Preface: I am dead serious about this. I know that it’s quite a long shot, but look at We Bleed Blue. They started as fans launching a very modest passion project and now their merch is sold and advertised at MSG. It’s far from impossible with the right people involved and enough passion and dedication. The reason I want to do this isn’t because I think that Loki Dog has better opinions or is a bigger/better fan than the rest of you; it’s because I genuinely love writing and expressing myself verbally (whether written or spoken) and have always wanted to pursue a means of using my skill and passion for language to earn my living.
I mentioned it in the roster thread but it got buried a bit. I know
@haohmaru expressed some interest and as a poster I’ve always respected, I would certainly be willing to team up. Since I don’t know a lot on the technical side of this potential endeavor, I figured I’d open it up to the entire forum and see if there’s any traction to be had.
@LORDE put the idea in my head and also has some expertise on the production side that may be useful. I also figured, if there is any traction, HF is the place I would be turning to for help with deciding on a name, the tone of the blog or podcast, etc. so why not…?
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I believe that I am a technically proficient and skilled writer. I am formally trained and educated as a journalist. I also am a comfortable speaker, generally able to express myself as articulately orally as in writing. I’ve played hockey at a fairly high level and been around the game at high levels for 35 years. From the time I was 3 until I was about 11 my next door neighbor played in the NHL and by the time he retired my family had met plenty of his teammates and coaches and formed other close relationships, so I basically grew up with NHL mentorship and exposure (granted, all Islanders - though some played for NYR as well in their career). I still have relationships with some of those retired players, and some of them had kids - my age or younger - who made it to the draft or other professional leagues. I played NCAA hockey. I have friends who have played in the AHL, ECHL, DEL and Allsvenskan. I have coached youth and some of my friends currently coach high level junior programs. I am not saying that my opinions are always correct by any stretch of the imagination, but my exposure and access to the sport, and corresponding knowledge and understanding is strong, IMO. I believe I have the writing/speaking skills, the passion and the knowledge to create engaging and enjoyable editorial style content.
I believe that a podcast is probably the most likely format to be successful, and I’m confident that my interests and experience as a writer will translate well to planning weekly episodes and content. I believe that ideally, a podcast format works best with 2-3 regular hosts who all bring their own personality and perspective to the show, but whether this was a solo endeavor, duo, trio, what have you… we would need one of the contributors to also be capable of acting as the producer and manager of the project, or an additional “silent partner” who can do such. Simply put, even if I put together the absolute best, most engaging NYR content imaginable, no one will ever hear it if I’m doing this on my own - this project needs someone who knows about recording and hosting audio content, managing a social media presence, etc.
I flat out suck at understanding social media platforms and algorithms and how often to post and how to promote content, etc. I need someone on this project who actually knows how to produce a podcast, as well as manage an IG and X account to support and promote it, if it’s going to have any genuine hope of success.
My first bachelor’s degree, pre-military was in journalism. I went into college back when journalism was almost exclusively a print industry (or broadcast) but by the time I graduated you needed an online blog and demonstrable “engagement” or followers and a portfolio on some type of online platform in order to get hired, rather than some writing samples and experience at the school newspaper, so eventually I stopped pursuing anything journalism related and that’s partially how I ended up in the military - I couldn’t find a job with my degree. If it isn’t obvious, when I was studying journalism, the goal was always to be a hockey writer.
I’m aware that it’s a long shot to become an actual money maker, but even as a hobby, it would be massively fulfilling and I’m willing to collaborate with any individuals who can genuinely compliment my own abilities, or especially who can cover the areas I am totally inept in. All I ask is that we have an equal level of seriousness about making a go of it. They say that if you pursue your passion with enough vigor, you can make a career out of it somehow, and I certainly haven’t “enjoyed” any of the money making endeavors in my adult life that much thus far, so perhaps it’s time to go after a dream. The worst thing that can happen is some time and effort is wasted doing something we enjoy. In a perfect world, with a bit of hard work we are able to eventually make some side income off of something we love doing.
As far as content, I can crank out full length articles in nearly as little time as it takes to read them, and I could translate that into talking points for a podcast easily enough but I know virtually nothing about how to actually execute this endeavor on the technical side. I am, however, 110% serious about putting a full and dedicated effort into it, including even modest spending to promote it or get it started properly, so please DM me if you have a serious interest and I will share my personal contact information with you so that we can discuss a genuine partnership.
