An unlikely media impresario

Updated on Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 12:58 PM by Logan Molen

It's been about a month since the launch of "Grantland," a new ESPN digital magazine fronted by columnist Bill Simmons. 

"Grantland" is a homage to legendary early 20th century sportswriter Grantland Rice and the site's spare design harkens back to simpler times. 

It's also an outlet for Simmons to publish his vision for news and pop culture, tapping new voices that mostly are a breath of fresh air from the usual suspects, aka East Coast media and major metro sports columnists. (I say mostly because longtime Boston newspaper columnist Mike Barnacle has made at least one appearance). 

Simmons is ground zero among these fresh sports voices, building his own fan base through a sheer hustle and bravado. His backdoor route to prominance led to ESPN.com's Page 2, ESPN The Magazine and later as author of a best-selling book on the NBA. His schtick is that of an Everyman, with a dash of National Lampoon. It's hard to take him seriously sometimes -- and he's been in more than one tiff with ESPN over creative differences -- but the popularity of his book, Twitter feed and sports podcast sent a clear message to ESPN that they had a strong personal brand to build around.

Which brings us to "Grantland," a daily mix of sports news, commentary and pop Simmons is purposely chasing fewer high-dollar advertisers who are presented more as sponsors than advertisers.culture. Sports scores and daily highlights this is not, and that's a good thing. As Simmons writes in "Welcome to Grantland":

"We had four goals for this site. The first was to find writers we liked and let them do their thing. The second was to find sponsors we liked and integrate them within the site — so readers didn't have to pay for content, and also, so we didn't have to gravitate toward quantity over quality just to chase page views. The third was to take advantage of a little extra creative leeway for the right reasons and not the wrong ones.12 And the fourth was to hire the right blend of people — mostly young, mostly up-and-comers, all good people with good ideas who aren't afraid to share them."

The writing is deep and rich, has attitude and taps into that vein of "this is what people like me talk about in bars." Simmons was quick to hire Chuck Klosterman, best known as an unpredictable "gonzo-style" music journalist who has some serious sports chops, and the pair ensure the bar on coverage is high.  

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Paste version 3.0 draws design inspiration from the app generation

The main page of Paste magazine's mPlayer looks like the app-filled screen of a smartphone.What if you read a magazine as if you were perusing the apps on your mobile device? That's the idea behind Paste magazine's mPlayer, digital magazine that pulls words and multimedia into one integrated screen. 

Music and arts fans may be familiar with Paste, a reasonably cool print magazine that thrived for about five years before hitting the skids when the economy tanked a few years ago. The editors tried a few different revenue models centered around tiered print/digital subscription models, including an interesting series of alternating full-size, then mini, print magazines. None of that worked, and editors killed the print edition last year to focus on a stripped-down website that has been a shell of its former self. 

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1 part Red Bull + 1 part magazine = 1 wild read

Updated on Monday, September 19, 2011 at 1:01 AM by Logan Molen

One of the early U.S. versions of the magazine contains a nice feature on unorthodox pitcher Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants. A slow-motion video within the piece details the unique throwing motion that earned Lincecum his "The Freak" nickname.Most everyone is familiar with Red Bull the energy drink. But Red Bull is more than a beverage, it's a lifestyle that spills over into many different things, like auto racing, thrill sports and, more than ever, publishing. 

And traditional publishers should be wary of the energy a drink company can deliver in stealing readers bored with the same ol', same ol'. 

Red Bull first dipped its toes into publishing upon launching its Formula 1 racing team in 2005, producing The Red Bulletin, a lively "alternative" newsletter published four times each race weekend. The Red Bulletin created ripples for its punk attitude in what had been a traditionally reserved sport, with lively layouts and content that said what people were thinking but were afraid to say. Perhaps the most famous example was a blast against the French at the French Grand Prix, held at the Magny Cours circuit far from the country's charms. 

iPad versions of the mag are available in two languages so far: English and German"The nearest town to the circuit is Nevers and if you pronounce it the right way, it perfectly describes how many times people want to come back," The Red Bulletin said, generating waves of protest from offended French patriots. 

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