Rusillo has Gronk and then Pedro on his podcast that came out last night. Gronk part was ok. Listened to the beginning of the Pedro part and Rusillo is gushing.
The Ringer
- Thread starter Cellar-Door
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At one point Pedro compliments his knowledge and you can almost hear his inner fanboy faint. I don’t blame him, I’d lose it too.
Not for nothing, but my friend was the guest on the Janet Jackson episode (and Rob has been on Louie's podcast too). Says that Rob's a sweetheart and couldn't be a nicer guy.
I'm surprised how often Ringer podcasts are susceptible to random skip-backs of 15-30 seconds. Like something that got neglected in the edit. It's been really insufferable on the "Wedding Scammer" podcast, but pops up occasionally in the Fantasy Football and Derek Thompson feed as well.
BTW, "Wedding Scammer" is meh to meh-plus, but admittedly I find true crime podcasts that take a long time to get to the end kind of tedious as a rule. Even Serial didn't keep me super-engaged.
BTW, "Wedding Scammer" is meh to meh-plus, but admittedly I find true crime podcasts that take a long time to get to the end kind of tedious as a rule. Even Serial didn't keep me super-engaged.
I've listened to every episode of the Wedding Scammer (and agree with your assessment, but I'm gonna finish it out) except the most recent and I've never noticed a skip back on that, BS, RR, The Rewatchables, or The Watch. What app are you using?
I have listened to every Fantasy podcast. I have never heard a skip back. Is it possible your phone is in your pocket and it's a butt skip back?
edit - I use pocketcasts, always download.
Van Lathan appeared on a new CNN show with Gayle King, Laura Coates, and Charles Barkley. It’s tough to describe what I’m witnessing; it’s something akin to the old Bill Maher ‘Politically Correct’ show but played putatively more straight by King and without an audience. And I like Van Lathan, but this is NOT his format.
Every time I think the Gentleman's Piss Club is going to get old, I still end up laughing at whatever stupid joke Craig makes about it.
I think I've never missed an episode of the podcast, and can safely say when they entered the third minute or so of the argument it was the first time I fast-forwarded through content. That was (or at least felt) like a 7-minute argument that got pretty tedious. [And yes, Heifetz was right.]
That said, when they look back at the argument and acknowledge it got out of control but then very nearly start it up all over again -- that's pretty funny.
Their draft podcast today was pretty good. Some dumb stuff but also a pretty good encapsulation of the two top guys
I love Bryan Curtis, his writing, and the Press Box. I am so happy they are going to the second episode being a guest host. Shoemaker is useless and provides no opinions. Sad it means less Curtis interviews as he is absurdly good at them and researches like crazy but just happy to have an actual second voice.
Agree that the guest host idea could be a big improvement, but I was not impressed with what Mark Leibovich brought to the table last week - basically said he did not prepare, and it showed. Joel Anderson the week prior clearly "gets the show" a bit better. If Curtis could get Jason Gay and Kevin Van Valkenburg each once a month, that would be amazing.
Yeah a Curtis and Gay pod would be the best. Especially if you can get Gay to reprise his Sports Repodders final segment work on the Simmons / Curtis / Gay pods. That said, I imagine it will be as you say - some hits, some misses.
View: https://twitter.com/bwags/status/1749886012623344014
Ringer Union members have worked our asses off to help build something we are proud of, and yet we’re being told: -Our salaries shouldn’t even COME NEAR inflation rises -We should have no say or comp for how our work is used in the future -We deserve no protections against AI
We wrapped up another round of back to back all day bargaining last week. While we’ve made notable progress in some areas, we remain far apart on key issues that our union values like economics, IP, and artificial intelligence.
Ringer Union members have worked our asses off to help build something we are proud of, and yet we’re being told: -Our salaries shouldn’t even COME NEAR inflation rises -We should have no say or comp for how our work is used in the future -We deserve no protections against AI
We wrapped up another round of back to back all day bargaining last week. While we’ve made notable progress in some areas, we remain far apart on key issues that our union values like economics, IP, and artificial intelligence.
Yeah. the IP one (at least, it's an IP complaint as I read it) is not realistic to me. It's a business and you're an employee---you can certainly negotiate for control over how your work is used in the future but ultimately those ideas are owned by your employer, and that's in exchange for your salary. There may be more nuanced aspects to this I'd have more sympathy for---but at first blush that one doesn't really resonate.
I wonder how many concepts Simmons came up with during his time at ESPN that he still uses at The Ringer.
Many? Though I do think as we get into IP-like discussions the specifics matter - doing a 'draft diary' is not really protectable while the specific future use of particular article is.
Also, fair to note Simmons has always been kind of a pain in the butt about people using 'his ideas' around stuff like the 'championship belt' to your question
I do respect Bobby for putting his name out there calling out his bosses and supporting the union. As noted above, protection of IP is probably an uphill battle but wages that reflect inflation (if not company growth) should certainly be on the table.
Something being a "dream job" isn't a good enough reason to grind employees on wages/working conditions. Sure, maybe the staffers are "replaceable" as the jobs are in high demand, but I (naively) believe there still is/should be some responsibility to treating good-performing on-board staffers with respect.
Just about 40 years ago now, I worked for NBA Entertainment as a fresh-out-of-college production assistant, living in New York on $200/week with no benefits. [Even in 1984, $200/week was not a living wage in New York.] Our staff of about 10 writers and producers and researchers organized under NABET and entered into collective bargaining with the league -- at the time represented by Associate Commissioner Gary Bettman. Like The Ringer, we had jobs that would be easy to fill with a million job candidates... we also were doing a good job for a successful profitable organization for clearly substandard wages and benefits. [I can't say The Ringer's comp packages are substandard, but at least the union feels that way.]
Bettman, you won't be surprised to learn, was dismissive of our point of view and dared us to strike. Ultimately (and I'd left the company before this got to a conclusion), the staff got something like 10% raises-- which sounds pretty good when you say "10%", but going from $200/week to $220/week (or from $300/week to $330/week for more experienced producers) doesn't exactly pay the rent. And no benefits. We should've allied with a better union than NABET -- maybe IATSE or the WGA -- that would've been able to provide more clout.
Something being a "dream job" isn't a good enough reason to grind employees on wages/working conditions. Sure, maybe the staffers are "replaceable" as the jobs are in high demand, but I (naively) believe there still is/should be some responsibility to treating good-performing on-board staffers with respect.
Just about 40 years ago now, I worked for NBA Entertainment as a fresh-out-of-college production assistant, living in New York on $200/week with no benefits. [Even in 1984, $200/week was not a living wage in New York.] Our staff of about 10 writers and producers and researchers organized under NABET and entered into collective bargaining with the league -- at the time represented by Associate Commissioner Gary Bettman. Like The Ringer, we had jobs that would be easy to fill with a million job candidates... we also were doing a good job for a successful profitable organization for clearly substandard wages and benefits. [I can't say The Ringer's comp packages are substandard, but at least the union feels that way.]
Bettman, you won't be surprised to learn, was dismissive of our point of view and dared us to strike. Ultimately (and I'd left the company before this got to a conclusion), the staff got something like 10% raises-- which sounds pretty good when you say "10%", but going from $200/week to $220/week (or from $300/week to $330/week for more experienced producers) doesn't exactly pay the rent. And no benefits. We should've allied with a better union than NABET -- maybe IATSE or the WGA -- that would've been able to provide more clout.
I think they should be treated with respect, but there is an element of out-of-touch attitude by the people who work at The Ringer compared to the rest of the industry. The print media industry is brutal, brutal shit. The fact that they can even say "our raises aren't enough" at all puts them ahead of the way 99% of print media people are being treated at this moment. Sports Illustrated just laid off their entire staff. I don't think people can really understand it unless they are currently in it or are fresh out of it.
I believe Simmons, Ryan, Fennesey, etc are contractually obligated to work for Ringer/Spotify for 5 years to get all the monies from the acquisition.
So because the world of minor league baseball is brutal and the players get shit, Major League Baseball Players shouldn't try to fight for their rights?
What? All I'm saying is that while I think in general, I'd like to see everyone, included The Ringer staff, treated better, but a lot of their complaints are around stuff that most people working in that industry can't even dream about. And as one of those people, it's hard to work up that much sympathy for them. And unless you are IN IT, you can't really understand that feeling (as demonstrated by the responses to my post).
Might be a walkout soon.
View: https://twitter.com/RingerUnion/status/1763354592056951053
Time is running out
View: https://twitter.com/RingerUnion/status/1763354592056951053
Time is running out
Just from a negotiation perspective that tweet suggests that the Ringer isn't all that worried about the walkout and the writers realize they don't have a lot of leverage here.
I am not saying any of that is fair or good - but I suspect there's plenty of good writers willing to work cheap for a significant brand and that creates a real challenge for them in positioning their asks here.
I like the Ringer and hope they work this all out. I don't think negotiating in the media is a likely or helpful path to getting there, though....Spotify is only going to become more focused on the precedent this labor negotiation sets for other divisions/assets the more public it becomes.
I am not saying any of that is fair or good - but I suspect there's plenty of good writers willing to work cheap for a significant brand and that creates a real challenge for them in positioning their asks here.
I like the Ringer and hope they work this all out. I don't think negotiating in the media is a likely or helpful path to getting there, though....Spotify is only going to become more focused on the precedent this labor negotiation sets for other divisions/assets the more public it becomes.
I told her it wasn’t going to happen, but I can’t adequately explain how disappointed my wife is he didn’t do Mmmbop.
I haven’t listened to the entire sit down with Yasi to the end yet, any hint about what’s coming next beyond “my producers say wait, but it’s coming”?
Ringer Union gets a contract.
View: https://twitter.com/ringerunion/status/1768321769171984763?s=46&t=bcC28T5731olotXj_BSpRQ
View: https://twitter.com/ringerunion/status/1768321769171984763?s=46&t=bcC28T5731olotXj_BSpRQ