Bill Simmons is one of many people talking about the future of sports media this week at the World Congress of Sports staged by CAA. He joined Michael Levine on stage Wednesday and said that he has one motto when it comes to running The Ringer – talent still wins.
As for the future, he is a little unsure about how easy it will be to find unique talent.
“Things I worry about with writers and podcasters — the younger people — is that instead of being wholly original to who they are, they play it safe and try to emulate other people and things that are already working,” he said. “They don’t want backlash. Backlash is okay sometimes. Sometimes it’s OK to swim against the grain with an opinion.”
Simmons isn’t arguing that the industry needs more young hot take artists. He said that audiences now are smart enough to “sniff out” who is being inauthentic.
Instead, he points to Stephen A. Smith as a good example. He never makes you read between the lines and he is willing to stand behind his opinion, no matter how it is met.
“Those are the people that continue to win. If you’re just saying what everyone else is saying, you’re not going to stand out,” Bill Simmons said. “That doesn’t mean that you should intentionally say stuff. That’s where people get in trouble.”
