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Friday, April, 12, 2024
Does the Hobby Need Better News Coverage?
When I started this site back in the mid 2000s, I did so as a counterpoint to the all rainbows and no rain approach of the existing hobby news sources. I felt that the print magazines like Beckett and Tuff Stuff rarely covered topics that didnt make the hobby look like everything was a utopia of collecting, and it inspired me to use my english degree to write about cards. That venture has now lasted 17 plus years of coverage, and Ive seen a lot of things change over that timeframe.
One thing that has remained constant is that hobby news coverage has proven to be more frustrating than informative, with more and more focus on making money for a platform than just covering the news as it happens. I get it though, not many people have altruistic enough tendencies to want to dedicate HOURS worth of work on a piece for no monetary return. Instead, they need to ensure they have revenue, advertisers, and an audience that all enjoys their work at the lowest possible news denominator so that it all can be easy to digest no matter what level of understanding the reader has.
Most of the people on Twitter and IG fancy themselves more advanced and as a result, derivative content that speaks at a base level of understanding seems to be worthless to the people that have the loudest voices. Content that delivers more pointed takes and deep dives into specific areas of the hobby that most longtime collectors appreciate is harder to market, and therefore harder to fund. That begs the question – is there a place for both the base level and advanced level in hobby news? Lets go a bit deeper.
First we have to look at the type of people who have a platform to deliver hobby news given their existing audience. Funny enough, Beckett still exists somehow, and even though their platform has been reduced with a shift away from periodicals in a Barnes and Noble, they have become a checklist delivery device and product sell sheet recount machine. Beckett has always had one of the largest platforms in the hobby, and one of the platforms I have rallied against since the inception of this site. Beckett used to give VERY unrealistic expectations of what the hobby was capable of delivering in value, and I hated that they were the welcome wagon for many new collectors coming to the fold. Honestly, seeing who the welcome wagon is these days, Beckett was better than I thought.
Aside from Beckett, you have people like Geoff Wilson, whose Sports Card Investor persona online has become a lightning rod for criticism as the new point of entry for a number of new collectors who have joined since the boom of the Pandemic. There is one thing that Geoff has figured out, and that style is more important than substance. He figured out, rather ingeniously, that actually knowing what you are talking about is less important than making your content look good. As a result, he has propped himself and his company up as the new face of the hobby, despite many people calling out that this is a terrible idea due to his lack of in depth coverage of some of the major issues out there, and cringeworthy behavior when criticized. It doesnt help that he co-authored a recent book called “Sports Card Collecting and Investing for Dummies,” as most of us think he is the dummy, not the teacher.
I mentioned above that in depth content is what most collectors feel is missing from this space, and Ben Haines (aka Eric Whiteback) tried to step into the shoes that Geoff Wilson tried to fill, while going a completely different direction. The problem is, the platform created by his social media content is just as controversial, mainly because of the way it is presented and monetized. Collectors want a coverage model that speaks to them at their level, and they want someone to deliver it who has been around for long enough to know the grifts when they are evident. The issue is that very few collectors out there are entertaining enough to fill this role, and the time it takes to deliver the content is akin to another job. Most of us have families and jobs, and thats why people like Haines can fill a void – but not without some personal reward in the mix.
Haines recently sold his account to FuckJerry, the aptly named group responsible for the ill-fated Fyre Fest that failed so miserably, it became a meme. There are theories that Haines was hired to run the Topps social media account, a factoid unconfirmed at the moment. This brings me to the next group of news delivery, the manufacturers themselves. For ages, there was UNPRECEDENTED access to the companies that made the cards, something that is unique to this space. Since the boom, a multitude of people have needed that access, so its become less of a back and forth with the actual collecting base. Similarly, the manufacturers have always had a need to focus on the positive aspects of their product for obvious reasons, so their press is predominantly biased for their business needs exclusively.
After burying the lede for so long, lets get to the new player in the game, CLLCT media. This new hobby coverage outlet was formed by Darren Rovell and some partners from Fox Sports, ESPN, and other professional sounding places, aiming to be the first ever pro-journalist run hobby news platform. If you are unfamiliar with Rovell, he is a smug former ESPN reporter on the business of sports, and everything you need to understand about him is covered in this takedown piece that Deadspin posted years ago. Over the course of the Pandemic, Rovell has gotten deep into collecting, and frequently covers his experience on Twitter. He now feels that he wants to start the ESPN of cards and collectibles, and many have wondered how this was going to play out.
CLLCT launched their site and content this week, with articles, videos and podcasts, clearly leading into other media channels that they are looking to bridge. With seed money of four million dollars from investors, they have established an office and are building a studio to accompany a snazzy new website to act as their hub of coverage. This all goes back to the question I aimed to answer at the top of the article, mainly if something like this is really necessary?
Lets separate that from a monetary return here, because this industry and hobby have EXPLODED to a point where there is money to be made in creating a space like this. That doesnt necessarily mean that we want it to exist, or need it to exist, but rather it will exist because there is money available to be made. In fact, that’s always been the problem many collectors seem to abhor, people looking to exploit their interest in the name of making money. Although Rovell definitely feels like he wants to do it for other reasons as well, its almost a moot point. As mentioned above with Geoff Wilson, having good looking content is more of a step towards credibility than accuracy. Hobby participants have always been accustomed to approaches that never put the look and feel up front, and it creates a vacuum where hobbies like Video Games and Cars have entire TV channels to support their experience.
Here is my take on this whole thing. I believe you can absolutely buy your way into credibility in this hobby, as much as everyone would like to think it isnt possible. Collectors love shiny new toys, regardless of their true value to the narrative. CLLCT seems like they have they have the money to expand the conversation to suit their monetization, and also provide some level of storytelling that the hobby has missed at some level.
Additionally, Rovell has an undeniable following, and its clear to me that he does have a platform to increase the number of eyes on cards and collectibles. That is a good thing, even if many long time collectors want to gatekeep the type of people who those eyes belong to. From my perspective, expansion of the hobby is always a good thing, even if the archetypes of new participants dont even come close to matching the archetypes of old. We need to serve more than just one segment of people in all aspects of the hobby, and though the collector segment might be the most vocal, they are definitely not the most populous or most well defined persona in the entire space. Most people identify themselves as collectors, but still have a need to occupy other aspects of what makes the hobby grow. Rip and flip, investing, collecting, all have roots for most. The difference is, a lot of them dont fancy themselves an influencer or content creator.
When we get a year down the road, Im interested to revisit this conversation, because its a controversial one, and its a topic that changes almost weekly. Seeing new entities try to wedge their way in can definitely ruffle feathers along the way, and that always creates a dialogue worth following on social media. The good thing is, there are already a ton of content creators who are committed to delivering a positive coverage experience for hobbyists, and I hope they continue to exist in their space too.
The post Does the Hobby Need Better News Coverage? appeared first on Sports Cards Uncensored.
