Bill Simmons Poaches NY Times Writer For Grantland.com
In what I’d consider to be one of the biggest hires so far for Grantland.com, Bill Simmons and ESPN have plucked Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times to write for the soon-to-be-live website.
Hiring bloggers and contributors to various outlets is one thing (has Tommy Craggs made up his mind yet?). Commissioning freelancers like Chuck Klosterman and Malcolm Gladwell is nice. But getting someone to give up a sweet job at the top paper in the country to write for … a start up?
Well, it’s not just any start up – it has ESPN’s backing, so it’s not like there’s any risk of Grantland going under in a year or two. Plus, getting to ESPN opens up doors to radio, TV, the magazine, the website, etc.
The site’s slated to go live next month.
Previously: Here’s The First Serious Takedown of Grantland.com, the New Bill Simmons ESPN Website
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6 Responses to “Bill Simmons Poaches NY Times Writer For Grantland.com”
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May 28th, 2011 at 10:12 AM
Three words: Kevin Van Valkenburg.. I hadn’t heard about him until very recently. Dude is good.
May 28th, 2011 at 11:16 AM
Hopefully Grantland lasts longer than Page 3 and the Sports Guy Cartoon
May 28th, 2011 at 11:50 AM
@Heldover- I read just about everything about GW and this retirement but somehow missed the article you linked. Thank you. Great article and the best profile I have ever read about Gary.
May 28th, 2011 at 2:53 PM
If Grantland is supposed to be a separate entity from the Four Letter (at least according to branding), seems odd for their staffers to do the Bristol Car Wash.
May 28th, 2011 at 6:44 PM
As was suggested up top, don’t be naive in thinking this guy left the NY Times to write for a start-up blog. He’s been pitched and promised the usual assortment of goodies by Walsh who is constantly collecting and chucking bodies in and out of his cupboard. If anything, this is further proof of the lack of meaningful independence Simmons’ site will have from the rest of ESPN.
May 28th, 2011 at 11:16 PM
I love reading Kevin Van Valkenburg over the The Sun. His pieces, even blog postings, seem to have so much thought and effort put into them. His posts after the Ravens games are great reads and usually spot on when you think about and very fair in praise and criticism. He can write about anything and I seem to enjoy it.