Nate Silver to ... ESPN?!?!

kcchief19 · 07-19-2013, 09:47 PM

Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight Blog Is to Join ESPN Staff - NYTimes.com

Stunning but brilliant move. Once Silver went to the NYT, he rarely wrote about baseball. He was one of the cornerstones of Baseball Prospectus and is a supreme baseball statistician. Apparently the carrot to lure Silver to ESPN was to be a regular contributor to Keith Olbermann's new show. That actually makes me a bit nervous, because as much as ESPN and Olbermann say it will be all about the sports, adding Silver is another political voice on the show.

The FiveThirtyEight blog will now be a part of ABC News, an Silver will contribute to ABC News during political seasons.

With Olbermann, Silver and the collection of NFL beat writers for every team, ESPN is going global thermonuclear war on Fox Sports One.

rowech · 07-19-2013, 09:56 PM

Hugely disappointing.

sterlingice · 07-19-2013, 10:03 PM

Bummer. I got the feeling the Silver pretty much called his own shots at NYT after he became an "overnight" electoral success. Being under ESPN's umbrella, well...

SI

Matthean · 07-19-2013, 10:56 PM

I think his stats placed N.E. and Seattle in the Super Bowl.

Peregrine · 07-19-2013, 11:00 PM

Not sure about the brilliance of the move but I can understand him wanting to be more involved with baseball again - seems that it will necessarily diminish his 538 blog though.

RainMaker · 07-20-2013, 12:35 AM

I can't blame him. This will give him more exposure and I'm guessing a huge paycheck.

dawgfan · 07-20-2013, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I can't blame him. This will give him more exposure and I'm guessing a huge paycheck.

While I'm not so sure he'll have greater exposure, he almost certainly will be pulling in a much fatter paycheck. Good for him.

albionmoonlight · 07-20-2013, 07:57 AM

You could see him struggling a bit to find relevant political angles to take after the election. By his own admission, his approach to presidential elections has nothing to say 3 years out. And I imagine people weren't really reading his take on the special elections to replace the Nebraska Lieutenant Governor or whatever was going on politically. Sports is year-round every year.

And, now, ABC News has something to let it stand out every four years.

kcchief19 · 07-20-2013, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

You could see him struggling a bit to find relevant political angles to take after the election. By his own admission, his approach to presidential elections has nothing to say 3 years out. And I imagine people weren't really reading his take on the special elections to replace the Nebraska Lieutenant Governor or whatever was going on politically. Sports is year-round every year.

And, now, ABC News has something to let it stand out every four years.

That's pretty much where I am with it. There's not a lot of interest in his blog topics outside the presidential election cycle. Now that he's gone mainstream, there may be more significance to his Congressional projections. But only wonks are ready 538 the rest of the time.

I for one am eager to seen him working on baseball more again. I think it will be good.

I think it's a win-win. Up until 2008, Silver was really only known to wonky sports fans, then he added wonky political fans. Now he's known to mainstream political fans. Now he's going to get a crack at mainstream sports fans.

The only downside is if ABC doesn't give him the freedom the NYT gave him ... or Olbermann brings him down with him during his inevitable meltdown.

rowech · 07-20-2013, 05:52 PM

I can't imagine ESPN is going to get to let people read his stuff for free.

07-19-2013, 10:03 PM	#3
sterlingice Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Back in Houston!	Bummer. I got the feeling the Silver pretty much called his own shots at NYT after he became an "overnight" electoral success. Being under ESPN's umbrella, well... SI __________________ Houston Hippopotami, III.3: 20th Anniversary Thread - All former HT players are encouraged to check it out! Janos: "Only America could produce an imbecile of your caliber!" Freakazoid: "That's because we make lots of things better than other people!"

07-19-2013, 10:56 PM	#4
Matthean Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Aug 2008	I think his stats placed N.E. and Seattle in the Super Bowl. __________________ Board games: Bringing people back to the original social network, the table.

07-20-2013, 05:52 PM	#10
rowech Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2006	I can't imagine ESPN is going to get to let people read his stuff for free. Last edited by rowech : 07-20-2013 at 05:52 PM.

07-19-2013, 09:56 PM	#2
rowech Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2006	Hugely disappointing.

07-19-2013, 11:00 PM	#5
Peregrine Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Cary, NC	Not sure about the brilliance of the move but I can understand him wanting to be more involved with baseball again - seems that it will necessarily diminish his 538 blog though.

07-20-2013, 12:35 AM	#6
RainMaker General Manager Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Chicago, IL	I can't blame him. This will give him more exposure and I'm guessing a huge paycheck.

07-20-2013, 07:57 AM	#8
albionmoonlight Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	You could see him struggling a bit to find relevant political angles to take after the election. By his own admission, his approach to presidential elections has nothing to say 3 years out. And I imagine people weren't really reading his take on the special elections to replace the Nebraska Lieutenant Governor or whatever was going on politically. Sports is year-round every year. And, now, ABC News has something to let it stand out every four years.

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