Yannis Koutroupis
05-01-2010, 07:20 PM
Hey Guys,
I’ve gotten involved in this discussion before but have never been active enough here to fully win the battle, which I definitely need to improve on.
I fully understand the reputation that HOOPSWORLD has gotten over the years by reporting false information. I’ve been with the site for three years now and although I have never been guilty of putting false information out there, I don’t try to separate myself from it. We’re very team oriented at HOOPSWORLD, so my colleagues mistakes are a representation of me just like mine are of them.
With that said though, all I’d like is a fair chance anytime my work is put on here. I’ve never tried to play myself off as an insider or someone that is in the “know” with the organization. The San Antonio Spurs as an organization don’t operate like that. They’re a steel trap when it comes to what’s going on in the front office and I’ll never be ahead of any transaction they make unless one of my colleagues verifies it through multiple sources with the other team involved. Our editors and founders at HOOPSWORLD are also very aware of the reputation we’ve developed and are working hard to change the view, but it takes a great deal time. A policy has been put in place that no breaking news can be reported unless it’s verified by independent sources on both sides.
To give a brief description of who I am without turning this into an E Hollywood Story, I’m a 21-year-old aspiring writer with a great passion for the game. I currently reside in Corpus Christi, Texas where I’m working on finishing my bachelor’s degree in communication. During the regular season I’m in San Antonio anywhere from 3-5 times a month and usually there for every postseason home game. My main beat at HOOPSWORLD is college basketball and the NCAA draft, mainly because there’s a limit to the access I get with the Spurs.
I’m not one of those writers that considers myself far different from the average fan, in fact that’s what I consider myself first and foremost. The only difference between us is that I do spend a fairly good amount of time in the Spurs’ locker room, which aids me in covering the team but by no means does it make me an expert on what’s going on in the inside.
My coverage of the Spurs has always consisted of telling nothing more than the stories I see or get first handed. I never use quotes that I didn’t get on my own recorder and in instances when I comment on other Spurs related articles I always link to the original author. My work is mainly opinion based and because of that some will agree with me and probably even more will disagree. That comes with the territory though and I’ve never been one to shy away from criticism or explaining my stance.
I grew up a Laker fan and still root for the team, but I think that you’ll find with my coverage even back in 2008 when they met up in the WCF’s that I’m not biased at all. I pride myself in being as professional as possible. The Spurs are a team I grew up hating, but of course that’s changed with age. I can’t say enough about the respect I have for the organization as a whole. In my eyes they’ve set the standard for how an organization should operate.
As my career goes on I plan on continuing to cover the Spurs unless another opportunity takes me away from South Texas. I plan on moving there after I graduate next summer and covering the team full-time, so I feel like it’s vital that I establish myself here and work on earning credibility and everyone’s respect.
Because HOOPSWORLD is solely online based I am mostly graded as a writer by the page views I produce. The team’s income is made and broken by the amount of views the site gets. It would greatly benefit me if when my articles are posted here that it’s only a segment of the article with a link for those who want to read the rest. This isn’t something that I can enforce myself, but I want you guys to understand how things work from my side. You also have my word that I’ll never put out an article just to get views. Writing is what I love to do, so putting together a well-written article is much higher on my priority list than getting 10,000 views. As much as I would appreciate the traffic being pushed towards HOOPSWORLD, I also understand how things work – I’d be lying if I said I never downloaded music or watched MMA PPV’s online through streaming sites.
Also, I’ve never been big on posting my work on this site because I never wanted to seem like a pest or bothersome. If you guys don’t mind and prefer for me to in order to ensure that only a portion is posted I will – but I don’t want things to reach a point where it seems like I’m overbearing.
Anyway, I appreciate everyone taking the time to check this out. You guys can help me a lot more than I can help you, but if there’s ever a story or situation you’d ever like checked out or covered I can do my best to get it done. I haven’t jumped on the Twitter train yet, but you can find me on Facebook, my user name is my actual name as well. I also do my best to respond to every email I get, so if you ever want to reach me directly you can do so at [email protected]. For those of you who aren’t familiar with my work and want to get a better idea of what it’s about, here are some links to my Spurs features as well as my article archive.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13304 – George Hill article from last year’s summer league.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13309 – DeJuan Blair article from last year’s summer league.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=15935 – Tony Parker article prior to start of playoffs.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=16057 – Article about George Hill and Tony Parker switching harmoniously.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/AuthorArchives.asp?AUTHOR_ID=56 – complete author archive.
Like I said I plan on being a lot more active here and I will be in San Antonio for all the home games the rest of the way, unless the conflict with the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago later this month.
Thanks again everyone and here’s hoping for a deep playoff run.
I’ve gotten involved in this discussion before but have never been active enough here to fully win the battle, which I definitely need to improve on.
I fully understand the reputation that HOOPSWORLD has gotten over the years by reporting false information. I’ve been with the site for three years now and although I have never been guilty of putting false information out there, I don’t try to separate myself from it. We’re very team oriented at HOOPSWORLD, so my colleagues mistakes are a representation of me just like mine are of them.
With that said though, all I’d like is a fair chance anytime my work is put on here. I’ve never tried to play myself off as an insider or someone that is in the “know” with the organization. The San Antonio Spurs as an organization don’t operate like that. They’re a steel trap when it comes to what’s going on in the front office and I’ll never be ahead of any transaction they make unless one of my colleagues verifies it through multiple sources with the other team involved. Our editors and founders at HOOPSWORLD are also very aware of the reputation we’ve developed and are working hard to change the view, but it takes a great deal time. A policy has been put in place that no breaking news can be reported unless it’s verified by independent sources on both sides.
To give a brief description of who I am without turning this into an E Hollywood Story, I’m a 21-year-old aspiring writer with a great passion for the game. I currently reside in Corpus Christi, Texas where I’m working on finishing my bachelor’s degree in communication. During the regular season I’m in San Antonio anywhere from 3-5 times a month and usually there for every postseason home game. My main beat at HOOPSWORLD is college basketball and the NCAA draft, mainly because there’s a limit to the access I get with the Spurs.
I’m not one of those writers that considers myself far different from the average fan, in fact that’s what I consider myself first and foremost. The only difference between us is that I do spend a fairly good amount of time in the Spurs’ locker room, which aids me in covering the team but by no means does it make me an expert on what’s going on in the inside.
My coverage of the Spurs has always consisted of telling nothing more than the stories I see or get first handed. I never use quotes that I didn’t get on my own recorder and in instances when I comment on other Spurs related articles I always link to the original author. My work is mainly opinion based and because of that some will agree with me and probably even more will disagree. That comes with the territory though and I’ve never been one to shy away from criticism or explaining my stance.
I grew up a Laker fan and still root for the team, but I think that you’ll find with my coverage even back in 2008 when they met up in the WCF’s that I’m not biased at all. I pride myself in being as professional as possible. The Spurs are a team I grew up hating, but of course that’s changed with age. I can’t say enough about the respect I have for the organization as a whole. In my eyes they’ve set the standard for how an organization should operate.
As my career goes on I plan on continuing to cover the Spurs unless another opportunity takes me away from South Texas. I plan on moving there after I graduate next summer and covering the team full-time, so I feel like it’s vital that I establish myself here and work on earning credibility and everyone’s respect.
Because HOOPSWORLD is solely online based I am mostly graded as a writer by the page views I produce. The team’s income is made and broken by the amount of views the site gets. It would greatly benefit me if when my articles are posted here that it’s only a segment of the article with a link for those who want to read the rest. This isn’t something that I can enforce myself, but I want you guys to understand how things work from my side. You also have my word that I’ll never put out an article just to get views. Writing is what I love to do, so putting together a well-written article is much higher on my priority list than getting 10,000 views. As much as I would appreciate the traffic being pushed towards HOOPSWORLD, I also understand how things work – I’d be lying if I said I never downloaded music or watched MMA PPV’s online through streaming sites.
Also, I’ve never been big on posting my work on this site because I never wanted to seem like a pest or bothersome. If you guys don’t mind and prefer for me to in order to ensure that only a portion is posted I will – but I don’t want things to reach a point where it seems like I’m overbearing.
Anyway, I appreciate everyone taking the time to check this out. You guys can help me a lot more than I can help you, but if there’s ever a story or situation you’d ever like checked out or covered I can do my best to get it done. I haven’t jumped on the Twitter train yet, but you can find me on Facebook, my user name is my actual name as well. I also do my best to respond to every email I get, so if you ever want to reach me directly you can do so at [email protected]. For those of you who aren’t familiar with my work and want to get a better idea of what it’s about, here are some links to my Spurs features as well as my article archive.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13304 – George Hill article from last year’s summer league.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13309 – DeJuan Blair article from last year’s summer league.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=15935 – Tony Parker article prior to start of playoffs.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=16057 – Article about George Hill and Tony Parker switching harmoniously.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/AuthorArchives.asp?AUTHOR_ID=56 – complete author archive.
Like I said I plan on being a lot more active here and I will be in San Antonio for all the home games the rest of the way, unless the conflict with the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago later this month.
Thanks again everyone and here’s hoping for a deep playoff run.