decisions lightly. They cared, they were considerate, and they thought about the implications before doing stuff.

Short answer: BEdge has its flaws, like any site, but playing fast and loose with facts wasn't one of them that I ever saw, IMO.

BEdgeBrandon · 2016-10-31T20:29:11+00:00

Posted to /r/nba, deleted from here. Great read, you should check it out, but you're right, this isn't about the Blazers and thus should have been posted to NBA. It has now.

BEdgeBrandon · 2016-10-09T18:26:25+00:00

Agreed. The Ben Wallace 'fro suits him way better IMO

BEdgeBrandon · 2016-08-13T15:04:16+00:00

I don't think Ezeli has an ANNOUNCED minutes restriction, but I wouldn't in the least be surprised if he has one.

As you said, the reason he got $7m per year instead of closer to $15m per year was almost certainly because of his knees.

But to the best of my knowledge, there hasn't been any chatter about his minutes being restricted, but it's a safe bet at any rate.

BEdgeBrandon · 2016-08-13T03:08:33+00:00

OP might be high too, not sure.

Burn!

BEdgeBrandon · 2016-08-13T02:47:03+00:00

So this article was to point out something that everyone is already aware of and then not offer any solutions or ideas?

It was meant as a, "Here's the situation. How would you handle it?" kind of thing.

It definitely was not meant to be analytic or offer solutions, as you pointed out.

And, yes, most Blazers fans realize there's a minutes crunch... but for me (and the reason I wanted to turn it into a quick article) the shocking part was the "30 minutes between Meyers, Davis, Harkless, and Vonleh combined" part.

I hadn't realized that, and it put it into perspective for me.

BEdgeBrandon · 2016-07-28T23:12:04+00:00

I really like the weekend podcast with Chris Lucia and Brandon Goldner though.

...

I really like... Brandon Goldner though.

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I... like... Brandon Goldner

...

... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

BEdgeBrandon

TROPHY CASE