'The National' was a US attempt at an all-sports daily newspaper back in 1990 and it's Editor-In-Chief was Frank DeFord of NPR. I remember the quality journalism, tabloid format and the thrill I got (as a Journalism major) of seeing people carrying the folded issue under their arm and sharing the paper and its contents as they revisited last night's game with fellow sports fans.
The venture was a short-lived and expensive one, ending after 18 months and losing by most accounts over 100 million dollars during that time. If you want to know more you should read the pieces in Grantland and mental_floss written by some of the writers that were part of the paper.
Will we ever see something like 'The National' again in some different approach? I like to think it would work as an app or mobile platform and then I remember 'The Daily' and wonder what's next as I read about last night's game on the web.
Thanks for the memories....
I remember The National! We used to pass it around on the bus to ballgames when I was a sophomore in high school in 1990 or 1991. If I remember correctly, we had just started playing Rotisserie Baseball (most of the players were on the JV baseball team) and we used the National for player tips and to keep up with stats. Was sad to see it go.
ReplyDeleteAndy - Thanks for reminiscing along with me - It sure was "Fun While It Lasted" ;-) John
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