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Alert to All B/R Writers: New Article Syndication Policy

Written by Zander Freund

32 comments

Mar 24 2009

Hey guys,

As Bleacher Report looks to continue building its brand as the web’s premiere destination for high quality fan journalism, we are tightening up our standards for content syndication.

For our purposes, syndication means that a Bleacher Report writer’s article has an excellent chance of being linked to by CBS Sports and/or Google News.

Going forward, all Bleacher Report writers will be officially evaluated for “Syndicated Writer” status based upon the quality of their submissions. This evaluation will include, amongst other factors, an internal review by Bleacher Report’s editorial staff.

The review process will be ongoing—writers who are not initially selected will have their articles syndicated on a case-by-case basis, and be given an opportunity to attain full-time syndication status through continued work on honing their craft and ensuring that their content is consistently in line with the network’s editorial standards.

By the same token, being a syndicated writer is an honor that must be upheld at all times, and may be removed if at any point a writer publishes content that jeopardizes the B/R brand.

Those writers who are deemed qualified will now find a “Syndicated Writer” badge on their profile. Anyone who has not written an article in the past six months has not been reviewed for syndication approval—if you’d like to be reviewed, please log back in to B/R and write another article.

This new policy is being enacted to ensure that Bleacher Report’s partner sites receive only the best that the network has to offer. That said, rest assured that Bleacher Report’s doors are still as open as they ever were to aspiring journalists and die-hard fans, regardless of whether or not their writing is fit for syndication.

Thanks as always to everyone for your continued support. Keep rocking and rolling guys!

File Under: Writer's Tips, Community

Comments
  1. LJS said on March 24, 2009 5:42 am

    cheers - thanks for letting us know mate

  2. Matt said on March 24, 2009 12:56 pm

    Oh–so that’s what that syndicated writer thing on my profile page was! Sweet!

  3. Austin said on March 24, 2009 1:15 pm

    I like the idea and I’m a syndicated writer too, so I’m not complaining.

  4. Ray Bogusz said on March 24, 2009 4:00 pm

    I wondered what that meant.

  5. Baby Tate said on March 24, 2009 4:22 pm

    Thanks to all of you for working so hard to ensure our voices are heard in the sports world.

  6. Nick Signorelli said on March 24, 2009 5:43 pm

    I am honored to be considered a syndicated writer. Thank you!

  7. David Captain Fear Allan said on March 24, 2009 6:46 pm

    This eleviates some of my confusion. People are picked up by the likes of cbssports, google news, etc, will be notified if it is our article?

    Just wondering.

    Thanks again for what you guys are doing here, it’s tremendous.

    David.

  8. Seattle Lion Fan said on March 24, 2009 7:21 pm

    I feel like Steve Martin in “The Jerk” when he finds his name in the phone book…

    I AM SOMEBODY, I AM SOMEBODY!!!

    Thanks guys…this is a great site and I am truly honored to have been selected.

  9. Dave Wiley said on March 24, 2009 7:22 pm

    Should we then assume if we are not a syndicated writer and have submitted over X number of articles, we are wasting our time as a sportswriter? I’m curious how this ranking works.

  10. USC Holmey said on March 24, 2009 8:16 pm

    If we have the “Syndicated Writer” badge, does that mean one of our articles has been linked to CBS or Google? Or does it just mean we are considered for it in the future? Either way, thanks guys.

  11. Jach shore said on March 24, 2009 10:19 pm

    How are we supposed to get syndicated? Can someone stop by my profile tell me what I am doing wrong. Its Jach shore. Thanks

  12. Jeremy Jeffries said on March 24, 2009 10:50 pm

    Thank you guys for thinking enough about my articles to choose me as one of your syndicated writers.

  13. Zander Freund said on March 25, 2009 12:35 am

    Hey guys—just wanted to jump in here to address some of your concerns:

    Dave: we held off on making a decision regarding your work because you haven’t published in five months. Go ahead and write another article whenever you have a chance. Even if you aren’t syndicated (which I’m guessing you will be) I wouldn’t say you are wasting your time at all. Non-syndicated writers still have their work published to B/R and their articles will be syndicated on a case-by-case basis.

    Let us please not forget that this is an ongoing process! With some further attention to length of submissions, quality of prose, etc. a non-syndicated writer will become syndicated. On the flip side, if the quality of a syndicated writer’s submissions begins to drop substantially their Syndication Writer status will be removed.

    Jach: you’re right on the borderline, and haven’t been around all that long. Make sure to read all of our writer’s tips and keep improving upon your work—you’ll be syndicated in no time.

    Over and out…

  14. Jeffrey Fann said on March 25, 2009 3:23 am

    Thanks for selecting me as a syndicated writer! You guys really make it worthwhile to write about our favorite teams and sports.

  15. Mark Fodor said on March 25, 2009 5:26 am

    Well, thanks! That answers that question.

    Now all I gotta do is figure out ’scribe’ status and I’m golden! =)

  16. grant said on March 25, 2009 7:44 am

    gracias for the syndicated writer tag.
    will continue to write as long as the community exists.

    g.

  17. Joe Willett said on March 25, 2009 4:25 pm

    I love the idea that my articles are more likely to be syndicated. Hopefully I may get noticed and my dream of being a paid sports writer will come true. You guys are doing a great job running this site and I’m happy that I can say that I was there when the site was still in beta.

  18. Kara Martin said on March 25, 2009 5:00 pm

    I appreciate this very much! I am humbled that you’ve taken the time to evaluate my articles and have chosen me for syndicated writer status! Keep up the great work & for allowing our voices to be heard!

  19. Lisa Boychuk said on March 26, 2009 4:29 am

    Awesome idea, I feel blessed to be included as one of those people :). Curious question: any plans for connections with Canadian-based websites?

  20. Walt Webb said on March 26, 2009 1:07 pm

    I think the syndication policy is good for two reasons. One it will elevate the better writers and two at the same time help the writers who need a bit of help to improve their skills.

  21. Zander said on March 27, 2009 12:02 am

    Hey guys,

    A syndicated writers badge means that your articles will automatically be eligible for our partner sites, namely Google News, CBS sports, and Fox Sports.

    If you don’t have a syndicated writers badge, your articles will be syndicated on a case-by-case basis.

    At some point in the future we will be rolling out an automated notification when your article is published onto our partner sites. For the time being, you will be contacted only when your articles are published on Fox Sports or CBS sports.

    Email me if you have further questions! Thanks to all of you once again for your continued support.

  22. Andy Morris said on March 28, 2009 10:09 pm

    I have really enjoyed seeing my work appear on Goolge news as the number one search result.

    As I’m in the UK it would be fantastic to have a UK news service pick up Bleacher, any plans on that one?

    One more question, how many are now elevated to syndicated and what percentage does that make?

    Cheers

    Andy M

  23. RaiulBaztepo said on March 28, 2009 11:07 pm

    Hello!
    Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
    PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language ;)
    See you!
    Your, Raiul Baztepo

  24. Jeffrey Fann said on March 31, 2009 9:41 pm

    I just had an article linked on cbs sportsline, under a “bleacher report” link. Is that considered being published on sportsline?

  25. David Xaviel said on April 4, 2009 10:43 pm

    • Incoherent Content is that which fails to meet minimal standards of grammatical and stylistic intelligibility. Examples of incoherent content include stream-of-consciousness rants and one- or two-sentence blurbs.

    The Bleacher Report guidelines make sense and seem self-explanatory until the category of “incoherence.”

    I would like clarification on what excatly constitutes ’stream of consciousness rants’ or ‘blurbs.’ To me, that seems very vague with the potential to be in effect a mechanism for censoring material. I believe that B/R should provide examples of what is and is not acceptable

    I realize that The Bleacher Report has guidelines for quality of writing, and must protect its credibility, however, journalism in all forms is a fundamental princible of any free nation. Thus, I hope that B/R understands that journalism is a battle of eternal vigilance to find the balance between credibility and free.

    I realize that B/R is still an ‘open door,’ but at the same time, polcies that sublimate censorship are equally dangerous. Meaning that, journalists that self-censor in order to attain levels of status has the same effect as a dictator that directly controls and/or retaliates against the media.

  26. David Xaviel said on April 4, 2009 10:47 pm

    Oops, I made a typo: Principle, not PrinciBle

  27. David Xaviel said on April 4, 2009 10:53 pm

    Okay, I made two other typos: Exactly not Excatly, and Policies not Polcies.

    Furthermore, I would like an explanation about my material and whether I have been considered as a Syndicated Writer.

  28. Cliff Eastham said on April 7, 2009 11:06 pm

    Thank you for the honor. It is great to be noticed while doing something that you love to do.

  29. PiterKokoniz said on April 7, 2009 11:26 pm

    Hello ! :)
    I am Piter Kokoniz. Just want to tell, that I like your blog very much!
    And want to ask you: is this blog your hobby?
    Sorry for my bad english:)
    Thank you:)
    Piter.

  30. answer said on April 14, 2009 5:39 am

    i like your blog very much ,too

  31. Chris Ory said on April 15, 2009 8:11 pm

    Some of my articles I have seen on google news,but yet im not syndicated yet. Please someone drop by my profile and let me know what i need to change in my writing to get syndicated

  32. Chris Grinstead said on April 19, 2009 2:15 am

    Thanks for the syndicated writer status guys! I will represent the B/R brand to the fullest of my abilities!
    - Chris G.

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