GQ did a profile on Deadspin editor AJ Daulerio, titled “The Worldwide Leader In Dong Shots” and it’s a pretty interesting look at the guy who took over the mother of all sports blogs (certainly this one, at least) back in 2008. I have no shot at being unbiased about this one: I’m totally gay for Daulerio and would take any chance I could to turn down doing recreational drugs with him, having worked as a Deadspin contributor and posted a dong shot or two of my own. It’s not your father’s journalism, but I believe Daulerio’s success helps blogs on the whole, despite what a certain champion of blandness at “MGo” might have to say about it.
Here’s a snippet regarding the Brett Favre sexting scandal, a story which Daulerio broke and seems to perfectly symbolize the sort of news that is define Deadspin’s sports coverage and, to some extent, everyone else’s.
“I did like nine television shows in two days,” Daulerio recalls. “The Today show called me on a Sunday at two thirty. It was brunch time with my girlfriend and a friend, and I was half in the bag. A couple of hours and two bong hits later, I’m doing an interview on the porch. Everyone is jamming Adderall to clean the place as quickly as possible. I was trying to find pants.”
The story has generated 5 million page views to date—and plenty of debate about the TMZ-ization of sports journalism. “It isn’t a question of whether or not he should have done the story. It’s a story,” says Frank Deford, who’s been writing for Sports Illustrated since 1962. “But aren’t there better stories to do? Do we really want to know about Brett Favre trying to get laid? Wouldn’t you rather spend your time delving into the evils of college athletics, or drugs and sports?”
The whole piece is worth a read; it delves into the Sean Salisbury thing, that girl that had sex in the restroom of a Bloomington bar, and Will Leitch’s takes on how his successor has managed the site that he created. Be warned, though–it’s a multi-page post! Those greedy bastards in the publishing industry would sell their mothers’ souls for just extra pageview. If I could have it my way, I’d tell those sons of bitches to
