By Daniel Paulling
After the Boston Globe's 2 1/2-year transition to its new website, the newspaper added another digital competitor.
In March, the Globe completed its move from Boston.com to BostonGlobe.com, which was launched in September 2011. A separate staff now runsBoston.com, which the Boston Globe owns, in the same office.
The transition, BostonGlobe.com sports editor Matt Pepin says, fixes the problem of deciding what content belonged on each site. Some Globe content had previously been posted on Boston.com, a free site, and some on BostonGlobe.com, which is behind a paywall.
“People were asking, ‘What’s the difference?” said Pepin, who moved into his new role in March. “Honestly, people inside had a little bit of trouble explaining that one.”
Now the Globe competes online with Boston.com, which it shares photos and video with but not print content. Both outlets’ reporters, however, sometimes appear on video together.
Boston.com has reporters and freelancers who cover Boston’s four professional sports teams, though they usually don’t travel for road games. Their objective is to create web-oriented content, such as their GIF of Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz snapping a bat over his leg during a game on May 27.
The two organizations also respond differently to news.
When Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban scored a game-winning goal against the Boston Bruins on May 1, Boston.com produced a post related to the social media reaction. BostonGlobe.com waited until Bruins president Cam Neely issued a statement the next day before writing a story.
Boston.com is also trying to develop an “edgier tone,” says Boston.com sports editor Glenn Yoder, who received his position in March after working at BDCwire, an alternative lifestyle and entertainment news outlet the Boston Globe owns, and Boston.com.
Since Boston.com took its current form three months ago, his sports staff has handled a challenging series of news events: the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, Opening Day for the Red Sox, the end of the season for the Bruins and Boston Celtics and the New England Patriots’ draft and offseason camps.
While Yoder’s happy with his staff's work so far, he compares the process of building Boston.com’s sports department with that of constructing a city: never ending.
“Every writer brings something different to the table,” Yoder said. “When you shift a website’s voice, I believe it takes a few months to find that voice collectively.”
Other personnel moves across the nation:
NATIONAL
—ESPN the Magazine: Hired Jason Schwartz from Boston Magazine to be senior editor
GREAT LAKES
—Chicago Tribune: Moved Joe Knowles to AME/sports after Mike Kellams moved to AME/business
—MLive: Promoted Kyle Austin from preps to Michigan State basketball beat writer … hired Michael Niziolek as sports reporter
—Northwest Herald: Hired Joey Kaufman as sports reporter … hired Mike DeFabo as sports reporter. He had been sports editor of the Times West Virginian
MID-ATLANTIC
—Washington Post: Promoted Alex Prewitt from University of Maryland beat to Washington Capitals … promoted Roman Stubbs from preps to University of Maryland beat
NORTHEAST
—Boston Globe: Hired former Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald sports editor Rachel Bowers as sports online producer
—Syracuse Media Group: Hired Stephen Bailey to cover Syracuse University football
NORTHWEST
—Tacoma News Tribune: Hired former Tri-City Herald preps reporter Craig Craker as sports designer
SOUTHEAST
—Alabama Media Group: Hired John Talty to cover college football and recruiting. He had been covering recruiting for the (Jackson, Miss.)
—Clarion-Ledger … Hired Chris Thomas as sports curator. He had been the preps editor at the Clarion-Ledger
— (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger: Hired Riley Blevins to cover recruiting
—Tampa Bay Times: Promoted Joe Smith from Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Lightning and Rays general assignment beat writer to Tampa Bay Lightning beat … promoted Matt Baker from preps to general pro assignment beat writer
SOUTHWEST
—Austin American-Statesman: Hired Ryan Autullo to cover the University of Texas. He had been covering the University of Toledo for the Toledo Blade
WEST
—Orange County Register: Lost columnist T.J. Simers, who accepted a buyout and will retire … Lost Los Angeles Angels editor Keith Sharon, who accepted a buyout
