LET'S RUN - Where embittered ex-racers, preening age group athletes, and trolling teens gather to gossip and speculate about track 50% of the time while spending the other 50% arguing about political and social issues. Some original writing and limited first-hand reporting happen but a large percentage of the coverage is aggregated content and live reactions to television coverage. Everything on LRC is either a travesty, a conspiracy, a threat, or a sure sign that the sport is dying and has been at death's door since the 1990s.
Are they just a bunch of 21 year olds blogging about blue jean miles from their parents basement? Why do they exist? They can't be making any money with this garbage.
The garbage they create appeals to the 14 yr olds. Everyone else thinks they're a bunch of immature children who can speak if their life depended on it. Won't last long - that's for sure
The only good part about LR is reading Gault's previews/race-recaps. The Brojos have let these message boards get out of control, nearly every halfway decent thread gets derailed by the same characters.
Citius Magazine is a Nike Shill like Track Town USA, Hayward Magic, Portland Track Club, UO Athletic Department, Runner Space, etc. Citius Magazine uses free volunteers with day jobs and independent means. Nike has contracted with a suite of Ai comapanies to replace each of those organizations with generative A.I. content from expert systems located in China, Southern California, and .the Bay Area. Hope this helps.
Kyle- thanks for the note. Citius is at diamond leagues, Oregon world champs, taking reels and photos at literally every meet. How is this financially supported? In no way am I degrading here just generally curious. Interviews are great but it’s tough to make any post race interview interesting. And views on these are mostly under 1000. YouTubers like photo Bowden and Ben Felton would be seeing way more reach yet hardly make enough to make a living
Citius is great with access because they don't ever ask anything challenging. It's good when all you do is kiss up to your interviewers.
They won't ask about doping, they won't ask hard questions, they won't even ask deep questions.
It's pathetic.
I wouldn't say "pathetic," but you're not entirely wrong. Sports are a spectacle, and things like tragedy, backstabbing, cheating, and politics are all a part of the spectacle. But the track and track media worlds are so incestual that the moment you say something irreverent or report on a touchy subject, no matter how true, you are shown the proverbial door. It's kind of a part of the whole post-truth thing where appeals to emotion by those with influence can override mountains of evidence.
LRC has a plethora of problems between the BroJos and trolls, but at least they're not afraid to talk about anything. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to hear RoJo talk about the latest thing that Rand Paul tweeted about trans kids, but I do applaud them now and then for saying things that other publications won't.
Citius is great in some respects. They never stir the pot, which means they're on good terms with everyone. And I definitely want to see some of these to-the-point interviews with athletes. But if you never stir the pot, well, it tends to get boring. And boring writing never makes for an outstanding publication.
Could we get a publication with the nothing-is-off-limits mindset of LRC and the professionalism of Citius? Is that too much to ask?
I just wish the "journalists" weren't so keen on having their faces plastered all over their content. They love the shine and all the "omg, we're here... is this reality?" type posts had me mute them. Big turn off. Not for me, Clive.
Citius Magazine is a Nike Shill like Track Town USA, Hayward Magic, Portland Track Club, UO Athletic Department, Runner Space, etc. Citius Magazine uses free volunteers with day jobs and independent means. Nike has contracted with a suite of Ai comapanies to replace each of those organizations with generative A.I. content from expert systems located in China, Southern California, and .the Bay Area. Hope this helps.
Considering they’re working with ASICS to being World Championships coverage, this is blatantly false.
Citius is great with access because they don't ever ask anything challenging. It's good when all you do is kiss up to your interviewers.
They won't ask about doping, they won't ask hard questions, they won't even ask deep questions.
It's pathetic.
Not everyone likes "mean girl" talk. I enjoy learning about the runners and their training plans. Do you think the media is going to "catch a runner" who is dirty by asking questions?
Are they just a bunch of 21 year olds blogging about blue jean miles from their parents basement? Why do they exist? They can't be making any money with this garbage.
The garbage they create appeals to the 14 yr olds. Everyone else thinks they're a bunch of immature children who can speak if their life depended on it. Won't last long - that's for sure
Ahhhhh, you sure don't have to wait very long on these boards for a classic 'pot, meet kettle' moment.
LET'S RUN - Where embittered ex-racers, preening age group athletes, and trolling teens gather to gossip and speculate about track 50% of the time while spending the other 50% arguing about political and social issues. Some original writing and limited first-hand reporting happen but a large percentage of the coverage is aggregated content and live reactions to television coverage. Everything on LRC is either a travesty, a conspiracy, a threat, or a sure sign that the sport is dying and has been at death's door since the 1990s.
Wonderful summary of letsrun.
And yet, LetsRun is still here after 23 years. Can't say the same for most others. It's a cesspool, but it's our cesspool.
Citius is great with access because they don't ever ask anything challenging. It's good when all you do is kiss up to your interviewers.
They won't ask about doping, they won't ask hard questions, they won't even ask deep questions.
It's pathetic.
Not everyone likes "mean girl" talk. I enjoy learning about the runners and their training plans. Do you think the media is going to "catch a runner" who is dirty by asking questions?
Cheaters will out themselves
Aaaand there's the problem. Asking something like "Do you really believe your teammate got ostarine from a vending machine beverage?" is not mean girl talk. That's just regular journalism.
Anytime this comes up, people conflate asking hard hitting questions with the high school rumor mill or being a bully. There's a big difference.
If everyone is being honest, athletes shouldn't be afraid to answer real questions and journalists shouldn't have to worry about asking said questions.
If Citius just wants to cover the surface level stuff and never take a deep dive, that's their choice and it's a perfectly fine choice. But I want to read some real writing now and then. It's hard to deny that this is a problem within our sport's media outlets.
Not everyone likes "mean girl" talk. I enjoy learning about the runners and their training plans. Do you think the media is going to "catch a runner" who is dirty by asking questions?
Cheaters will out themselves
Exactly. I have a journalism background so initially the new trend annoyed me, to put it mildly. Eventually I realized the young athletes will only open up if you ask them soft and often flippant questions. It's blatant from their social media and carries over into print and broadcast.
But there's an upside because once they field enough of those questions and become comfortable with the interviewer, they will answer more challenging questions. The interviewer has to know when to shift gears and how to phrase things. Unfortunately many of them carry on with fluff alone.
Doping is an asinine topic. What possible benefit can come from that question? The only thing you'll accomplish is shooing away that athlete and any others who watch the video.
Unfortunately, track and field doesn't have anything like the "Inside with Brett Hawke" podcasts devoted to swimming. He gets the top names for very lengthy interviews in which they delve into technical matters and everything else. He has a Larry King style of coming across as genuinely interested but not pushy.
The garbage they create appeals to the 14 yr olds. Everyone else thinks they're a bunch of immature children who can speak if their life depended on it. Won't last long - that's for sure
Ahhhhh, you sure don't have to wait very long on these boards for a classic 'pot, meet kettle' moment.
Apparently you can’t even figure out there was a typo in that sentence. You must work for Citius
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