Lack of Flames correspondent at the Athletic

[CliffFletcher]

So the Athletic just did a round-up of standout prospects from prospect tournaments around the league, and the Flames are the only team that didn’t get a mention. Every other NHL team has already had multiple NHL camp stories filed on the Athletic. Zero for the Flames.

I had assumed when Julian McKenzie was reassigned to Ottawa last year that the Athletic was going to find a replacement. It’s looking like maybe they won’t bother.

Anyone in the know on the media side of things have any idea why the Flames are the only NHL city without a correspondent? Are they even looking?

[Andrew]

I find athletic for my teams doesnt really provide too much additional info I can't find on other sources.

Its cheap though

Who is applying for the job? Cp?

[Otto-matic]

I've given up on subscribing to the Athletic. IMO it really seemed like the last two writers we had didnt really care for the Flames and put out the bare minimum for the team.

[Toonage]

I enjoy the Athletic, especially for NFL coverage, but its a shame that they can't or won't find someone local to cover this team. Julian Mckenzie still handles most Flames related stuff and (as mentioned by the OP) he lives in Ottawa now.

[Hot_Flatus]

It's pretty disappointing they don't seem able to retain someone to cover the Flames. Julian is/was uninspiring and lacked any kind of substance as well - bare minimum kind of vibes with his content. The coverage for my NFL team and the Blue Jays remains strong though so it is definitely a bit of a rock and a hard place.

If I can grab a $9.99 annual subscription promo I'll probably renew again, but anything beyond that, no way.

[Royle9]

I’m guessing they don’t pay a heck of a lot if anything?

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Royle9

I’m guessing they don’t pay a heck of a lot if anything?

I assume people like Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, James Mirtle - who have decades of experience with media outlets like TSN, the Globe & Mail, etc - get paid decently. The team correspondents probably not as well. But I’m confident nobody is working for free.

Regardless of what they pay, they haven’t had trouble finding people to take the job in every other NHL city. Why would Calgary be different?

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

I've given up on subscribing to the Athletic. IMO it really seemed like the last two writers we had didnt really care for the Flames and put out the bare minimum for the team.

I’m wondering if we haven’t seen a feedback loop with lacklustre coverage of the Flames > decline in Calgary-based subscribers > reduced importance of the market in the eyes of the Athletic > worse coverage of the Flames > decline in Calgary-based subscribers > etc.

[Vox]

Calling Scorp. Get in their bud.

[CroFlames]

The lack of Flames coverage sucks ass on Athletic. I still pay for it though because I like the Premier league coverage, and some of the other soccer league coverage out there. Plus NFL coverage is the best.

On the flip side, the Oilers have two absolute cheerleaders writing for them and it's comical. Not Staples level, but close.

[MegaErtz]

We're just too small of a market to justify paying someone to write about our team.

[TheScorpion]

Wish it was different but I think the Athletic has come to the conclusion that Calgary isn't a viable market for their coverage.

[Sylvanfan]

The Flames are turning into the Sacremento Kings/Pitsburgh Pirates of the NHL. Most people probably forget they still exist in most US cities until they come to town that one time a year.

[YyjFlames]

It'll probably take Calgary icing a marketable superstar and a more consistently good team, which will draw readers from the Athletic's broader hockey fan base, for them to put someone on full time again.

That might be Parekh, as he has the personality, skills, a sweet name and a few other things that could make him highly marketable.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

We're just too small of a market to justify paying someone to write about our team.

Edmonton has more than one writer. Your logic, as usual, is completely wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary

[Erick Estrada]

Tashan Reed covered the Raiders for the Athletic for years and he just left for a new job last week so both my teams currently have no full-time correspondent. I don't usually see a lot of fan engagement in Flames articles there which may be the issue when it comes to paying for a full-time correspondent.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

We're just too small of a market to justify paying someone to write about our team.

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Wish it was different but I think the Athletic has come to the conclusion that Calgary isn't a viable market for their coverage.

Winnipeg, Ottawa, Minnesota (Saint Paul), Raleigh, Columbus all have NHL correspondents. I wouldn’t have thought Calgary is a smaller or worse market than those cities, but I guess maybe we are.

[Johnny Makarov]

pfft. who cares. we got a loss for sure.

[Jiri Hrdina]

It is weird. Ultimately I largely subscribe to the Athletic for broader coverage, as any Flames news I get from here including better analysis and opinions.
But it still is pretty poor on their part.
I noticed the same article yesterday and the fact that not a single Flame prospect was mentioned.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I don't usually see a lot of fan engagement in Flames articles there which may be the issue when it comes to paying for a full-time correspondent.

Yeah, I wondered about that as well. I’d be curious to see what data they use to assess engagement with a particular franchise - subscriptions, page hits, comments, etc. Because it can’t be the size of the market alone, or they wouldn’t be paying dedicated NHL correspondents in Winnipeg, Columbus, etc.